Teaching Client Counseling in the Shadow of Homelessness

Working with clients at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness teaches personal and professional humility like few other experiences in law school or the practice of law. Yet such sensitive work also provides an opportunity for law students to develop both a keener understanding of their own professional identity—with its capacities and limitations—and critical counseling skills. This essay draws upon experiences gained in three distinct law school projects that work with clients at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness. After providing a brief overview of each project, the essay will explore methods used for training and supervising students during their counseling sessions, as well as techniques used for facilitating feedback and debriefing with students.

The essay concludes by encouraging other instructors to include counseling housing-insecure clients into their courses, whether they teach a doctrinal or experiential class, given the benefits that accrue to students and clients alike.