Trends & Principles Of The Counseling Profession

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.

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.

Cooper, J. B. (2010). Counseling microskills. In B. T. Erford (Ed.), Orientation to the counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations (pp. 148–162). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

The first ethical issue that counselors have to worry about in counseling children is to be a competent counselor. It includes that the counselor must be familiar with child and adolescent development. Also, in order to be competent in counseling children, a counselor must frequently participate in trainings, specialized education, and supervised practice (Henderson & Thompson, 2011). Another ethical issue in counseling minors is privacy and confidentiality. According to the American Counseling Association (ACA) (2014) Code of Ethics, when counseling minors a counselors protect the confidentiality of information received (ACA, 2014, B.5.a). Counselors also have responsibilities with the child’s parents such as inform parents about the role of counselors and the confidential nature of the counseling relationship (ACA, 2014, B.5.b). When a counselors needs to release confidential information, he needs to seek permission from the child’s parents, legal guardians, or the appropriate third party in order to disclose the information (ACA, 2014, B.5.c). According to Henderson and Thompson (2011), children have to have their parents’ consent to see a

As a counseling student, it is very important to formulate a counseling theory tailored to ones’ own personality and beliefs. A counselor may choose a single theory to model when practicing therapy or pick and choose components and techniques from various theories, otherwise known as eclecticism. No theory is considered right or wrong. Understanding the different therapeutic approaches are important to effective counseling, however, counselors must also understand their own personal value, view of human nature, human behavior, counseling techniques and the purpose and goals of counseling. Understanding these components along with the different theoretical approaches will provide the counselor with a 9 knowledge of their own counseling, orientation and is essential to not only the productivity of counseling but the growth of the counselor as well.

As I go down this road which is considered my life. I have realized that I have chosen the path of the person that I am today. My life up to this point was not an easy road and still has bumps in my future. In my past I have faced physical and emotional child abuse from my parents, death of my younger brother at a young age, my house burning down making my family homeless, Department of Family Services placing my brother and sisters into foster homes, and me becoming homeless again while trying finish high school. All of this led to me to joining the Army to realize there were different options in life. Learning from the past hardships is what led me to want to help others figure out to show they also can overcome hardships and that their past does not have to dictate their future. Throughout this paper I am going to take you through my journey by leading you through the concept of counseling as a professional identity, key characteristics of a counselor, duties and functions of the different areas I could pursue as a counselor, then the four career paths I would pursue, followed by the top two career paths I would enjoy, and top two professional settings that I would like to work.

Earning a Master’s in Guidance and Counseling would be the ideal next step to fulfill my goals becoming a youth counselor. The program offered at The College of New Rochelle is a perfect match or my career and educational aspirations. I hope to refine my knowledge counseling therapies and techniques, learn more about disorders and associated symptoms, develop effective interviewing skills, and sharpen my ability to work as a professional in youth counseling.

The Self-Inventory test for chapter one is a series of questions that ask about how one views Counselors as a person and a professional. Some of these questions were simple to answer because there is already a strong opinion towards the context. Others, however, were much trickier to answer. Mainly because I have not thought about the certain circumstance that was presented before.

The moral principles upon which the Ethical Standards of the American Counseling Association are based is a critical part of knowledge as counselors we must possess. Counselors are often faced with situations where their ethical morale is tested and they must know how to assure they will make an ethical decision. There will be situations where it is difficult to identify the problem and being aware of these principles will guide professional counselors towards an ethical practice.

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost” –Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

The counseling profession is a complex and constantly changing field. This field contains several unique subcategories that can be intriguing and difficult to understand. However, I believe that if an individual has a strong professional identity, they can achieve a lot in their chosen field.

Robbie J. is a 19 year old African American male and at this time he is currently a freshman at Henderson County University. The client has been referred to this office by his school residential advisor and family doctor. The reason behind this is that the client has not been attending his college classes and has been caught drinking on campus by campus security three times in the past two months. His parents have been advised by the school that if the client doesn’t attend counseling sessions he will be asked to leave and not return back for the following academic school year. The client must attend five sessions and also join an A.A. group.

The career someone picks is what they are going to do for the rest of their life. Counseling is an astonishing career choice for people who want to aid people mentally, deal with their emotions, and make a difference in their community or even in the world. In society, people do not realize that, according to the anxiety and depression association of America, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. They affect forty million adults in the United States age eighteen and older and one in every eight children under the age of eighteen (“Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA”). The mental health in the world is getting worse each and every day because

This quarter’s course of “theories of counseling” felt like a whirlwind of theories, theorist, therapeutic techniques, and proper application of theoretical framework to help counsel students. As the course continued each new theory and therapy style I learned about seemed more appealing and useful than the last. In deciding which therapy styles I would favor using I have to take into account the general demographic of the students and communities I wish to work in. I plan to work with middle school to high school students that are from urban low social economic status and are recent arrivals to the country. Some of the characteristics of obstacles these students and families face daily are, single parent home/income, past/recent trauma, history of low family education level and legal trouble. I am fortunate to live in the community and society I want to help and that I have grown up in. I am equally blessed to be raised and have the opportunity to give back to my community and society the best way I know how by giving back in a positive manner.

When you look at each beliefs, each one is important because these beliefs make you think about what type of counselor you want to be. When it comes to early prevention, the counselor uses education to clients how to prepare for an issue successful, for example, trainings, classes, and seminars (Remley & Herlihey, 2016). This is a great tool for clients.