Practicum/Intership

The American Counselor’s Association task force was developed to raise the awareness of counselor impairments during their career in the helping profession (n.d.). This allows the counselor to discover where their own abilities are on a spectrum that ranges from wellness to impairment. Strategies for monitoring such ranges have been implemented and available to counselors to assist them in self-care (Lawson, 2007). Lawson (2007) states counselors must take initiative to take care of themselves in order to be able to serve others in the counseling profession.

“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

Counseling is defined as ”the use of therapeutic strategies to help clients address personal concerns and mental health issues” (Nystul, 2016). Pursuing counseling as a career involves many years of formal study and certification or licensure. After receiving licensure to practice as a professional counselors it is a requirement to maintain involvement and certification in certain associations in order to hold your license. These association often require further education and/or professional practice in order to maintain membership in these associations. It is quite obvious that counseling requires a large amount of commitment and passion in order to pursue it as a career and maintain a title as a counselor. I have conducted an interview with a professional counselor in order to further understand the experience of being a counselor. The interview that I conducted explores the requirements of maintaining and receiving a counselling career, the experience of being a counselor, and what characteristics or skills a professional may have. The Individual who agreed to the interview was a counselor by the name of Susie Facio. Susie Facio, through this interview, will be giving us a look at what influenced her to become a counselor, what her work entails on a day to day basis, and what qualities and skills she has acquired in order to become a successful counselor.

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.

As a counselor in training, I believe that counseling is a collaborative process between you and I. Counseling is a personal and safe process that deeply respects and honors each individual’s unique life experiences. Here are some aspects of counseling and therapy as I perceive and practive it: Therapeutic counseling

This model focuses on both affective and cognitive learning. It allows for discussion of the choice and application of a particular theoretical model and attempts to stimulate personal and professional growth (Gysbers & Henderson, 2006). There are three stages of counselor development. The first stage is one of reliance. In this stage the supervisees are highly motivated but they lack basic counseling skills. During this stage, the supervisee’s focus is mainly on how to perform a skill and master that skill. They rely significantly on their supervisor at this time. They depend on textbook theories rather than real world experiences and the utilization of theories in practice. During this stage, it is required that the supervisor teaches the fundamentals of counseling to enhance the trainees’ skills. Stage 2, the trial and error phase, is when a lot of the performance anxiety and lack of confidence comes into the picture. It is the job of the supervisor to support the supervisee and build their self- confidence. Supervisors need to bring awareness to the ineffective behavior that the supervisee may exhibit without destroying their confidence and desire to work in the field. During this stage, the supervisor’s focus shifts from reflection on data from the counselor/client relationship to the supervisee’s performance anxiety. This is a time for questioning and experimenting allowing

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.

As mentioned previously, the focus of self-care within the field of counseling is imperative. The counselor must adhere to proper self-care in order to lead a successful career. Norcross (2000) explains that there are several self-care strategies that the counselor must follow, however, the strategies may vary from counselor to counselor. A few of the most universal strategies are as

Oser, Bieble, Pullen, and Harp (2013) report taking a vacation is always a good thing for someone who is experiencing burnout. Although, it is easier to commit to a prevention plan to help yourself from suffering from burnout, than trying to eliminate or reduce it after it has set in. Lenz and Sangganjanavanich (2015) report it is important that counselors maintain their wellness if they are to be affective in helping their client to achieve their own personal wellness. The mental health counseling field can be exhausting, and if the counselor is not taking care of themselves prior to meeting these demands it can be mentally, physically, and emotionally

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

Counseling is a relatively young profession when compared to other mental health professions. In my brief personal and professional experience with the field, I have come to define counseling as a process of engagement between two people, both of whom are bound to change through a collaborative process that involves both the therapist and the client in co-constructing solutions to concerns.

Counselors dedicate their lives to helping people emotionally in need, and eventually this dedication begins to produce distress which, if not dealt with can lead into more serious issues. One of the more serious issues that counselors are at higher risk to experience as job-related stress increases—is burnout. In order for counselors to maintain healthy levels of compassion while maintaining their ability to help their clients, implementing a self-care plan. This self-care plan enables counselors to effectively cope with frequent job-related stress. If the self-care plan does not effectively cope with this stress, then burnout is likely to be experienced. However, there are successful strategies to prevent burnout and enables the counselor to help hurting people for the long duration.

My name is Diane Porché; I am in the Clinical Mental Health course. I live in Denver, been here for 45 years. I hold a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree in painting. I have a daughter, La Shell who is 35, and a grandson Da Vajaé, who is nine going to the fourth grade, that keeps my spirit alive.

Amongst the advice that she shared with me, there were a few key components of advice that really stood out me to me. Upon asking Stephanie about any times she felt threatened as a therapist she shared of it being a good practice to have a personal protocol that enables you to talk clients down or to deflect and break out of a physical hold. She maintains that as a counselor, it is important to, “fall back on listening to your gut if something feels wrong. You don 't have to justify it. Set a boundary. Your intuition is your best friend as a therapist.” I found this invaluable advice and I felt so ready with confidence to serve. If there is a situation that becomes inappropriate, Stephanie advises not to feel bad about it or make a big deal out of it. If it is violating the contract, I have a right to move them along.