Counselor Advocacy

The American Counseling Association website defines professional counseling as “a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.” As the counseling profession has grown and the demand has increased over the years there has been some confusion of what the difference is between counseling and psychotherapy. Sharf (2012) reports, often times

As the standards of the counseling profession are continuously being shaped, I desire to play a role in the educating

Counseling is defined as ”the use of therapeutic strategies to help clients address personal concerns and mental health issues” (Nystul, 2016). Pursuing counseling as a career involves many years of formal study and certification or licensure. After receiving licensure to practice as a professional counselors it is a requirement to maintain involvement and certification in certain associations in order to hold your license. These association often require further education and/or professional practice in order to maintain membership in these associations. It is quite obvious that counseling requires a large amount of commitment and passion in order to pursue it as a career and maintain a title as a counselor. I have conducted an interview with a professional counselor in order to further understand the experience of being a counselor. The interview that I conducted explores the requirements of maintaining and receiving a counselling career, the experience of being a counselor, and what characteristics or skills a professional may have. The Individual who agreed to the interview was a counselor by the name of Susie Facio. Susie Facio, through this interview, will be giving us a look at what influenced her to become a counselor, what her work entails on a day to day basis, and what qualities and skills she has acquired in order to become a successful counselor.

I believe counseling is a collaborative partnership between client and counselor. Furthermore, this collaborative partnership is built from trust and acceptance of both client and counselor. I hope in conjunction with clients to understand the issues and concerns so to help them tap into their wisdom, creativity, and strengths to meet their current challenges. I believe in a comprehensive perspective through which clients can better comprehend themselves in the framework that our thinking about events can lead to emotional and behavioral upset. Moreover, counselors are to provide a safe environment for clients to explore their challenges and identify ways to move differently in overcoming these challenges.

Over the past two years, I have been working as an ACA Patient Advocate at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Throughout the course of the week, I interact with patients who are affected by age associated illnesses. At this community health center which serves a large, and indigenous uninsured population, my specific role as a patient advocate is to intervene, assist, manage and fight for my clients. I also provide assistance in interpreting and clarifying healthcare coverage. Lastly, I encourage my patients to engage in frenetic participation in the overall health insurance enrollment process. In so doing, I am ensuring that the health care needs of the public are met.

The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a revolutionary moment in the history of healthcare in the United States. However, it left a significant amount of confusion and skepticism about just how the act would be implemented. Not only were constituents left baffled about what exactly the ACA meant for their individual coverage, it also created entire new health care exchanges that the vast majority of people had little to no knowledge about beforehand. With so many questions surrounding the ACA, individuals needed, and actively sought out, answers from those in positions of power and influence with regards to the new healthcare policies. A town hall meeting

It has been six years since the Affordable Care Act has been implemented into the United States healthcare system. As the pieces and provisions of this monumental federal statute become understood and executed, it is transforming the demand for care. Prior to the ACA, a significant number of Americans were marginalized and unable to obtain coverage. This system was faced increasing healthcare costs, placing greater financial strain to everyday Americans, businesses, and public health insurance systems. The ACA did not only help ensure health coverage for all (almost

In 2010, The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The law was established in order to address essential issues within the US health system such as the high and rising cost of care, inadequate access to health insurance and health services and the diminished quality of care.1 Although this law was intended to help millions of Americans, many Americans are being effected by this same law. As a future physical therapist, there are many issues with this law that are bothersome in contemplating my future in a small outpatient privately owned clinic.

Affordable Care Act (ACA), arguably the most comprehensive health care reform of the American medical system in several years. The act alters the scope of the uninsured in the United States, requires that most, if not all, residents have health insurance, expands public insurance and subsidizes private insurance coverage, generates additional revenue from new taxes, and reorganizes spending under the nation’s largest health insurance plan, Medicare. The ACA seeks to establish a drastically different health care model for the United States in the years to come, if fully implemented.

Where will I go when I’m sick? Who can I rely on, my government or myself? Will I have to choose between paying bills and the health of my family? The United States of America’s government’s Affordable Care Act is attempting to remove that question from every citizen’s mind. The ACA will allow lifesaving and non-emergency medical treatments to be at the fingertips of every tax paying American. It will make healthcare a right, not just a luxury. Although these may seem like outstanding qualities, is it really all that it is made out to be? “The Affordable Care Act (ACA), officially called The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), is a US law that reforms both the healthcare and health insurance industries in America. The law increases the quality, availability, and affordability of private and public health insurance to over 44 million uninsured Americans through its many provisions which include new regulations, taxes, mandates, and subsidies (PAR 2, Obamacare Facts).” With that being said, I will discuss the controversies seen from both parties in relation to the Affordable Care Act, and bring forth many important factors such as: the benefits and consequences, the cost of the ACA and the coverage actually received, and the future of the Health Care System in a world with Obamacare. The purpose of this paper is to give information in an unbiased manner in relation to the Affordable Care Act.

When attempting to identify as a professional counselor, it is important to understand the basic elements of counseling as it pertains to individual specializations. The wellness model and the key philosophies of the counseling profession: wellness, resilience and prevention are examined. The ability to articulate the roles and characteristics to understand how they relate to the different professional roles is

While it is important to understand the social injustices that many clients face, it is also critical to know exactly why these injustices occur. It is also important that counselors attempt to change the structures that are responsible for the oppression of mental health clients. This social justice movement is sometimes referred to as professional counseling’s fifth force (Ratts, D’Andrea, & Arredondo, 2004)—in other words advocacy counseling.

The beginning section of the book describes the challenges counselors face in dealing with clients. (1). Moving from Two Areas of Competence to Three (2). Blurred Personal-Professional Distinctions (3).Expanded Definitions of Training (4). Confronting Dominant Views of Mental Health (5). Establishing a Scientific Base (6). Defining Relevant Ethical Standards (McMinn, 2011). After mapping out the challenges facing interdisciplinary integration, McMinn first divides his renowned book into eight rewarding chapters including summary and reflection following each of them. He also uses vignettes in order to ask his readers”What if this Happens” scenarios (McMinn, 2011)

Counseling is a relatively young profession when compared to other mental health professions. In my brief personal and professional experience with the field, I have come to define counseling as a process of engagement between two people, both of whom are bound to change through a collaborative process that involves both the therapist and the client in co-constructing solutions to concerns.

Advocacy is one of the major roles for professional school counselors. The concept of advocacy is the tradition of professional counselors, but the role of advocacy in school counseling was not valued until the recent times. The purpose of this paper is to give a reflection about the article on school counseling in order to show and describe the advocacy competencies of school counselors. The article was written by Jerry Trusty and Duane Brown. The article was set to provide a structure that helps to conceptualize advocacy in order to develop advocacy competencies.