Multiculturalism In Military Counseling

The purpose of this paper is to review my professional identity as a Marriage and Family Therapist and to reflect on my developing beliefs within my selection of the counseling profession. My professional identity is beginning to be developed throughout my education with Liberty University. I will address the Marriage and Family Therapist professional counselor role and how this position differs from social workers, clinical psychologists, and professional counselors. By reviewing the differences in counseling positions, I will be able to express the differences from my previous experiences with pastoral counseling, and outline what my

In 1981, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs was established (CACREP, 2016b). Before its official establishment it went through challenges. These challenges were for CACREP to be an accrediting agency for masters- and doctoral-level programs and establishing a Commission on Standards Implementation (Sweeney, 1992). CACREP has six standards for which current and future accreditation programs must follow (CACREP, 2016c). The purpose of these standards are to have are able to define counseling and distinguish themselves from other behavioral health fields. Students and programs receive benefits from CACREP accreditation. Students who attend a CACREP-accredited program received the benefit of being taught by faculty members with a counseling degree from a CACREP-accredited program, core courses for the counseling profession, and later become faculty member in a CACREP-accredited program (CACREP, 2016d, 2016e). Also, programs receive the benefit of institutional support, faculty members with one set responsibility, and continuous evaluation (CACREP, 2016d, 2016g). Since CACREP creation, it has overcome many challenges. Now with a changing society, CACREP must move towards licensure portability and unified counseling profession.

How does one develop a professional identity? What characteristics are need to be considered to professional? The world is full of individual who aspire to reach a certain level of professional identity and counselors are no different. As a professional counselor, we are called to help clients to deal with various issues that include stress management, addictions, marital problems, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, self-esteem problems, etc. The insights and information that we provide to our clients during their sessions will have enabled them to make positive choices and bring about changes that are crucial in assisting them to realize their future goals. At the end of the counseling sessions, we anticipate that the client would have been helped to rectify or prevent conflicts. In an environment where an infinite number of problems are presented and solutions developed, counselors face countless ethical dilemmas. This paper briefly describes how I plan to create my professional identity as a professional counselor.

Capuzzi and Gross (2013) say there is a continual struggle for professional identity. One issue is whether counseling will develop as a united profession or as separate specialties. Other issues are multicultural counseling and social justice issues also, the organizational structure of the American Counseling Association (ACA). Remley and Herlihy (2015) address confusion about accreditation of specialties and varying state licensure and certification requirements for the Council for Accreditation and of Counseling and Counseling Related Educational Programs

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

1. What is the philosophy of the counseling profession? How has this changed over time? Why is this important to study?

“Counseling’s focus on development, prevention, wellness, and treatment makes it attractive to those seeking healthy life-stage transitions and productive lives” (pearson). In the early 1900’s, there was a movement within the counseling profession that centered on promoting the prevention and the objects that provided purpose in a person’s life. The idea was to help individuals avoid problems and “focus on wellness, development, mindfulness, meaningfulness, and remediation of mental disorders” (pearson). This was the beginning of one of the three philosophies that comprises the key philosophies of counseling.

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

This paper will provide the reader with a reflection of my professional identity. This will focus on the role of a professional counselor and the differences between a professional counselor and other related professionals. It will also integrate how religious and spiritual beliefs can impact professional counseling. It will summarize my beliefs and values and what I plan to do so that I will not impose my beliefs on clients. Also, I will reflect on what I have learned during this course and how it will impact my future as a counselor.

On a bright and crisp morning of March 25, 2015, I interviewed Joni Roche and learned what a typical day was like for this Professional Counselor. Mrs. Roche has owned her own practice for nearly eighteen years and has truly loved every single part of it. Mrs. Roche has received a Master of the Arts degree and is a Licensed Profession Counselor and a Nationally Credited Counselor. During my interview with Mrs. Roche, I truly learned so many things from different counseling techniques, what it is like to have a private practice and the good and bad things counseling comes with that people do not necessarily speak about.

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

It takes very special people to want to make a difference in people’s lives, to want to help them to be better. Some people seek to become counselors after overcoming a most important life challenge. The individuals that seek the profession of marriage and family therapy do not think of this work as a job or 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 to counseling profession (An Invitation to Counseling Work).

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)

Although professional standards were promoted throughout the 20th century in a wide range of settings (Centore & Milacci, 2008), it has only within the last quarter century or so that the counseling profession established a formal entity called the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) in 1981 for this purpose (Adams, 2006). A year later, the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates (NBCC) was established in 1982 to provide accreditation standards for counselor education as well as a method of assessing educational knowledge (Adams, 2006). In this regard, Juhnke (2009) reports that, "The NBCC was established through the American Counseling Association (ACA) in 1982. The reason for NBCC's original existence

After reading the assigned text and reflecting on my experience in practicum, I often wonder if I tend to swap roles as a counselor and a coach during sessions. I say this because in counseling, the counselor tends to focus on the past and things that have happened to influence their client’s present behavior. However, sometimes I find myself helping the client to create goals for their future based on where they are in the present. Although, Collins (2009) explains how counselor are typically the “experts who treat patients, provides healing, and directs” (Collins, 2009, p. 16).