Students in a master's degree program in counseling were asked to report critical incidents that had influenced their development as counselors. Participants most frequently cited courses based on experiential learning and field experiences as being influential in their development. Events external to the graduate program also were frequently reported as influencing their professional development.

Investigators examined relationships among levels of depression and parentification in undergraduate university students. Instrument scores were used to identify participants as (a) adult children with alcoholic parents, (b) adult children with workaholic parents, (c) adult children with at least one parent who was both alcoholic and workaholic, and (d) a comparison group composed of adult children who met none of the other group criteria. Children of workaholics scored significantly higher on measures of depression and parentification, and they reported parents worked more hours than did parents of children of alcoholics and the comparison group. Children of alcoholics scored significantly higher than the comparison group on the measure of parentification. Children with parents who met both descriptions scored significantly higher than children of alcoholics and the comparison group on the three dimensions described and on combined number of hours both parents worked.

Issues surrounding substance dependence of Native Americans are examined through the cultural concept of the Broken Circle. Traditional cultural views of wellness and healing are described using the traditions of Indian Medicine, the value of the Circle, and what it means to live in harmony and balance. Underlying factors in substance dependence of Native Americans are presented along with practical counseling recommendations and implications for treatment through both contemporary and traditional Native healing methods.A True Story An Indian man stands alone staring out the window of his suburban apartment with a .45 caliber handgun pointed at his head. He is in his 30s now, and has battled alcoholism for years. He has fought to be a good single father to his two young sons. He has grappled with that emptiness deep down in his spirit all his life and that constant nagging urge to always take just one more drink. He has been in and out of treatment programs, on and off with AA [Alcoholics Anonymous], and now he just wants all the pain to stop. He can feel the coldness of the barrel against his throbbing temple, and, as he stares out of the window at the beautiful summer day unfolding before him, he notices a little turtle struggling to go from one place to another. Then he notices the cat crouched not far away from the turtle waiting for the right moment to pounce on its helpless prey. The turtle, spying the cat in waiting, quickly pulls into its shell. Just then, the cat leaps toward the turtle, pawing and hissing. Safely in its shell, the turtle remains unharmed by the persistent cat that tries to open this troublesome package, knocking it upside down, prying, but to no avail. Frustrated, the cat wanders off in search of easier prey. Moments pass before the turtle emerges slowly from the safety of its shell once again. First the head, then a leg or two, and finally everything back where it was. The turtle, which is lying upside down from the ordeal, slowly pushes itself with one leg, flips itself back right side up, and continues on his journey. The Indian man, who has become so engrossed in this drama taking place before him, has lowered the gun from his head as he continues to watch. The turtle comes to a log. The man looks on, expecting the turtle to find some way to go around this barrier, but the turtle just slowly, patiently climbs over the log and flips down on the other side of it. As the man glances down at the gun in his hand, the wetness in his eyes swells. As he looks back out the window, the turtle has disappeared.Electronic Journal: To print this article select pages 3-12. TOC

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