TPC-Journal-V4-Issue4

The Professional Counselor \Volume 4, Issue 4 411 discrimination. Super Nanny used deflection and planned ignoring. All Things Rural used humor. Putting Out Fires and The Pastor’s Wife used limit setting. While Curtin and Hargrove (2010) promoted overall administrative and supervisory support for rural mental health professionals, it is the current author’s belief that such encouragement can prove additionally important regarding ethical concerns. Furthermore, Endacott et al. (2006) advocated that licensing boards differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable boundary crossings for rural mental health counselors and develop corresponding guidelines for protection when such occurrences happen. Bushy and Carty (1994) found limited training regarding rural mental health practice. Inevitably, counseling training programs have an urban orientation toward the counseling profession (Bushy & Carty, 1994). Ellis et al. (2009) recommend specialized training to meet the unique needs of rural mental health counselors. Training areas of particular importance include telesupervision, social justice advocacy, and managing inevitable dual relationships and breaches in confidentiality. In light of this study’s findings, optimism remains for this growing area of mental health counseling. All four participants were able to glean meaning despite extra responsibilities, isolation, ethical hardships and unavailable resources. It is clear these four rural mental health counselors are able to transcend tremendous obstacles. Indeed, “small but mighty” is a fitting description for this specialized group of mental health professionals. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The author reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Bambling, M., Kavanagh, D., Lewis, G., King, R., King, D., Sturk, H., . . . Bartlett, H. (2007). Challenges faced by general practitioners and allied mental health services in providing mental health services in rural Queensland. Australian Journal of Rural Health , 15 , 126–130. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1584.2007.00866.x Boyd, C., Francis, K., Aisbett, D., Newnham, K., Sewell, J., Dawes, G., & Nurse, S. (2007). Australian rural adolescents’ experiences of accessing psychological help for a mental health problem. Australian Journal of Rural Health , 15 , 196–200. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1584.2007.00884.x Bushy, A., & Carty, L. (1994). Rural practice? Considerations for counsellors with clients who live there. Guidance & Counseling , 9 (5), 16–25. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Curtin, L., & Hargrove, D. S. (2010). Opportunities and challenges of rural practice: Managing self amid ambiguity. Journal of Clinical Psychology , 66 , 549–561. doi:10.1002/jclp.20687 Curtis, A. C., Waters, C. M., & Brindis, C. (2011). Rural adolescent health: The importance of prevention services in the rural community. The Journal of Rural Health , 27 , 60–71. doi:10.1111/j.1748-0361.2010.00319.x Ellis, A. R., Konrad, T. R., Thomas, K. C., & Morrissey, J. P. (2009). County-level estimates of mental health professional supply in the United States. Psychiatric Services , 60 , 1315–1322. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.60.10.1315. Endacott, R., Wood, A., Judd, F., Hulbert, C., Thomas, B., & Grigg, M. (2006). Impact and management of dual relationships in metropolitan, regional and rural mental health practice. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry , 40 , 987–994.