Clinical mental health counselors diagnose, treat, and test psychological disorders as well as support and teach clients skills needed for positive behavior changes. According to the 2012 American Mental Health Counselors Association’s (AMHCA) code of ethics “Mental health counselors believe in the dignity and worth of the individual. They are committed to increasing knowledge of human behavior and understanding of themselves and others. They use their skills only for purposes consistent with these values and do not knowingly permit their misuse by others. While demanding for themselves freedom of inquiry and community, mental health counselors accept the responsibility this freedom confers: competence, objectivity in the application of …show more content…
In addition, they must also abide by all administrative rules, ethical standards, and other requirements of state clinical mental health counseling or other regulatory boards (AMHCA, 2012). Mental health counselors promote clients well-being on multiple levels by providing prevention services and treatments for a wide range of clients in diverse settings (Gladding & Newsome, 2010). The profession of mental health counseling is continuously changing and evolving. Some of those changes are pleasantly welcomed, while others are not so much. Mental health counselors must stay updated, educated, and involved in all aspects of the profession in order to best serve their clients. State and national policies on mental health counseling are there to protect everyone involved. State policies are designed to regulate the professional practice of mental health counseling. This regulation serves to protect the consumer by ensuring that their rights and dignity are not violated (Ford, 2006). Licensing and credentialing are essential to the profession of mental health counseling (Gladding & Newsome, 2010). Counselors must have the competencies to not only keep up with the constant change in public policies but to fight for the rights of their clients as well.
Mental health counselors must possess a strong desire to help others as well as the ability to inspire confidence, trust, and respect. Wellness and self-care
An essential job duty for any healthcare professional is to be able to service clients. The Code of Ethics (1999) outlines that service means to use the knowledge that a social worker has acquired through training and education to assist clients with issues that are inhibiting them from living their life completely and without suffering. By this definition, a social worker’s job is to assist a client with real-life issues, such as depression and anxiety, which are faced by the majority of the elderly population (Richardson & Barusch, 2006). For a social worker, assisting clients who face mental illness means
The American Counseling Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association Codes of Ethics both provide guidance and direction in making ethical decisions for their members (ACA, 2005) (AMHCA, 2010). Both the ACA and the AMHCA Codes of Ethics cover a wide range of moral and ethical situations that could present themselves to mental health professionals. Both of these codes of ethics have significant impacts on the counseling profession. The tools provided by these codes of ethics ensure that mental health professionals are able to conform to the regulations set forth. They address common concerns from varying points of view. Understanding these codes of ethics is essential to all mental
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.
As the standards of the counseling profession are continuously being shaped, I desire to play a role in the educating
In order for the counseling process to be effective for the client the characteristics and behaviors of the mental health counselor must be effective. To be an effective mental health counselor the process must include both the art and science of helping clients when they struggle. This paper will address both effective and ineffective characteristics of the given transcript along with an explanation of how a counselor’s characteristics or behaviors influence a session with a client.
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.
Many people in our world today struggle with mental health issues. Licensed Professional Counselors are there to help. “One of the largest categories of professional helpers is counselors” (Woodside and McClam, 2015. p.182). Let’s take a close look at what Licensed Professional Counselors do, their educational requirements, certification or licensure levels or requirements, and last, we will take a look at salary and evaluate the future of this profession.
A mental health counselor often helps their clients make positive choices and changes due to the decisions and insights they help facilitate. Many counselors work in hospitals with psychiatric patients or with mentally ill adults in continued day treatment programs. Some choose private practice or practice in counseling centers, government agencies, and corporations and youth homes. They usually work in pleasant and comfortable surroundings, working a standard workweek. Some counselors are available weekends or evenings for the convenience and needs of their clients. Mental health counselors are an extremely valuable part of the healthcare system.
Thus, there is a continuous flow of terminology, focus, and technique from the counseling session to the supervision session, and back again. Several illustrations of specific psychotherapy-based supervision models
Mental Health Counselors are some of highest interacting people in the career industry. Having the highest ability to communicate with peers, you are faced with new challenges every single day. Many different types of people bring many different problems to the table. They are not expected to close the door due to the fact of not knowing how to help one. You will need a very high comprehension of the world around you, to be able to achieve high success rates in this career.
Mental health counseling was not the career path in which I envisioned myself embarking on. Becoming a mental health counselor has many challenges and benefits. Along my career path I have had the pleasure of getting to know a variety of positions within mental health. Finding the definition of a mental health counselor can be defined as having compassion, being inquisitive, and having the need to help the mentally ill. Mental health counselors must have in place the right tools in order to properly aid those who are seeking mental health counseling. Mental health counselors
Video presentation: The video clip was quite interesting I found it to be very educational as to the legal obligations of therapists in the mental health field. There were issues that were brought up that were quite important, such as therapists need to understand confidentiality, privileged information, and a therapists responsibility related to reporting suspected child abuse, elder abuse, and/or suicidal ideations, and possibly the most important of them all is a therapists duty to warn. The first case they were
There are several ethical dilemmas that the mental health professionals that are working as a team will face including “ensuring that the client has given informed consent, maintaining client confidentiality, and involving professionals, paraprofessionals, and family in appropriate coordinated processes that benefit the client” (Paproski & Haverkamp, 2000, p.96).
When mental health counselors work with various clients during their career, they need to practice confidentiality and privacy when conducting one-on-one, group, or any type of counseling services. Like any medical patient, mental health clinicians need to treat their clients with dignity and respect. It is extremely important for the mental health counselor working with his or her assigned caseload
Mental health counselors work with individuals, families, and groups to address and treat mental and emotional disorders and to promote mental health. They are trained to address a wide range of issues, including depression, addiction and substance abuse, suicidal impulses, stress management, problems with self-esteem, issues associated with aging, job and career concerns, educational decisions, issues related to mental and emotional health, and family, parenting, and marital or other relationship problems. Mental health counselors often work closely with other mental health specialists, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, and school counselors. (US Department of Labor)