My Journey Towards The 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.

According to Remley and Herlihy (2015), professional counselor identity is defined by the process of ascertaining the history and development of counseling related professions, articulating the roles and functions of counselors and related professions, describing the differences and similarities of counseling and other professions, participating in professional organizations, being knowledgeable about the legal and ethical issues in counseling, and advocating for clients and the profession.

When one thinks of a counselor, what ideas come to mind? To advise, to instruct, to counsel? My reaction to counseling in my early days in the profession was to receive guidance from a professional when I did not have the answers myself or when I felt “stuck” with a problem in my personal life that I felt I could not solve. What did I wish to get from seeing a counselor? The question depends on what aspect you are seeking guidance or counsel in your life. The question changed when I began to pursue a career in counseling. The question became “Why do I want to be a counselor? Who do I want to serve? What

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.

Dollarhide, C.T., Gibson, D.M., & Moss, J.M. (2010). Professional identity development: A grounded theory of transformational tasks of new counselors. Counselor Education & Supervision, 50.

“Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education and career goals” (Kaplan, Tarvydas, & Gladding, 2014). This definition comes from the 20/20 consensus that set out to come to an inclusive definition of the counseling field. Coming up with a profession wide definition of counseling helps unify, and better advocate for legislative needs of the field. My professional identity as a counselor is helping individuals process their problems and help them become a more autonomous fully self-actualized person. Knowing that the person coming to you for counseling is the best expert on themselves. Allows for a strong therapeutic alliance and the best possible

Through my work in counseling, I will aspire to be respectful of and sensitive to my client’s developmental needs and therapeutic goals. It is imperative for counselors to recognize that the counseling process can be intimidating for many clients. I will draw from a variety of

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.

Counseling is a tool that is widely used by many people. Merriam Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary defines counseling as advice and support that is given to people to help them deal with problems, and make important decisions. This paper examines the career of a Licensed Professional Counselor, the education requirements, certification and licensure levels or requirements, salary, and the future of this profession.

This semester has been emotionally, mentally and physically taxing; the topics (suicide, homicide, sexual abuse, death, intimate partner violence, etc.) in class have been exceedingly bleak and distressing. Each week has presented its emotional and mental challenges, some more difficult than others (child sexual abuse), but the information gained will be invaluable in my counseling career. The emotional strain and exhaustion that accompanied the task of processing this information, processing my feelings and thoughts, and practicing self-care were well worth the outcome. As mentioned previously, all of this information and insight gained will be essential in my counseling career, but also the habits that I have developed, as they relate to

The main philosophies of the counseling profession are wellness, prevention and resilience. With these philosophies, counselors will gain the knowledge needed to provide treatment (s) to their clients by working with the client to solve their emotional and personal needs. Mental health counselors have defined their work as “an interdisciplinary multifaceted, holistic process of (1) the promotion of healthy lifestyles, (2) identification of individual stressors and personal levels of functioning, and (3) preservation or restoration of mental health” (Seiler & Messina, 1979, p. 6). In the health care industry, mental health counselors tend to focus more on wellness and holistic philosophies, more so than on whether or not the clients’ issues

Patience and acceptance is important to my personal philosophy because I believe counseling beings and ends with both. A goal I have is to enter into a client’s experience with them so I can be there with them every step of the way. Going through this journey will help the client explore their own thoughts and feelings. I entered into the field of counseling because I have compassion and a desire to help people reach and understand their full potential. As a counselor in training, I desire to help clients identify their own problems and concerns along with demonstrating a genuine compassion for the endeavors that they may face.

Since the inception of the counseling profession, scholars, practicing counselors, and counseling students often wrestle with the difficulties of creating a professional identity among the human service occupation. There is a direct conflict between the roles of a professional counselor as it overlaps with that of other clinicians and the apparent lack of research that directly defines and identifies the unique position of a counselor. It is important both to the profession as a whole and to each individual counselor to discover and develop a sense of professional identity; the implications of which that will become beneficial clients as well (Hanna & Bemak, 1997).

This semester proved to be the most difficult for me. I thought prior semesters were difficult; juggling my family’s declining health, school work, my teaching career, my two children and my marriage, however it became even more challenging. The death of my mother has been the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with. Be that as it may, I am thankful that I had my classwork to help keep me busy. It was part of my base line that stayed the same when everything else around me fell apart and changed. I was thankful for the group work, classmates, and peer review buddies that gave me words of encouragement and an outlet to vent. In the entirety of my counseling degree program I feel the one thing I have learned is that no matter what happens

As I become more educated in the field of school counseling, I realize how important previous life experiences are, as well as the skills that I have learn from past jobs, and all through out my academic career. In my life the different roles that I hold, from being a mother, a wife, student, and an employee all contribute to my professional development in some way. Through the experiences in which each role presents it helps me to be able to relate in some way and gives me the ability