Influences of My Personal Counseling Philosophy

Having pursued employment opportunities that allowed me to make a positive difference on the lives of the less fortunate, the Counselling Psychology course at University of East London is an obvious field that will allow me to continue these desires. Ultimately, this course allows me to change the lives of people and obtain my goals.The course prepares me for employment as a professional clinician, and grants me the ability to continue the promotion of well-being.

According to the American Counseling Association (ACA) website the organization’s mission is to help society by offering well trained professional counselors. In the process, assisting counselors develop into the contingent professional’s in which society can depend upon, at the same time stimulating human self-worth and diversity. When counselors are trained in graduate school the aspects that goes into becoming a professional counselor, is they equipped with a vast amount of knowledge. Some of the basics include how to work with diverse populations, acknowledging their own biases, how to advocate for the client who is among an oppressed population, congruency with their clients, empathic listening and communication skills, knowing when to refer a client to the appropriately trained counselor and many more. All of these elements and more are just some of the tools, professional counselors are required in order maintain the standards the American Counseling Association’s mission statement entails.

The philosophy that underlies the counseling profession is unique among mental health professionals. According to Remley & Herlihy (2014), the philosophy is made up of four components. First, counselor 's view mental health challenges through a positive, wellness-oriented lens. The primary goal of the wellness model is for the client to achieve the highest degree of mental health possible. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers follow the medical model of mental health. The goal of these clinicians is to cure the client’s illness, which differs drastically from counselor’s view of clients.

A. My practical view of the philosophy of the counseling profession is that each session is a journey of self-exploration by the client, meant to increase his/her level of self-understanding and self-awareness.

Over the last 100 years, the underpinning concepts in the fields of psychology and counseling were wrought. Within this period, these concepts have transformed and evolved from somewhat crude conceptions of the psyche toward more holistic interventions and approaches. As the profession continues to move forward, adaptations of the original theorists regarding the nature of man and the development of personality continue to emerge. These adaptations, along with the integration of new concepts and ideas, continue to contribute to the field. The author describes his view of man and human nature, personality development, and explores potential implications for counseling.

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.

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.

As a counseling student, it is very important to formulate a counseling theory tailored to ones’ own personality and beliefs. A counselor may choose a single theory to model when practicing therapy or pick and choose components and techniques from various theories, otherwise known as eclecticism. No theory is considered right or wrong. Understanding the different therapeutic approaches are important to effective counseling, however, counselors must also understand their own personal value, view of human nature, human behavior, counseling techniques and the purpose and goals of counseling. Understanding these components along with the different theoretical approaches will provide the counselor with a 9 knowledge of their own counseling, orientation and is essential to not only the productivity of counseling but the growth of the counselor as well.

One goal for the therapist is to determine what the structure is, and then decide whether it is problematic for the family or not. According to Minuchin (1974), “Family structure is the invisible set of functional demands that organizes the ways in which family members interact” (Minuchin p. 51). Additionally, Gladding (2007) suggested:

Earning a Master’s in Guidance and Counseling would be the ideal next step to fulfill my goals becoming a youth counselor. The program offered at The College of New Rochelle is a perfect match or my career and educational aspirations. I hope to refine my knowledge counseling therapies and techniques, learn more about disorders and associated symptoms, develop effective interviewing skills, and sharpen my ability to work as a professional in youth counseling.

As a counselor, being aware of the theoretical approaches and which ones best suit your perspective on human nature, complications, and change for an individual is vital. Not only is understanding the approaches important, but the counselor’s own values and personal philosophy are equally fundamental for the counselor to do their job efficiently.

This paper explores my counseling theory. It looks at the way I view human nature and the development of personality through the lens of an elementary school counselor. This paper looks at the development of psychopathology and the goals of therapy using fundamental cognitive behavioral theory (CBT) and techniques used in CBT and person centered therapy (PCT). Researched is used to advocate for my use of child center play therapy (CCPT) along with taking a look at reality therapy (RT) for use with the older elementary students . I conclude with a look at spiritual influences on my future counseling career. Throughout the paper I reference the American School Counselors Association (ASCA) and its national model to help tie in the theories and practices with the guidelines of being a school counselor.

My personal philosophy of life and my philosophy of counseling has been deeply affected by my life experiences as a young child and also as an adult. I am fortunate that my life has been a good life and I consider myself to be fortunate to have to have good parents and many loving family members. I do not recall having any events in my childhood that I would consider to be abusive or neglectful on the part of my family, and for that I consider myself to be lucky. I know several people who were abused as a child and it seems to have impacted them in many aspects of their lives even into adulthood.

Adler’s theory of individual psychology focuses mainly on viewing the world through the client’s perspective. Yet, this concept represents a major task for therapists who just want to work with this theory, as therapists will be doing a comprehensive assessment known as the family constellation for every client that comes into their office for therapy. Overall, I think that this assessment could be very useful if you are trying to get a general perspective of the client’s major area of success, failures, and how they pursue life. However, at the same time, this assessment also has a disadvantage, and that is that it is a very long questionnaire to fill out just in one session.

This quarter’s course of “theories of counseling” felt like a whirlwind of theories, theorist, therapeutic techniques, and proper application of theoretical framework to help counsel students. As the course continued each new theory and therapy style I learned about seemed more appealing and useful than the last. In deciding which therapy styles I would favor using I have to take into account the general demographic of the students and communities I wish to work in. I plan to work with middle school to high school students that are from urban low social economic status and are recent arrivals to the country. Some of the characteristics of obstacles these students and families face daily are, single parent home/income, past/recent trauma, history of low family education level and legal trouble. I am fortunate to live in the community and society I want to help and that I have grown up in. I am equally blessed to be raised and have the opportunity to give back to my community and society the best way I know how by giving back in a positive manner.