Narrative Essay About My Counseling Experience

Becoming a licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor is not as easy as people may think. Every state has a different process to become a licenses counselor. This paper discusses the difference between prices, hours to even credits. I will be comparing the state of Florida and New York. There are certain process that are the same yet many different. As a student going to school for Clinical Mental Health Counseling you would think every state would be the same.

The choices we make early in life have an enormous impact on our future. I have always known that I wanted to directly impact people’s lives and my personal experiences have set me on the school-counseling path. In the future, I would love to influence another generation of students to soar for their dreams.

My pursuit of becoming a School Counselor led me to apply to the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a former student at University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After graduating and teaching for two years in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I discovered my true passion lies not only in the classroom and students’ academics, but playing a pivotal role in the growth of their career, social, and personal development. Although I am no longer teaching full-time at the moment, my interaction with students from diverse backgrounds left an indelible responsibility to continue making a difference in our students. The objectives and mission of the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland can best help my goal of becoming an effective counselor and leader who is an agent of change to students and service the mental and emotional well-being of the younger generation.

Counseling has many components in different fields such as a school counselor, marriage and family counseling, addiction counseling, individual and private practices, and many more. For my project, I interviewed Mrs. Ross Freeman, a school counselor who talks about her journey of becoming an Elementary School Counselor. We discuss what the requirement and cost were to receive a license in the counseling field. We were also able to discuss the average salary and hourly wages for a counselor in WISD. Mrs. Freeman then goes on to enlighten me about the rewards, challenges, demands and frustrations of a school counselor.

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

As I go down this road which is considered my life. I have realized that I have chosen the path of the person that I am today. My life up to this point was not an easy road and still has bumps in my future. In my past I have faced physical and emotional child abuse from my parents, death of my younger brother at a young age, my house burning down making my family homeless, Department of Family Services placing my brother and sisters into foster homes, and me becoming homeless again while trying finish high school. All of this led to me to joining the Army to realize there were different options in life. Learning from the past hardships is what led me to want to help others figure out to show they also can overcome hardships and that their past does not have to dictate their future. Throughout this paper I am going to take you through my journey by leading you through the concept of counseling as a professional identity, key characteristics of a counselor, duties and functions of the different areas I could pursue as a counselor, then the four career paths I would pursue, followed by the top two career paths I would enjoy, and top two professional settings that I would like to work.

The National Board for Certified Counselors began in1983. This examination was intended to assess knowledge of counseling information and skills. I will describe the test and its usefulness. My purpose is to evaluation the extent to which the NCE fulfills primary psychometric criteria. Comprehensive understanding of the NCE is necessary in order to pass the NCE. Collectively, this information should aid in a complete understanding of the NCE.

“The last thing I heard where the sirens. And the last thing I saw where a kaleidoscope of blue and red. And then everything went black, every ounce of air had escaped my lungs and had reached the surface of the lake in the form of little bubbles.” I told Louis Green, possibly the most boring person on earth. I don’t think he wanted to be my therapist anymore then I wanted to be in therapy.

Often times, people live through painful events in their life that can alter their perception of themselves, their family, and the world. Narrative therapy offers the client the opportunity to re-write their story and gain a different perspective of specific events. It is important to understand that within the history of narrative therapy, therapists view client’s stories through a political lens. Often times, focusing on the oppression and cultural dominance that exists within the constructs of our society. Thus, empowering clients to change their story allows them to break free from the constraints that have shaped their outlook and allow for alternative ways of thinking.

When I first arrived to DIG Community Counseling Center, I had to get a better understanding of the paperwork aspect of counseling as well as handling the front office duties along with Mary. When I first arrived at DIG Community Counselling center, I was given a sheet of the responsibilities that I would do throughout the course of the seven weeks. Mrs. Lakeisha Lake set me down and what about her rules and expectations. Mrs. Lakeisha Lake exclaimed, “Ilyasah, I want to go over with you my rules and expectation as being an intern at DIG Community Counseling Center”. While Mrs. Lakeisha, Lake was talking, I kept thinking about this being a job that I am not getting paid for.

I have enjoyed many educational, professional, and personal opportunities which have furthered my desire to assist others. From my high school days on, whenever I see a person in need of help, I try to find a way to assist in making their situation better. Further training through Nottingham Trent University postgraduate Applied Child Psychology program will enhance my abilities and effectiveness in fulfilling my desire to work with our troubled

Counseling starts with empathy, and as a result of my college experience, I am uniquely positioned to approach struggling adolescents with compassion.

Do you believe that your role as a therapist will end at the end of the day or will it be present in your personal life also?

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.

Well first a person has to have that passion to help other human beings which has to be in a genuine way. If helping people isn’t something a person enjoys doing than counseling is the wrong profession to seek a career in. Counseling basically has much to do with helping/guiding an individual through life obstacles, in other words helping those pinpoint different solutions to the matter at hand. The counselor plays a key role in helping resolve social, educational, personal, and self-identity issues plus more. I’m going to agree with an idea that Carl Rogers believed in, which is NOT to tell the client what he/she should or shouldn’t do. The purpose of counseling is to give the client the opportunity to draw their own conclusions and make their own decisions with their life; dictating their life and making decisions for them won’t help them act accordingly (making own decision/always depend ones approval). Those that set personal goals and career goals should want to achieve them; those who want get a better grasp or understanding of their life should seek ways to get a deeper understanding with making that connection between them self and their life reality. With purpose comes many goals set to be achieved through different aspects of life or client/counseling relationship. Building a healthy counselor client relationship; empowering client to identify with themselves; promote decision making. Both counselor and client must work together to come to a mutual understanding