The Origins Of Clinical Mental Health Counseling

The American Counseling Association website defines professional counseling as “a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.” As the counseling profession has grown and the demand has increased over the years there has been some confusion of what the difference is between counseling and psychotherapy. Sharf (2012) reports, often times

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.

Counselling and psychotherapy are very different areas of speciality than psychiatry or psychology. Yet it is from these two health practices that counselling and psychotherapy practice emerged. The emergence and beginning of this takes us back initially to 1887, when the specialism of psychotherapy emerged in psychiatry. In the nineteenth century there was a general shift towards science and

“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.

The purpose of this paper is for me to present a summary of a personal interview had with Heather Smith, a clinical mental health counselor. It will further explore a day to day basis on how working as a clinical mental health counselor, may be. Lastly, it will also reflect my personal reflections about my future as a counselor based on information learned in this course.

By the end of World War II, various non-medical, behavioral and cognitive approaches to psychotherapy surfaced, the growth of some being the impact of the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963 (Pistole, 2002). The Fund provided "funding for the development of community-based mental health care programs with interdisciplinary teams (Weikel & Palmo, 1989 as qtd in Pistole). This stimulated the growth of masters-level mental health enrollments and careers. Many of the enrollees were trained in colleges of education and secured employment under different professional and paraprofessional titles in community settings, such as hospitals, private practice and community mental health care centers (Bech, 1999 as qtd by Pistole; Weikel & Stickle as qtd in Pistole). But because they did not receive training under established disciplines, such as social work, psychology or psychiatry, they did not belong to a recognized professional organization. They were thus unqualified for traditional credentials and licensing. Simply said, they were not a visible professional sector (Pistole).

Several characteristics go into the counseling client relationship to achieve success; they include mutual positive regard, genuineness, empathy, competency, and an appropriate referral process. I identify with Carl Roger’s humanistic approach to counseling; I believe that positive regard, empathy, and congruence are keys to the counseling relationship and foster trust among our clients to help them identify concerns and move forward with therapy to achieve success (McLeod, 2014). Moreover, competency is essential to provide our clients with tools for success. Counselors must remain vigilant in their practice by continuing their education, this is in our code of ethics and a best practice as our society evolves (ACA, 2014). Effective counseling is also providing an appropriate referral when needed, sometimes counselors just might not connect with their clients and in cases like this, appropriate referrals should be made.

This paper will reflect the growth the counseling profession from early 1900’s to present time. It will discuss pioneers who positively impacted the counseling profession and specific events that caused the profession to grow. As technology continues to grow and impact every area of society, this paper will state how technology is being utilize and the effects that it has on clients as well as counselors.

Gladding, S. T. (2004). Historical and Professional Foundations of Counseling . Counseling: a comprehensive profession (4th ed., ). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall.

The importance of clinical supervision of new counselors Supervision of a new clinical mental health counselor (CMHC) during their graduate school education and leading up to licensure is a vital part of the training process. The supervisor is responsible for the welfare of the client and the CMHC (American Counseling Association, 2014) that they are supervising, however the role entails much more than this. Poor supervision will not only endanger the welfare of the client and supervisee, but it will prevent the supervisee from growing and developing in their skills. Conversely, when done properly, the supervisor acts as a mentor, coach, teacher, evaluator, consultant, and occasionally a counselor, thus providing the supervisee the opportunity

It is known that Therapeutic counseling is an important tool for the treatment, prevention and promotion of mental health. The psychotherapeutic method contains variables that influence the progress of the emotional state of an individual. Although the techniques and methods are components of the treatment, yet there still not a robot or machine to execute the interventions, as is found on the medical field, for example. Instead, the treatment is performed by counselors, who are mental health professionals. They are trained to establish a working relationship with the individual in need of help. Even though, they need to be well equipped, they are

The first specialization this author would like to discuss is mental health counseling (MHC). MHC is a specialization that stresses: “developmental, preventive, and educational as well as remedial aspects of mental health care” (Smith & Robinson, 1995, p. 158). Some also consider this profession a hybrid and it has an uncomfortable connection between the professions of psychology and educational counseling.

It is exactly 16 months since I began this great journey to clinical mental health counseling program at South University. I have gone through many theoretical and practical trainings. The impact each has had on my formation is varying and important.

I was able to interview four people about their perceptions and beliefs about counseling. I noted differences and similarities among their responses which bring about a clearer perspective on the reality of counseling as a profession. The family and friends I choose to interview about their perspective on counseling included my mom Cathy, my brother Ben and my friend Mackenzie. I interviewed a counselor named Chris who is a youth leader at my church. Chris works at Penn State Hershey Medical Center Psychiatry Unit with adults doing individual, couple and family counseling. The responses given through these interviews allowed for a broader and clearer view of the perception and reality of counseling.

If anyone were to trace back to the beginnings of any civilization, creativity would be evidenced through its people 's culture and development . In fact, creativity can be found in the underpinnings of problem solving for survival, like the invention of the wheel and discovery of fire (Gladding, 2008). Even more contemporary advancements in counseling can find it’s roots in seeking to meet needs and solve problems. Because counselors are held in high regard by most of their clients, it is important for today’s counselors to have the background knowledge and current awareness of best practices and contemporary trend in counseling.