Counselors are trained to anticipate on-time retirement-linked risks but
increasingly are serving women pursuing off-time midlife career reinvention
within ageist, sexist, racist, and ableist systems of power. Grounded in the
author’s personal narrative, this perspective article highlights the compounded
burdens of gendered ageism, biopsychosocial aging, and non-prototypical
professional acceleration for midlife women. Built upon Crenshaw’s (1989)
framework, chronological intersectionality is introduced as a way for counselors
to conceptualize the concurrent biopsychosocial and systemic pressures and
marginalization that can occur when age-expected norms collide with career
changes for midlife women. Implications for clinical practice are described.
In this transcendental phenomenological study, we followed the traditions of
Moustakas and explored the counseling experiences of adults who had been
identified as gifted during their school years and had experienced counseling
for issues related to anxiety, depression, perfectionism, or hypersensitivity.
We identified the following themes after interviewing participants: (1) growing
up gifted; (2) challenges for gifted individuals at the college level; (3)
living with anxiety and depression as a gifted adult; (4) medication and tools
used by gifted adults; (5) being a perfectionist and dealing with
hypersensitivity as a gifted adult; (6) experiences in counseling as a gifted
adult; and (7) gifted adults need counseling that addresses their presenting
issues and acknowledges their gifted status. Implications for counselors include
recognizing specialized counseling needs of gifted adults and providing services
in a way that appeal to gifted adults.
The transition to retirement is a critical biopsychosocial stage that often
brings challenges such as shifting roles and reduced income, which may lead to
psychological distress. In this study, we systematically synthesized
quantitative evidence on the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in
enhancing well-being (increase in positive functioning) among retired adults. A
comprehensive search across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane was
completed in October 2025. This was supplemented by Google Scholar and reference
list screening, identifying 5,945 database records and 123 additional sources.
After screening and eligibility assessment, seven studies met the inclusion
criteria. Across these studies, interventions produced statistically significant
improvements—including reductions in stress, anxiety, and depressive
symptoms—alongside increases in psychological well-being, happiness, resilience,
life satisfaction, and marital quality. Overall, the findings demonstrate the
effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in supporting healthy psychosocial
adjustment during retirement.
This study centered on feminist-identified women and the meaning they made from
their feminist identity. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
design, eight women were interviewed to understand their lived experience and
the influence their social or political identity had on how they experienced and
made sense of their world. The overarching finding was that all participants
exuded a strong sense of self, which seemed to provide resilience and empower
participants to navigate sexism and other injustice. Themes that support this
finding include exhibiting confidence and self-advocacy, confronting sexism, and
describing a connection between feminist identity and career or activism.
Implications are provided for counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors.
Recommendations include recognizing the importance of clients’ feminist
identities throughout the counseling process and drawing on a feminist framework
to process lived discrimination and injustice, empower clients, and locate
support systems.
This article presents a case study about a fictional client’s experience of
complicated grief. This article differentiates between complicated grief and
normal (adaptive) grief. It also distinguishes between bereavement, grief, and
mourning. The counseling process is described using developmental theory and
narrative reconstruction to illustrate how to implement creative techniques.
The scope of ‘women’s issues’ in counseling is an ever-evolving landscape.
Recent events such as the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the disproportionate
impact of COVID-19 on women serve as powerful reminders of the necessity of this
focus while underscoring a deep-rooted history of oppressive patriarchal
structures. Therefore, counselors must remain informed of the unique
considerations surrounding adult women in counseling and acquire proficiency in
versatile techniques to meet this population’s nuanced needs. This article
examines the complexity of contemporary womanhood and explores the fundamentals
of Feminist Counseling Theory (FCT), a holistic, multiculturally conscious,
social justice theory in counseling. It further illustrates the benefits of FCT
as a foundational framework supportive of various women’s concerns and
demonstrates how the integration of FCT into counseling settings will enrich the
counselor-client relationship and allow for improved outcomes.