Transitioning From An Undergraduate Level Course

During and immediately after my undergraduate course, I had the opportunity to work as a volunteer at the American Counseling Association and as a houseparent for an institution that houses mentally ill individuals. The association welcomes students and encourages them to offer voluntary services while they have an opportunity. My experience at the association, as a houseparent, and currently as a paraprofessional for mentally ill adults and children with behavioral problems provided me with a solid footing as well as the necessary resources to prepare for my career in counseling. The experiences gave me an opportunity to attend several conferences and workshops where I had the chance to meet and interact with other professional counselors. These opportunities opened me up and exposed me to numerous challenging situations that helped me to grow both personally and professionally. Interacting with more qualified and experienced people in the association, institution for the mentally ill, and agency that I currently work for has helped me to develop confidence in my work as I sought their assistance and guidance whenever I needed help. The experiences gained while working at the association was helpful to me as I could apply that knowledge and the skills learnt to help my church members. At my church, I was a youth leader and

I have chosen to enter the field of Mental Health Counseling at this particular time in my life because I would like to learn the skills needed to help people with their life and mental health issues. While attending the University of Saint Joseph during my undergraduate years I took various courses that have led me to making my decision. The courses I took focused on business, biology, social work, and psychology. After graduation I decided to take a year off and gain work experience in customer service and health care. I wanted to experience working with the people in my community. I was hired as a pharmacy technician at a Walgreens in Vernon. Working as a pharmacy technician has been a very rewarding experience for me and I learned a lot about people and their unique needs. I also learned about patient care and how to be pacient and understanding under stressful situations.

A doctoral degree combining both supervisory professional mental health counseling skills and counselor education has always been at the forefront of both my personal and professional goals. Being afforded the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision will allow me the ability to enhance my professional competencies and achieve my set goals. My primary desire is to obtain a position as a college professor that will allow me to nurture the professional growth and maturity of future mental health professionals. Pursuing the doctoral degree will simultaneously assist in developing skillsets that will further prepare me for advanced opportunities in not only teaching but supervision and research. Additionally, I desire to devote time and research to small rural communities to establish prevention based programs that will bridge communities as it relates to mental health challenges. A PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Capella University will afford me the opportunities to positively impact change in future professionals and the communities for which I serve.

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.

Multiple years of research and field experience as well as my undergraduate coursework in Psychology, Counseling, and General Education has provided me with ample skills to be successful at the graduate level in the School Psychology program offered at Francis Marion University. Working within the school system with students with mental health needs and exceptionalities has been a dream of mine since I was in high school. I am confident the School Psychology program at Francis Marion University will provide me with the skill set needed to make my dream a reality and become the best School Psychologist I can be.

I am a mental health counselor working towards licensure in the state of Washington. I have a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University Seattle. In my current counseling practice, I work with individual adults (over 18). I take a humanistic approach to therapy; in our sessions together, we will focus on the here-and-now of your experience, while also exploring your past and social context to the extent they are relevant to your present concerns. Our first meeting will be a time for you to tell your story; then, together, we will assess your concerns and issues, and decide on the goals toward which you would like to move (Hilton, 2016). As we continue through the therapy process, we

College is an exciting time with plenty of challenges and difficulties. The ones who can overcome these challenges and difficulties will be the ones who get the most out of college and their degree. In my paper I will talk about what a degree means to me personally and professionally. I will also talk about different things I struggle with so far in college and different ways I can improve these difficulties, as well as how I feel about the CSI report that we took and how I believe it compares to me personally.

Therefore, if I do not get ahead and take these classes as far as I can go, there is a high chance I will not be able to be a superb counselor. Finally, a solid knowledge of psychology is very helpful in furthering the career, if I were to not take this class, it would be much harder on me to understand clients stories. To illustrate, Kaplan University suggests to have at least a bachelor's in psychology in order to become an addictions counselor. Hence, without knowing anything about psychology, I might not be able to help patients or I might become a dud counselor. For all these reasons, I will need to pursue a higher education in math, alcohol and drug abuse, and psychology in order to become successful in the field of being an addictions

My experience in the counseling role has increased my confidence over the current semester. I feel that the extensive practice has paid off tremendously. For example, this course has taught me how to formulate a game plan when starting off my sessions. I now have goals which come with a much improved structure format than I had previously. In addition, I am able to have a much clearer perceptive of my feelings where I previously accepted thoughts as feelings. In this self reflection, I will continue to express how my growth experiences that have

"Making the grade: Ace your college classes with this advice on choosing courses, selecting a major, writing papers, and dealing with professors. (On Campus)." Careers & Colleges, Mar. 2002, p. 32+. Expanded Academic ASAP, ndcproxy.mnpals.net/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=EAIM&sw=w&u=mnanorman&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA84599443&it=r&asid=a515611081bd18bbd6c7a8f18c462c3b. Accessed 25 Nov. 2016.

Attending graduate school is incredibly important to my career goals for several reasons. I hope to attend Appalachian State University to complete my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling in order to assist people who have experienced trauma relating to sexual assault, abuse, domestic violence, and similar issues. The primary reason that graduate school is essential to my success as a future counselor is that it will teach me the skills to provide competent clinical services to my clients. As a future counselor, it is my ethical and moral responsibility to provide services that help clients and do not harm them. Without continuing my education, I would simply be unable to do this. Attending a graduate program will allow me to participate in classes, practicums, and internships that will teach me a wide range of essential skills. Classes offered through the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, such as Multicultural Counseling, Counseling Theory and Techniques, and Helping Relationships will all be vital in helping me learn to provide competent, empirically-backed therapeutic services. Additionally, elective courses such as Sexual Abuse Counseling and Women’s Issues in Counseling are especially relevant to my goal to become a

Upon completing a stage in life, such as the completion of a graduate program, it is productive to reflect upon that experience and ponder the motivation for that course of action, as well as ponder the utility of that experience. As my graduate program comes to a conclusion, now is the time for me to discuss the components of the program that have been of particular value to me, and why such program components have been of value.

Transitioning into higher education presents challenges for all students, whether it’s their age or previous educational history. Numerous individuals are extremely nervous as they are entering into an advanced environment such as higher education. This because college is a new learning environment at a completely different level. However, freshmen find college to be difficult at first because it’s harder for them to adjust. That’s why many universities should have student centers in place to help students. Student centers give students the pathway for flexible learning as it results in being successful in higher education (Baužienė & Vosyliūtė 2015).

Looking back, I now have higher expectations about the duties of a school counselor and acknowledge the areas in which the counseling department at my school lacked. Most notably being that I was never given any traditional form of counseling. Unfortunately, I think this is due to the this growing field having not yet obtained its identity of a counseling emphasis. I knew that I could go to my counselor for academic advisement, I was sure that I would get more assistance if I struggled with my classes, but I do not believe that my counselor took an active approach of inquiring about mental health. Instead the counseling department seemed focused on student’s only when grades were down.

The decision to attend graduate school can be one of immense commitment and responsibility. Success requires rigorous planning and well-defined goals, both short-term and long-term. Exceptional communication skills are also necessary to interact effectively with fellow classmates and faculty. Although completion of a Master’s program opens doors to many professional career opportunities, it does not come without challenges. One also must have several strategies in place for dealing with these challenges when they arise.