• What issues do you imagine will be most challenging for you as a counselor-in-training? Why?
After reading the different studies, so many thoughts run through my mind. My main issues that concern me the most were: balancing a full- time job, the fast pace of learning the course material, and knowing that counseling is never a cut and dry matter. I have always been the type of person to think way ahead. Since the beginning of the course, I think about what it will be like after graduation and working as a mental health counselor. I worry about developing a good relationship with my all my clients. A relationship is based on trust and support. I hope I can maintain my welcoming personality. Although, I am known for being an easy person to talk to; however, the perception of seeing a counselor is not a positive outlook. When people say, “I think you need to see a counselor”, the individual feels like they cannot fix their problem. They feel like it is embarrassing to pay a person to
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Counseling is a career that takes everything in the client’s personal life into consideration to help solve the core issue(s) that is affecting the individual. On the other hand, social work looks a greater picture how individual are viewed and integrated into society and the way that the society affects them. Social work focus on advocating or managing a group of individuals that share similar situations. Lastly, psychology observe any disorder or disease that an individual may have. Psychology tends to focus on research base on several of factors in that society. Although, all three professions aim to help individuals in difficult situations, they each go about it in a completely different
Establishing a theoretical counseling orientation is an important step in developing professional identity. Theories provide counselors with explanations of human nature, help with conceptualizing clients’ problems and deliver procedural guidance in predicting clients’ change. Contemporary counselor is expected to be integrative and eclectic, drawing inspiration from many approaches. It is also my hope to synthesize a variety of concepts and a diversity of strategies from different theories and integrate them into a coherent, comprehensive perspective.
I know as I further my education in the counseling field my philosophy of counseling will change. For myself, I feel that I am still young and learning about myself and my surroundings. In my eyes to be suitable to help others I need to continue to grow as a person myself both professionally and mentally. I want to be able to move forward and develop new distinctions and aspects to my philosophy of counseling as time goes on. I hope to continue my growth in understanding of what it means to be a good therapist or counselor by using good theories and techniques to help future clients.
I have wanted to be a counselor since my freshmen year of high school and in the counseling field there are many specialties that I can focus on. I am fairly certain that I want to specialize in helping people with substance abuse and their families. I have always focused my studies, interests, and work on things that will help me in this field and I have a lot of qualities that help to enhance me in my eventual career. There are difficulties when I get to practice also like what people perceive as correct counseling style, challenges with my gender and race, and finally creating my own counseling style and plans.
To be a licensed mental health counselor a person must have a Masters Degree in counseling or other related field. The program must consist of 60 semester hours and 1000 hours of university sponsored clinical or internship experience. The degree program should be certified by CACREP. A CACREP certified program insures that the program meets examination requirements for licensure. Once completed, one must have two years of supervision and pass national or state examinations to obtain licensure.
Ethical issues in a counseling practice lay the foundation of a therapist in practice. Ethics are at the center of how the counseling process functions and operates in a successful manner for the clients who seek help in such a setting. In order for the counseling profession to be ethical and hold professional recognition, there are many facets that need to be examined and outlined to make sure all counselors and practitioners are functioning at the highest level and withholding their duties required by the counseling profession. The first introduction so to speak of the area of ethics also happens to be one of the first steps in counseling, which is the informed consent. The informed consent provides the basis of what happens or will be happening in a counseling setting and serves to inform the client to their rights, responsibilities, and what to expect. Most importantly, the informed consent is in place for the client’s benefit. It also is important to understand that culture and environment play a role in the treatment of a client and how theories can positively or negatively impact this treatment. Therapists need to understand how to work within the context of a theory while being able to understand the individual in their own environment. Although theories are put into place to serve as a framework, there are also alternative ways to approach counseling, one example being evidence-based practice. Such an approach is very specific, which presents a series of solutions for counseling as a whole, but also brings forth many problems. Every approach or theory introduces ethical concerns that need to be taken into consideration by the entire counseling community and how each can positively and negatively affect clients and the pr...
Development of counselor competence is continuous and ongoing throughout a counselor’s career, from training to retirement. Competence is defined by R. Epstein and Hundert (2002) as “the habitual and judicious use of communication, knowledge, technical skills, clinical reasoning, emotions, values, and reflections in daily practice for the benefit of the individual and community being served”. A systematic method and model for considering what competence is and means was proposed by Rodolfa et al. in 2005. Incorporated in this model are several foundational and functional competency areas relevant to understanding a counselor’s competency activities. Also important for a competent counselor is the maintenance of knowledge and skills through continuing education, a requirement of all states for license renewal and license continuance (Houser and Thoma, 2013, p. 134). Discussion of what is meant by foundational and functional competencies
Hage, S. M. (2003). Reaffirming the unique identity of counseling psychology: Opting for the "Road less traveled by." The Counseling Psychologist, 31, 555-563.
Values, Morals, and Beliefs are components that play a role in an individual’s self-identity. The establishment of these components shape human nature, behavior, and the development of an individual’s purpose. The basis of these fundamentals has contributed to my desire to become a counselor. This paper will discuss my views of human nature, factors of behavior changes, goals of therapy, the roles of a therapist, and the counseling approaches that I chose to incorporate in a practice.
The counseling session began with the introductions where I introduced myself as the counselor and later introduced my client. This stage is important in any counseling session since it is the time of exploration and focusing according to Gerard Egan as quoted by Wright (1998) in his essay on couselling skills. It is in this session that I was able to establish rapport and trust with my client in order to come up with a working and fruitful relationship with him. During this stage I made use of skills like questioning, where I would pose a question directly to my client, sometimes I would choose to just listen to what the client wanted to speak out while in some instances I would be forced to paraphrase the question if I felt the client did not understand the question I had asked previously. There were also other times when I would reflect through silence. During such a period, I got time to study the client and the information he had given. This being a difficult area, since some clients may not be able to volunteer information to you as the counselor, I decided to assure the client of confidentiality of any information he was willing to share with me with a few exceptions which I also told him about. Being open to him about the only times the information may not be confidential was part of my building rapport and establishing trust with him. I therefore, decided to ask the client what information he wanted to share with me and lucky enough he was ready to speak to me about different issues that he was going through.
A mental health counselor develops a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families and groups to accomplish mental health and career goals. Helping others to accomplish their goals and listening to various stories of hardship have always played a part in my life. Stories of others have helped me get through rough times, and so did my own personal stories do the same for others. My story may help save a life tomorrow. It is a rewarding career path that one may enjoy which requires excellent communication skills and a commit between each other.
The counselor’s objective is to identify the problem of the client and plan out the method of helping the client overcome the problem. The most rewarding part of being a counselor is the ability to make a difference in people’s lives. In private practice, there is a constant push to become more skilled at helping so that clients will refer others to you for help. It is also important to follow up with the client about their well-being even after treatment has ended to ensure that they are still living a healthy and stress-free life. The client must make time for all scheduled sessions with the counselor for best results of treatment. If we don’t express our feelings during counseling sessions, the hurt and frustration behind the situation will build up, and once the client releases, it may trigger other situations and bring on severe mental health
In this part of the assignment, I will be reviewing the strengths and weaknesses that were shown when I was using counselling skills on my client. I believe that there were more strengths when I was showing counselling skills compared to the weaknesses that there were.
Please explain some of the ethical considerations needed to develop, manage, and conclude a group. (25 points)
It is imperative to study counseling theories when beginning field based work. Counseling theories provide a foundation to be able to learn and develop my own techniques. Some ideas that exemplify the significance of counseling theories are; research, application of theories, and case studies.
A study performed in 1992, reported approximately 3,400,000 youth had failed to complete high school and were not enrolled in high school (Starr 1998). This statistic is based on the United States where job competition has greatly increased due to technology. Many of these student lacked the support and training necessary to succeed in today’s society. Currently in every high school across the nation, there is a person responsible for offering support and training to the youth of America. Available for all students is a guidance counselor. Counselors within the high school setting play an influential role in the forming of post high school goals through the planning of numerous activities.