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Introduction to the special issue on Medicare Inclusion of Counselors: Preparing the Counseling Workforce to Serve Older Adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telebehavioral health offers a unique opportunity to expand access to mental health services for older clients by addressing systemic barriers that often render mental health care inaccessible in later life. Although health interventions facilitated by technology, including telebehavioral health approaches, proliferated at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, little guidance exists for counselors seeking to provide such services to clients in later life. In this manuscript, we describe barriers to accessing mental health services, how telebehavioral health services can address these barriers, and practical consideration for delivering telebehavioral health approaches for counselors who work with older clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The framework of intersectionality has become a mainstay of counseling research and practice, given its theoretical underpinnings in social justice (see Chan et al., 2018; Chan & Erby, 2018; Mitchell & Butler, 2021). Using the multicultural and social justice counseling competencies to decolonize counseling practice: The important roles of theory, power, and action. When being "essential" illuminates disparities: Counseling clients affected by COVID-19. The four articles in this special issue highlight timely topics on advancing the science and practice of counseling as a developmental approach. [Extracted from the article]

Using quantitative content analysis, we categorized 76 out of 154 articles (49.35%) published in Adultspan Journal from 1999 to 2019 as focused on gerontological counseling. This study explored publication trends for these articles and compared results with a larger study (Fullen et al., 2019) on publication trends for gerontological counseling across all counseling‐related journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand the impact of the Medicare mental health coverage gap, the authors analyzed survey data provided by 1,859 members of the American Counseling Association using a conventional qualitative content analysis. One overarching theme, direct impact of Medicare policy on the counseling profession, is presented, along with 3 thematic categories: emotional impact on providers, economic toll on providers, and negative influence on profession's credibility. Implications for the counseling profession are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resulting from the assumption that older adulthood is a time of decline, there is a dearth of research on the application of wellness counseling with older adults. This article reviews the literature on wellness and older adults, synthesizes wellness with adult development theory, and describes wellness counseling with older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicare reimbursement for counselors would expand older adults' access to mental health services and increase counselors' professional opportunities. To enhance advocacy efforts, the author reviews Medicare's current role in meeting older adults' mental health needs, examines the program's unique political development, and identifies contemporary values that may influence Medicare's future. Implications for counselor advocacy efforts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]