Naturally, human life is characterized with a multiplicity of difficult time and often various moments of frustrations. According to careers in psychology.org (2017), most adults usually have to deal with a diversity of things, including paying day-to-day bills and balancing family and career life. Such stressful situations are often hard to get through and awfully devastating for some. The inability to cope with such stress in healthy manner, often leads to mental and emotional sprain. In such cases, mental health counseling is used to pull some individuals from their mental turmoil. Mental health counseling professionals offer counseling, psychological support, and guidance to people with problem coping mentally or emotionally. This paper …show more content…
One thing I know for sure is that once I have completed all requirements, I will be credentialed. I will have a professional title and a set of initials after my name. While most often the title will be a Licensed Professional Counselor, some states do use a diversity of other titles. Some states within the United States will require mental health counselors to hold a lower license while completing their experience …show more content…
Quite importantly, the advent of contemporary technology has brought convenience to the mental health counseling profession. Unlike before, mental health counseling and associated therapies can take place anytime and anywhere and are a crucial ideal for patients with in-person appointments problems. It also allows for anonymity, where patients use a diversity of social network platforms to access mental health care services without necessarily involving others. On the side of patients, technology has reduced the cost of care. Some of the commonly used Smartphone apps are free or comparatively cheaper than conventional care. Similarly, the advent of technology, particularly the internet and myriads of social media platforms, has allowed mental health counselors to serve many people at once. Such an attribute will allow me to offer mental health care services to many patients, including those in remote areas. In addition, technology will allow me to offer 24-hour service to my
The paper will summarize the roles and responsibilities of a behavioral health counselor and provide current models of wellness and resiliency. Behavioral health counselors must be able to function in a face-paced primary care environment.
It is a privilege to interview veteran therapists who are exiting the counseling arena after a long career in the profession. I was honored to shadow Lea Keylon, a seasoned counselor, who on the eve of retirement set aside time for a student interview. The enlightening interview opened my understanding to the importance of proper diagnostic coding for insurance reimbursements, the financial struggles of private practice, and the poignant effect of forensic counseling on therapist (L. Keylon, personal communication, March 26, 2010). Lea was eager to share her counseling accounts; however, the excitement of retirement planning could be seen in her demeanor. Private practice requires self-discipline, constant research for legislative changes, peer support and consultation, time management, tenacity, and patience. The encounter with Lea impressed the importance to surround myself with colleagues that are enthusiastic about learning and continuing education opportunities, to hire assistance for time-consuming administrative task, and adequately assess a proper caseload that will sustain my counseling practice and without avoid counselor burn out (L. Keylon, personal communication, March 26, 2010).
Ethical issues are common in the field of mental health, and so mental health counselors rely heavily on sound ethical decision-making to navigate difficult decisions that affect the client’s wellbeing, law, and the counselor’s own liability. Using ethical decision-making models, counselors can make better decisions, however, there are situations where other factors outside of the counselor’s control can influence these decisions. These factors can include the education and experience of the counselor as well as their current emotions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of emotions, both positive and negative, on ethical decisions.
Professional identity is the result of a developmental process that facilitates individuals to reach an understanding of their profession in conjunction with their own self-concept, enabling them to articulate their role, philosophy, and approach to others within and outside of their chosen. As counselors engage in this individually unique growth process, it is hoped that the counseling profession as a whole will be strengthened as its practitioners and educators reach a heightened sense of purpose and a synergistic collective identity, an identity which is still developing within the profession. The term collective identity refers to having shared goals, resources, and aspirations for the profession. In order for individuals to build a personal relationship with their chosen occupation, it is important for a clear foundation to be established. To build this foundation, a professional philosophy must be constructed which clarifies and distinguishes one’s profession from other similar vocations; in this instance, other mental health fields. In counseling, this foundation is thought to be created by establishing clear professional expectations through licensure, streamlined educational programming, professional organizations, and ethical standards that build on an underlying professional philosophy. This article will review current literature and research on professional identity in the counseling field. This review will then be presented in relation to the external evaluation of success within counseling and counselor education and how this evaluation is influenced and internally understood through one’s gender role beliefs and associated societal expectations.
Sometimes individuals consider becoming counselors after overcoming some major life challenge such as addiction or a history of bad relationships. Perhaps an individual has encountered a particularly effective counselor or therapist and has a desire to follow in those footsteps. Others may have had a bad experience with counseling and concluded that it can be done better. People do not think of this work so much as a job, or even as a career. More typically, a constellation of life experiences that demand explanation and a sense that others seek one out for assistance and emotional sustenance become driving forces leading one toward the counseling profession” (An invitation to). .
The societal issue that I have selected is that of community inclusion for those people suffering with mental health issue and their ability to successfully integrate into the community, after years of institutional living. Two cornerstone of community building is movement beyond problem solving toward changing conditions, and the people affected should play a major part in improving the conditions (Homan, 2011). For those who are affected by mental illness, it is key that they are given resources necessary to live and thrive in their new environment.
Mental Health is a controversial topic among many ethnic and cultural groups all over the world. Some choose to ignore it altogether, leave it alone or consider it taboo, whereas others choose to make it important to focus on in their communities or families, since it is very important towards the growth of the body and self. It is up to the individual, regardless, to get help and assistance for any of their problems if they prevail and affect your everyday life. Self-esteem, anger, depression and stress are all very real things that we experience every day within our lives, or that we have all experienced ourselves at one point of time. To those who do not have any mental health problems or choose to ignore
Every year, about 42.5 million American adults (18.2 percent of the total adult population in the United States) suffer from some mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that mental illness refers to disorders generally characterized by dysregulation of mood, thought, and/or behavior. Mental illness refers to a broad scope of mental health conditions, disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and, addictive behaviors. A mental illness can cause misery and problems within everyday life encounters, such as school, work, or relationships. In most cases, symptoms
Russell, L., (2010), provides these statistics on mental health disorders; he stated that these are common occurrence in the United States, affecting some 44 million adults and 13.7 million children each year. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States and 80 percent to 90 percent of people who die by suicide suffered from a mental illness. While most mental health disorders are treatable with medication and other therapies, yet fewer than half of adults and only one-third of children with a diagnosable mental disorder receive treatment. Russell, L., (2010), noted that, under the Affordable Care Act and other recent legislation such as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, mental health disorders are covered but
Psychotherapy integration is best explained as an attempt to look beyond and across the dimensions of a single therapy approach to examine what one can learn from other perspectives and how one’s client’s can benefit from various ways of administering therapy (Corey, 2013). Research has shown that a variety of treatments are equally effective when administered by therapist who believe in them and client’s that accept them (Corey, 2013). Therefore, one of the best aspects of utilizing an integrative approach is that in most cases, if a therapist understands how and when to incorporate therapeutic interventions, they usually can’t go wrong. While integrating different approaches can be beneficial for the client, it is also important for the therapist
As a result if these ethics codes are not followed, legal action can be brought up against this counselor. Committing to clients is the first code of ethics which includes: “Primary Responsibility, Confidentiality, Dual/multiple relationships, Exploitive relationships, and counseling environments. “ Mental health counselors value objectivity and integrity in their commitment to understanding human behavior and they maintain the highest standards in providing mental health counseling services” ( https://amhca.site-ym.com/page/codeofethics). Establishing a relationship with the client opens up the floor in which she or he will be honest. S/he will be comfortable with speaking about the problem. The honesty of the client gives the counselor an ideal start of how the problem began. Under Ethic code C Assessment and diagnosis: Competent “Mental health counselors employ only
Mental Health Counselors help people in society who have mental or emotional disorders to deal with their disorder and hopefully, conquer them. Some of the duties these counselors do in order to conquer them are confront the mental and emotional problems (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014). They work with individuals, groups, families, and other professionals (“Mental Health Counselor,” n.d.). These counselors listen to their patients’ problems. In addition, counselors ask question to help patients to understand their problems. This also allows for the counselor to develop a plan to better the patients’ lives. The ultimate task of a mental health counselor is to promote mental health (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014).
Technology is known to help mental health because of how it can treat mental health issues. Joanna says “Some people ignore technology’s potential as both a tool for treating mental health issues and for improving the quality of people’s lives and promoting emotional well-being” (Rodriguez). There are now programmes to help with phobias and depression that help people cope with their difficulties. Although there are programs to help with mental illnesses, there are even more ways technology is causing these mental issues in people’s lives. Technology can be beneficial in acting like a “doctor”. People will use their phones to help with a personal problem. It is stated that “More than half of young people have used the Internet to find help for a personal problem. The vast majority - a whopping 94% - felt satisfied with the information they found online” (Hazel). Technology has such a large variety of things to help someone with personal problems. Technology is making it very convenient to deal with mental health, it is very beneficial in acting like a “doctor”. Even though technology can be like a “doctor” to someone helping with their problems, the internet is not always trustworthy and can cause someone to come across the wrong page creating even more problems. Going to seek help with
Today, the numbers of people with mental health issues are considerably high. The problem increases the national and global social and economic burdens as governments try to find means of empowering the people with the issue and solve the problem. Today, one in five adults in the United States has a mental health problem (“Mental Health Facts,” 2016). “Mental Health Facts” (2016) also states that the adults that received mental health services are about 60%. Only 50% of the youth with mental health issues received mental health services in the previous year. Further, mental health issues are also related to drug use and addiction. Of all the mental illnesses and disorders, depression affects the most people and has the biggest burden globally. Due to the increasing burden and the gap in service utilization, the mental health policy seeks to address several factors. Some of the key issues to address include early diagnosis of mental disorders, provision of appropriate and adequate intervention a particular problem, education and counseling for the family members, and research to help reduce the numbers and reverse the trend. Another key area of focus is the use of mass media to create awareness about mental health issues and help clear the
Motus, G. W. (2009). Introduction to Basic Counselling and Communication Skills: IOM Training Manual For Migrant Community Leaders and Community Workers. Geneva: International Organization for Migration.