Good morning everyone,
On Saturday, April 7, a fire broke out at Trump Tower in New York City. A 67-year old man died in the fire. The cause of the fire in the apartment building is unknown and an investigation is ongoing.
As the news broke that there was a fire in Trump Tower, several took to twitter to joke about the incident. In particular, a mental health counselor made several outlandish and disturbing comments. Jeffrey Guterman tweeted that he was ‘excited’ and ‘glad’ about the fire. Although Guterman also tweeted that he hoped no one was injured and later deleted all of his inflammatory remarks regarding the fire from his account, his behavior, as a professional mental health counselor, is revolting.
The American Mental Health Counselors Association and the clinical mental health counseling profession renounce Guterman’s comments. Regardless of one’s political views, we are all Americans. We should never ever rejoice in any harm or death to an individual and the location where the incident occurred.
Mental health counselors are compassionate, empathetic practitioners who want to make a significant difference in the lives of others. We support clients through difficult life experiences, help them with personal issues such as depression, promote healthy lifestyles, address individual stressors to restore mental health, and adhere to a strict ethical code.
Obviously, Guterman is not about these attributes. One bad apple does not define a profession -- one of high principles and standards such as the mental health counseling profession.
My best regards,