Mental Health Therapist Goals

This internship is 3000 clock-hours with at least 1,500 being direct client care (Texas State Board of Examiners, 2015). The intern hours may not be completed in less than 18 months and not longer than 5 years (Counseling licensure in Texas, 2015). After completing the internship, the person will apply to the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors for the LPC title (Counseling licensure in Texas, 2015). A LPC license must be renewed every two years. The person must complete 24 hours of continuing education credit and retake the Texas Jurisprudence examination every renewal period (Counseling licensure in Texas, 2015).

For instance, Mental Health counselors can work in family services, outpatient mental home, hospital, substance abuse centers, the government and many more. Obtaining a Mental Health Counseling degree will allow me to be more flexible because I will be able to work with all different types of people, dealing with differnt things. Another reason for obtaining this degree is because it is not your typical office job; everyday will be something different. Working in this field is a continually learning process.

The first step in developing any career is inspection of the educational requirements. According to the Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners (2016), a LPC in

According to the state of Florida to be licensed as a Mental Health Counselor there are certain requirements you must abstain. You are required to earn a graduate degree from a mental health counseling program that is accredited by CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs). There are eight core

Following graduation, I took a position as a Youth Counselor in a residential treatment center for adolescent sex offenders. Accepting this job was difficult as I had previously felt that sex offenders were the one population I would not want to work with. But I was pleased to find that I truly enjoyed the job. I learned to successfully work with a very difficult population and developed skills in conflict resolution, group therapy, and recreational therapy. This position helped me solidify and strengthen a strong belief that all people are worthy of respect, unconditional positive regard, and equality of opportunity.

A mental health counselor is a counseling professional, whose duties involves helping individuals cope with difficult life events, managing mental illnesses, and referring patients to additional resources that can help them. Before they can start counseling, they need to follow their states specific requires. For instance, in Louisiana, one has to obtain a master’s degree from an accredited program, have the required hours of supervised practice and coursework, and pass the National Counselor Examination to be licensed and certified. In addition to receiving a license in this field, an individual has to complete an addition 40 hours of continuing education every year to renew their license. The Mental Health Counseling program, offered at Capella, would satisfy most, if not all, of the licensure requirements in Louisiana.

Up to two to three years of work experience, internships and professional counselor outlook is a must. Internships are said to be the most important part on the path to becoming any sort of counselor. During these internships students are required to participate in assigned community group sessions, private-tutor individual sessions, present and organize group lessons, participate in student achievement activities and excel in mock/exit level interviews. By doing all this you will hopefully gain confidence in real a real life setting with a mentor constantly guiding you to the point that you no longer need them. Moreover it gives you a real life perspective of whether this career is for you or not while opening your eyes to your own abilities. And lastly after partaking in about two to three years under supervision, this gets you ready for the licensing exam (The National Counselor Examination or the “NCE”) which is a 200 question application based test that includes the entire curriculum and is timed for 4 hours exactly. The curriculum will test as following counseling issues, processes, assessments and diagnostics, professional development and consultation, professional practice, human growth and development, relationship work, group work, social and cultural diversity, research and evaluation, and ethics.

First Issue: The first life issue that would be a challenge for me is a client who has perpetuated abuse or has been neglectful to a child. The types of abuse that would be most challenging include physical and sexual abuse, albeit all forms of abuse have a negative and traumatic impact. I am aware that I hold a belief that adults must help the most vulnerable in society and I would need to put forth the effort to not allow my feelings and beliefs to interfere with my professional role.

1. Identify the hazards, identifying the biohazards by inspecting the workplace, talking with employees looking at the types of activities taking place within the setting

Texas counselor licensure requirements are reported to include completing all academic requirements and practicing under supervision to complete the three required years and 3,000 hours of post master's counseling experience stated to be inclusive of 1,500 hours of direct client contact. The supervision is then provided by a board approved LPC. The intern has only five years to complete their 3,000 hours and must successfully complete the National Counselor Examine (NCE) for licensure. The Texas Jurisprudence Exam is also required to be completed in order to obtain licensure. (Counselor Exam Prep, 2011)

There are a few agencies in the Durham Region that require support workers to be knowledgeable and educated in both the mental health and addiction field Durham Mental Health and Cornerstone Association are just two agencies. Having an integrated level of care is a fundamental component of these programs that are working with clients with addiction and mental health issues as this group of clients can be complex and can have different treatment needs.

Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors requires anyone who want a counselor’s license have a master’s degree between 2,000 and 4,000 hours of supervised clinical experience and pass the state exam as well a complete continuing education each year (DSHS, 2014).

When an individual chooses to pursue a life in the role of a counselor, there are a few items that must be established before one can move forward. These items include the field of counseling to practice, the location to practice in, and a college that offers the desired degree. Once this process has been completed, the next step would be for the individual to adhere to the states' requirements and began the application process to become certified or a licensed counselor. The process to become a counselor is technical as it requires practice and scope, a formal credentialing process, and training to ensure it is effective for clients, counselors, and service providers which will be outlined in these paragraphs.

Required coursework for certification includes 60 hours of providing supervised counseling of direct services to individuals and groups outside of the candidate's official internship/field experience working with individuals and groups (60 clock hours) (State certification requirements, 2012, American School Counselor).

Mental and emotional health can have interpersonal, and social impacts; I want to provide evidenced-based mental, emotional and behavioral health interventions within the context of families, communities and larger systems, to children and adolescents. My goal as a licensed counselor will be to develop a collaborative relationship where each client feels empowered to act as an expert in developing effective coping skills, manage anxiety, depression, navigate difficult life transitions, and enhance communication skills and relationships. Reflective practice and self-evaluation will be an integral part of my practice. This also means being able to set my experiences, values, privilege, beliefs and biases aside during counseling sessions and allowing the clients goals and needs to take precedence. In order to be well-rounded in my profession, my day-to-day functions will include, assessments, psychological testing, counseling, personality testing, teaching, treatment plans, referrals, coordinate services, case-management, client-family- community education, documentation,