The Importance Of A Licensed Counselor, A College Student Working At A Summer Camp

According to the American Counseling Association (ACA) website the organization’s mission is to help society by offering well trained professional counselors. In the process, assisting counselors develop into the contingent professional’s in which society can depend upon, at the same time stimulating human self-worth and diversity. When counselors are trained in graduate school the aspects that goes into becoming a professional counselor, is they equipped with a vast amount of knowledge. Some of the basics include how to work with diverse populations, acknowledging their own biases, how to advocate for the client who is among an oppressed population, congruency with their clients, empathic listening and communication skills, knowing when to refer a client to the appropriately trained counselor and many more. All of these elements and more are just some of the tools, professional counselors are required in order maintain the standards the American Counseling Association’s mission statement entails.

As the standards of the counseling profession are continuously being shaped, I desire to play a role in the educating

This How a client perceives a counselor is very important in how they effective they feel they

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.

I believe counseling is a collaborative partnership between client and counselor. Furthermore, this collaborative partnership is built from trust and acceptance of both client and counselor. I hope in conjunction with clients to understand the issues and concerns so to help them tap into their wisdom, creativity, and strengths to meet their current challenges. I believe in a comprehensive perspective through which clients can better comprehend themselves in the framework that our thinking about events can lead to emotional and behavioral upset. Moreover, counselors are to provide a safe environment for clients to explore their challenges and identify ways to move differently in overcoming these challenges.

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.

I know how to listen, be persistent, trust worthy, and open minded. I also have had plenty of experiences that can help me to relate to other clients I may come in contact with. This will allow me to be more effective as a counselor. I have many goals as a young aspiring counselor. I think that the standards and goals I have for myself will allow me to uphold high standards for all my clients, which will show them that I believe in them. I have the personality, drive, and want to help people and this is why I chose the counseling profession. It will not always be easy, but it will always be rewarding knowing I did help someone, or at least tried to. It takes one person to make a positive impact and change someone’s life. I want to be that

Counselors have a responsibility to monitor their effectiveness, in order to do this they need someone who is trained to assist them in understanding what is effective. Counselors have to seek supervision when appropriate and in order to do so a program needs to be in place that has supervisors readily available. The absence of clinical supervision may lead to counselors-in-training to lack the necessary skills to be a successful and productive counselor. Counselors need to develop a comprehensive understanding of the setting, population, needs, contexts and tasks of a counselor. As explained by Milne and Oliver (2000), Clinical supervision is central to initial professional training and to continuing professional development. It is necessary for counselors-in-training to refine their skills and get assistance in applying theories to any issues they may encounter with their clients. In addition to the everyday assistance necessary, a supervisor needs to present/model ethical behavior and counseling practices. In any profession the need for improvement is prominent and therefore any assistance and feedback given is appreciated and necessary. Expectations are increasing and therefore supervision is expected. Evidence shows that supervision results in school counselors’ increased effectiveness and accountability, improved professional development, and improved job performance, confidence, and comfort

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

Each person is unique with different gifts, abilities, and struggles. Counselors are committed to walk with individuals on their journeys to growth and healing without judgement.

As a potential counselor, there are many areas that I need to grow in to be an effective therapist. Being in a graduate program learning about different theoretical orientations, and participating in mock interviews has really been an eye opener for me. Not only am I recognizing my own personal style in therapy, but I feel I am identifying my strengths and weaknesses as well. Acknowledging that there is always room for improvement, I am also sensing which population I prefer to work with. Amongst the different types of populations (gender, ethnic background, religion, age), I understand there are various clinical issues that affect each group differently and would need a specific type of therapy or a treatment with combined therapeutic elements

The discrimination model of supervision developed by Bernard & Goodyear, (1998) has three primary focus areas in training novice counselors these include use of intervention, what the supervisee is doing in the session that is observable, conceptualization or how the session work is being conducted and the level of understanding the supervisee has regarding client themes and application of specific counseling session interventions, and personalization, the supervisors own approach or method. This model embeds three essential supervisory roles, teacher, counselor and consultant in providing effective supervision. The teacher's primary

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.

In the counseling profession, having knowledge of the theoretical approaches and which ones will be essential based on your standpoint of human nature, problems, and changes for an individual is important. Having a clear understanding of the approaches is key, but the counselor’s knowledge of his or her own principles, life experiences and viewpoints will define how the counselor will effectively perform their job.

This paper will discuss the following 4 Core Functions of a Counselor: Case Management, Client Education, Crisis Intervention, Referral and their primary purposes.