Personal Narrative: My Identification For Counseling

The role of a counselor takes on many different forms, and it is a very important career, because it helps people make better life choices. The personal values we have, and also how we view the world, can help shape the type of counselor we will be. I will take a self-reflective view of what I hold dear, and also explain how my personal experiences have led me to chose a career in this particular helping profession. I will also describe the differences between the professional counseling, and other helping professions, such as social work for an example. I also will look at how accreditation, licensure, and certification, are important in defining what a counselor is, and does.

A professional who holds a Master’s degree in counseling my also chose to have a career as a Vocational counselors. They may also be referred to as a career or employment counselors. These counselors offer counseling services in places other than the school setting. Their main objective is to help individuals with career choices, examine an educational background, employment history, skill and abilities, personalities and other aspects to help them. Additionally, career counselors may offer support services to people who have lost their jobs or experiencing career change issues (Baxter, 1997).

My career goals are to become at license professional counselor, license chemical dependency counselor and a certified crisis counselor who specializes in trauma and career counseling. The steps I will take to achieve my career goals are, finish my degree and pass the required exams required by the state of Texas. In addition, I have to take 3, 000 supervised hours for the state of Texas to be license as a professional counselor. Since, I already have my LCDC-I, I just need 4,000 supervised hours to complete my chemical dependency counselor license. My personal growth is; I would like to growth as a professional counselor. I want to be able to be knowledgeable in the different approaches that I uses doing my practice. I believe the best way

A career as a mental health counselor will still give me the ability to care and help others for a long time to come. I began the decision making process and planning for a fresh career years before the actual decision. To be a professional counselor further education is required. Once graduate school started last July I have enjoyed the process, have remained determined to stay balanced and have not allowed myself to feel an overload of stress. A career change at this phase of life, middle age, has been a positive experience as well as confidence building. It is a challenge I am willing to undertake. For the Master of Arts Degree In Professional Counseling program a practicum and two internships are required. This takes planning related to demographics, finding a site that accepts students, and for myself making the decision to leave NC and move to Panama City Florida. One

My chosen career area is that of a Substance Abuse counselor, which I chose because I’m in recovery myself, and have a desire to help those who are struggling with addiction to overcome their substance abuse and lead happier, more productive lives. I already have experience working in this field and have both an Associates Degree in Human Services from Des Moines Area Community College and my Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (C.A.D.C.) certification from the Iowa Board of Certicication, which I upgrade two years ago to an Internation Alcohol and Drug Counselor (I.A.D.C.) certification. After receiving my certification, I worked as a substance Abuse Counselor for about three and half years and found my work to be both challenging and rewarding,

This is especially important because any hours obtained here will count towards my work experience and 100 of these hours must be with a professional who has the level of certification in which I am pursuing. After 3,200 hours has been accrued and 1,600 of these hours are directly with clients not to exceed two years, I can take the exam to be a licensed counselor. After passing examination within two tries I can apply with the board for certification of a LISAC level (Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, 2016 & Human Services Guide, 2015). However, these are only the steps to becoming a counselor. There is much more to this profession such as key legal and ethical issues in counseling.

It would be inspiring and maybe even a little cliché if I said that I have had a life long dream to become a professional counselor, however that just isn’t true. It wasn’t until a few years into college that I realized that a professional counselor was not just a position I could see myself in but it was a position I could see myself thrive in. A master’s degree in the school of psychology will not only fulfill a requirement to become an LPC, it will equip me with the knowledge and skills needed to be a successful counselor.

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor “the employment of school and career counselors is projected to grow 8 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Increasing school enrollments should lead to employment growth of school and career counselors”.

Of course the norm for me is that of any citizen living in zone three.

I've been clean from self harm for quite a few months now and I'm not sure how I feel anymore

“Casey, your group needs to do the stunt one more time!” coach said imprudently. It happened March 26, 2015; it was at the end of a two hour practice. During the summer months in South Georgia, it is utterly hot and humid, especially in our cheer gym (a warehouse with no air conditioner); it only has two heavy-duty fans and a roll-up door. With this in mind, my group became slightly irritated. Everyone was exhausted; nevertheless we still had to do the stunt anyway.

This paper is a graduate-level writing assignment designed to aid the student in seeking initial licensure upon graduating. It is a tool for the student to learn how to navigate the application process. This paper is based on the process of obtaining a Licensed Profession Counselor (LPC) licensure. Completion of an LPC application was experienced. The LPC rules were observed. The American Counseling Association (ACA), Code of Ethics, were reviewed. The requirements to become an LPC were reviewed.

I quickly swallowed my homemade authentic Indian food leftovers and gulped down my chocolate milk. Looking down at my watch that read 11:28am, I knew that I only had two minutes until my most favorite part of the day: recess. This particular day in 5th grade, I had run a lap around the playground before getting the rest of recess to myself. As I started walking for my warmup, another student ran up and said, “My parents said that your people caused 9/11.” Completely caught off guard, I held back the tears in my eyes and tried to shake off his comment. I had never encountered something like this.

Over the course of my internship, I have attended additional trainings and received certifications for my anticipated career in Mental Health Counseling. I have had the opportunity to attend a training and become CPR certified, become a Suicide Prevention QPR Certified Gatekeeper, in addition to registering for a Mental Health First Aid training. Within the agency, I was provided trainings on Credible, our documentation database, EVS to run client’s state funded insurance, and Navinet to run commercial or private insurance for clients. Human Services, Inc. provides one hour of training on Credible, which I believe should be improved. Also, more training should be provided when it comes to insurance because knowing and understanding insurance

As I began this counseling journey and foot into another community college, I did not have any expectations as I wanted to gain and learn as much as possible. I knew that I had to come into this process with an open mind and heart to gain as much insight as possible. Just as when I had least expected, I walked into the unknown of what will come through the door. I came across a student that seemed normal and nothing out of the ordinary. However, Marc opened up in the first session that he was diagnosed with autism which I was surprised. I have not yet worked with any individual with any disabilities and it definitely opened up my eyes. These past couple of sessions with Marc pushed me to go out of my comfort zone and feel more comfortable in