Self Identity Within The Professional Therapy Practice

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.

The beginnings of the counseling profession can be traced back as far as the Greeks with the emergence of psychology. Psychology did not develop into a legitimate profession until the late 1800s. As time went on it spawned numerous other profession, Counseling Psychology being one of them (Landrum). Some of the most prominent Psychologist in the field such as Freud, Erikson, and Witmer, utilized techniques, most notably ”Talk Therapy”, which lead to the formation of the counseling profession ("The history of counselling and psychotherapy").

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.

In the 1890’s Sigmund Freud, a German neurologist developed a theory later to be called psychoanalysis, which allowed individuals to tell their problems to a ‘psychoanalyst’ an individual trained in interpreting the ‘subconscious’. He played an important part in the history of counselling but the actual word “counselling” did not come into everyday language until 1960’s.

Working as a therapist can be exhausting, but yet, rewarding at the same time. As a therapist we deal with daily encounters of other people’s lives, issues, problems etc. Taking multiple cases of providing therapeutic interventions has an effect on the human body and the psyche. The wear and tear over time begins to haunt us without recognizing how neglectful we can be towards ourselves because our focus is for the sake of other people’s sanity. The profession is hard, and can be detrimental to professionals who do not take care of themselves. Self-care is an important aspect when working as a therapist. Our health, mental health, spiritual values, etc. should matter just as the client’s health, mental health and spiritual values matters

Psychology explores human behavior and the human mental process figuring ways to improve the thinking and attitude of an individual’s existence. Sometimes, different techniques are used and tried to properly resolve the problem within the multitude of possible behavioral issues. Moreover, Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, developed many theories, psychodynamic therapy, for clinically treating people with mental health problems through their unconscious mind; Then, Sigmund Freud’s theories or therapy, rather, diverged into other types of therapies such as Biological Psychology or Cognitive Psychology. No doubt, there are various perspectives, both strong and weak, in the field of Psychology using different techniques on different

Sigmund Freud first coined the “talking cure” in 1909 to describe a type verbal therapy used by psychiatrists on their patients. Various case studies, especially those

With these attributes, they will have the fundamentals of creating a strong therapeutic alliance with their clients. The therapists should be encouraged in “treating new cases as unique and constructing new theories to fit them, rather than depending on categories of established theory and technique” (Safran & Muran, 2000). Although this does not mean that standard techniques are useless, flexibility and creativity in application of these theories is considered the most important skill of a good therapist.

During the mid-nineteenth century, the counseling professions established a more compassionate therapy for mental health illnesses around the world. One historical event that transformed the counseling profession was the spread of Psychotherapy and how it impacted the counseling profession between the 1900s to the 1950s. The creator of this impact was Clifford Beers who was a Yale graduate suffering from schizophrenia. The committee Beer created soon worked its way into the community and assisted doughboys who were experiencing post-psychological illnesses from World War I.

Introverted identity issue, are hard to treat. Others, comparative tension is fair. Psychotherapy, called talk treatment, treats introverted identity issue. Treatment incorporates outrage in addition to savagery administration, substance mishandle/emotional wellness conditions treatment. In spite of the fact that the less requesting anxiety treatment incorporates working with a consultant to reduction pressure signs. To show, psychological behavioral treatment is a powerful type of psychotherapy to summed up nervousness issue. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is mandate/community oriented; the specialist sets up clear/particular objectives with the patient in addition to utilizations prove based procedures to evoke a man enlisted to get restorative

Licensed professional counselors have a unique occupation in that not only do they interact with their clients on a highly personal level, but they also momentarily share their client’s burdens, worries, and concerns. This vicarious aspect of counseling creates the possibility for a counselor to continue sharing the client’s troubles long after the session has ended. According to Norcross and Guy (2007), “The person of the psychotherapist is inextricably intertwined with treatment success” (p. 2) meaning that if we desire more positive outcomes than negative ones we must figuratively become one with our clients. Due to this fact, “self-care is not simply a personal matter but also an ethical necessity, a moral imperative” (p. 6). If we fail to leave work at work at the day’s end, then other facets of our lives are in jeopardy of becoming tainted.

Self-care and the well being of individuals in the helping profession are often overlooked in this fast-paced world. When therapistst tell others about their work, others may respond with “It must be difficult listening to people’s problems all day.” or “Are you psychoanalyzing me?”. Comments such as these often come from people who don’t work within the field. However, these responses do raise legitimate concerns for individuals pursuing a profession in the field. How do people in the helping profession cope with the stress that results from their work? How do they balance and separate professional roles from personal lives? Although professionals do experience a sense of reward in their work, one simply cannot avoid the stresses that come with caring for others.

Yalom, Y.D. (2009). The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients: Harper Perennial

Sigmund Freud explored many new concepts in the human mind during his lifetime. He was the scholar who discovered an immense new realm of the mind, the unconscious. He was the philosopher who identified childhood experience, not racial destiny or family fate, as the vessel of character, and he is the therapist who invented a specific form of treatment for mentally ill people, psychoanalysis. This advanced the revolutionary notion that actual diagnosable diseases can be cured by a technology that dates to the dawn of humanity: speaking. Sigmund Freud, writing more than 320 books, articles and essays on psychotherapy in his lifetime, forever changed how society viewed mental illness and the meaning of their dreams. However, controversy over

As a physical therapy student, many peers have asked why I chose to minor in psychology rather than taking a simple course in human performance and fitness or biology. Taking this course, I am confident in my minor decision and realize the importance of mastering and utilizing effective communication, genuine listening, and authentic presence, especially in a physical therapy setting. Several counseling theories were presented over the course of the semester looking at their basic philosophies, the relationship between client and therapist, and key components to effective treatment. There were three theories in particular, Adlerian therapy, existential therapy, and rational emotive behavior therapy, which I found to really resonate with my beliefs, values, and experiences. By integrating these three theories together, using the common factors approach, I was able to identify similar core beliefs and principles in each to create my final theory of change.