Innovations in Counseling
From Bridging the Gap to Taking a Gap Year:
Self-Care for Students, Counselors, Counselor Educators, and Supervisors
Supporting clients, students, supervisees, and professional peers is profoundly meaningful work, but it can also be emotionally depleting, often leaving little capacity for sustained self-care. Without intentional strategies to replenish and protect personal well-being, helping professionals are at increased risk for stress, compassion fatigue, burnout, strained relationships, physical illness, and a range of mental health challenges.
This webinar is designed to equip Counselors, Counselor Educators, Supervisors, and graduate students with practical tools to assess and address their self-care needs with clarity and purpose. Drawing from deeply personal experiences during her transformative “Grown-Up Gap Year,” Janelle L. Jones, PhD, NCC, LPC, will offer powerful insights into recognizing and recovering from burnout. Through a blend of storytelling, reflection, and applied strategies, participants will explore how to realign their wellness practices with both their current realities and their vision for a healthier, more sustainable professional future. This session is not only informative; it is essential for those committed to longevity, balance, and ethical excellence in the Counseling profession.
After this presentation, participants will be able to:
- interrogate burnout through an ethical, value-based, and interpersonal lens to determine its impact on professional well-being.
- assess the negative consequences of unaddressed gaps in their current self-care practices, with attention to physical, mental health, and professional outcomes.
- develop a personalized, actionable self-care plan that centers their personhood and supports sustainable engagement in clinical practice, teaching, supervision, and scholarship.
Janelle L. Jones, PhD, NCC, LPC, serves as an Assistant Professor in the Mental Health Counseling Program at Agnes Scott College. She also works as a Gerontological Counselor and an LPC in Georgia. Dr. Jones received her master’s in clinical mental health counseling at Georgia State University and obtained her doctorate in counselor education from the University of Alabama. She is a member of Chi Sigma Iota (CSI), American Counseling Association (ACA), Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ), and Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES). She is the Past-President of the Association for Adult Development and Aging (AADA). Dr. Jones is both an NBCCF Master’s and Doctoral Fellow.
The Family at Play:
A Play Therapy Approach to Strengthening Family Connections
Every family has a unique capacity for connection, communication, and joy. This webinar explores the transformative power of play as a universal language that unlocks potential. We will move beyond traditional talk therapies to present practical, evidence-based play therapy techniques designed to enhance family dynamics and build resilience. Participants will be guided through a progressive framework, starting with core principles of child-centered play therapy, advancing to the empowering model of filial therapy (where parents become the agents of healing), and culminating in structured activities for the entire family. A special focus will be placed on incorporating expressive arts to help families “author” their own narrative of connection, exemplified by a collaborative “family poem” activity. This session is ideal for Therapists, Counselors, and Social Workers looking for creative, non-pathologizing approaches to support families in building stronger, more empathetic, and joyful relationships. Leave with a toolkit of strategies and a novel framework for documenting positive change.
After this presentation, participants will be able to:
- compare three key play therapy modalities (child-centered, Gestalt, filial, and family-based) and identify appropriate applications for enhancing family communication and connection.
- implement the core PRIDE skills (Praise, Reflection, Imitation, Description, Enthusiasm) used in filial therapy to coach parents in fostering a deeper, more secure emotional bond with their child(ren).
- utilize an expressive arts-based narrative technique, such as a co-created “family poem” or narrative scrapbook, to help families externalize and document their strengths and evolving story.
Jasmaine Ataga, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC, RPT-S, is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Seattle University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Georgia, a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor™ (RPT-S), an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), and a National Certified Counselor (NCC). Dr. Ataga is also a 2016 NBCC MFP-Y Master’s Fellow and a 2021 NBCC MFP Doctoral Fellow. She has over eight years of counseling experience and 10 years in crisis and trauma care. Her clinical specialty focuses on working with children and adolescents who have experienced sexual trauma and utilizing expressive arts to promote meaning-making. In addition to her faculty role, Dr. Ataga is the founder of Zen360, LLC. This holistic organization creates and facilitates expressive trainings and international outreach trips for professionals, graduate students, and educators passionate about mental health. Her primary goal as an educator and Counselor is to help mental health professionals learn expressive healing, deepen their self-awareness, and implement routines centered on self-care and peace. Dr. Ataga is guided by a holistic approach to mental health, advocacy for survivors of trauma, and a steadfast commitment to fostering peace.
NBCC Foundation has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 805. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. NBCC Foundation is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Each state sets its own requirements for licensure, including continuing education requirements to maintain licensure. Questions about CE requirements for state licensure should be directed to your state board. You can find their contact information on our state board directory.
