...Life of a Counselor Coun. 6100-9, Introduction to Mental Health Counseling Kevin Feisthamel Pattie Smith November 13, 2014 Life of a Counselor As a mental health counselor one can choose what theories of practice they follow or they can have an eclectic combination of theories they utilize determined by the client and what their needs are. The professional counselor can choose what demographic of the population they want to work with and specialize in that. Or the professional counselor can broaden their practice and work with all different clients, experiencing encounters with different ages of people with different diagnosis. The truth is that a day in the life of a counselor is like no other day before. Days are always changing and there are new experiences with each client. When speaking with Dana Woods LPC, she shared what her days were like. She does in-home care as well as holding clinic hours twice a week and helping in a free or reduced-cost clinic. She travels about 3000 miles a month in order to go into areas that have little access to counseling and provides service for the rural clients. She sees both adults and children, mostly of adolescent age. They all have different issues that take different styles of counseling, however she stated that she uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with many of her clients. A typical day for Dana would be checking in at the office for messages and reviewing the files of the clients that she is scheduled...
Words: 3322 - Pages: 14
...Adoption counselors are a type of counselor that deals with all aspects of the adoption process. They work with the family that is going to be adopting, and they work with the biological parents of the adoptee. They help them through the adoption. Adoption can be an extremely hard thing for everyone included. It is very emotional and stressful. The counselors are there to help everyone get through it. Adoption counselors are needed to be the mediator between the birth parents and the adoptive parents. They can bridge the gap between the two and make the adoption process go as smoothly as possible. They are there for both parties. They provide support and encouragement to the families and offer advice since they are true counselors. There are...
Words: 1008 - Pages: 5
...This article discussed the need for counselors to develop a counselor identity. Counselors advocate for wellness, human development, and prevention of harm. It’s important that counselors began to articulate their professional identity so that they can be seen as a unified field. With the help of counselor educators, new counselors should be able to compressively educate consumers and legislators on the uniqueness and benefits of counseling. If counselors achieve the goal of being seen as a unified field, counselors will gain the confidence of third- party payers and the policy makers responsible for management of the medical program. A qualitative study which gathered counselor’s perception on if there is a break in counseling and whether...
Words: 257 - Pages: 2
...School counselors have a responsibility to provide ethical services to students while taking into consideration students and stakeholders’ unique cultures. The American School Counselor Association ([ASCA] 2010) Ethical Standards for School Counselors preamble states that school counselors should be advocates, leaders, collaborators, and consultants. In addition, school counselors have a responsibility to uphold each person’s right to be respected and treated with dignity while having access to a school counseling program that advocates for and supports all students from diverse backgrounds (ASCA, 2010). Scenario 1: If a counselor’s religious beliefs differed from a student it would be important to not impose the counselor’s beliefs onto...
Words: 343 - Pages: 2
...Mental health, family, marital and pediatric counselors are very important intoday’s society due to the skyrocketing rate of mental health issues. The duty ofthese counselors is to help manage and ease the pain of those suffering from issuesinvolved in these areas. Personally, I started out my education by wanting tobecome an elementary education teacher. However, once I looked into the area ofcounseling a little more, I realized this is a better fit for me. Counselors have theduties of helping their clients understand things such as diagnoses, problems andpainful experiences. After helping their clients understand these things better,counselors work on helping those people improve their well being by developinghelpful strategies to implement into their lives.The first thing I learned about in researching the career of a pediatric/familycounselor is that you are unable to practice until you obtain your master’s degree orhigher in counseling. There is no program that allows you to become a certifiedcounselor with simply a bachelor’s degree. Therefore, education is extremelyimportant. In order to get into most graduate degree programs, you need to meetcertain requirements, such as obtaining a bachelor’s degree and passing certainundergraduate prerequisite classes....
Words: 475 - Pages: 2
...The potential for counselor burnout is an extremely common theme in the field of counseling. The occupation chosen by people in this field to listen and witness the hardships of life and the immoral things that individuals can impose on one another will inevitably begin to weigh on the counselor. In order for the counselor to continue to assist their clients in a positive manner they will need to be conscious of their mental and health state and practice self-care. The segment of self-care that is important is the office in which the counselor is employed. For a newly practicing counselor there are obstacles that cannot be expected, however, the veteran counselors should be open to answering any questions or concerns that they have. Oser,...
Words: 302 - Pages: 2
...The Role of a Community Counselor Donte Love Abstract The purpose of this paper is to address the role and function of the community counselor. Additionally, the framework of the community counseling model is taken into account, including some of the strategies used in community counseling. The Role of a Community Counselor Community counseling can be defined as “…a comprehensive helping framework that is grounded in multicultural competence and oriented toward social justice (Lewis, Lewis, Daniels, & D'Andrea, 2011). While this definition may serve as a starting point, any meaningful understanding of the role and function of a Community counselor requires more than a brief description or a cursory glance at a definition. The community counseling model is based on four fundamental assumptions and several concepts. The first assumption is: “1. Human development and behavior take place in environmental contexts that have the potential to be nurturing or limiting” (Lewis et al., 2011). This assumption refers to the connection between people and their environment and its potential to act as a source of support or as a limiting factor on their development. The community counseling model effectively deals with the environmental factors that have an influence on the development of problems that people encounter. “2. Even in the face of devastating stress, people who are treated respectfully can demonstrate surprising levels of strength and access resources that a pessimistic...
Words: 1719 - Pages: 7
...For the purpose of this assignment, I chose to interview the head counselor at Duncan Polytechnical High School, Thomas Yang. Yang has been with Fresno Unified School District as a school counselor for 17 years and a head counselor for 8 years. Prior to his current position at Duncan Poltechnical High School, Yang has worked at Fresno High School, Roosevelt High School, and Hoover High School. Although Yang does not have a caseload as the head counselor at Duncan Poltechnical High School, he shared with me that he is responsible for creating the master schedules for all the freshmen, sophomore, juniors, and senior teachers’ class schedules as well as many other duties head counselors are responsible for. In regards to what specific programs...
Words: 657 - Pages: 3
...In order for counselors to affect change, they must prove there is a need for the change; they must “have a vision of change; be persistent . . .” (Gibson, 2010, p. 352), and be able to provide evidence to back up the issue they are advocating for. The issue I would like to advocate for is the integration of animal-assisted therapy into more counseling settings. This type of therapy can be used effectively in a variety of settings, including private practice, prisons, nursing homes, detention centers, hospitals, schools, etc. It is particularly effective with at-risk children and adolescents, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations (Franchy, 2011). When animals are used in therapy, it makes it easier for counselors to build positive therapeutic alliances with their clients. Many children and adolescents prefer to communicate in non-verbal ways; therefore, when a counselor brings an animal, such as a dog, into the counseling session, it becomes much easier for a child or adolescent to open up and express their thoughts and feelings by “project[ing] their own feelings onto the dog” (Shallcross, 2011, A Comfortable Relationship section, para. 5). The child or adolescent is more likely to establish a relationship with the dog, which then transfers to a relationship with the counselor. The animal helps clients feel more comfortable with the counselor, which in turn, facilitates more trust, warmth, and acceptance. Animal-assisted therapy “facilitates breakthroughs with clients”...
Words: 584 - Pages: 3
...Personal experience that makes me a quality candidate for a school counselor includes my passion for helping others, problem-solving ability and communication skills. Throughout life, I’ve found that whenever friends are having issues I’m the first go-to. Helping others to solve problems is something I’ve always been passionate about. By helping others to solve problems I’ve realized that not all people handle conflict in the same way and that different solutions are needed in each situation. I feel my degree in Psychology has helped me to develop the communication and interpersonal skills I need to be a good school counselor. Over time I have witnessed how beneficial school counselors can be. I personally benefitted from the myriad of services...
Words: 415 - Pages: 2
...Why I chose to become a mental health counselor Counseling others is a difficult job that requires people to listen, take notes, and respond in ways that are positive and helpful. It is important that trust be built between the counselor and the patient so that the patient will feel comfortable speaking about issues that are private or embarrassing. There are many different types of counselors including drug counselors; marriage counselors, grief counselors, job counselors, diet and exercise counselors, and others that can help people improve their lives in different ways. Counselors are trained to offer advice and listen to issues that may be bothering other people. They are not allowed to prescribe medication or expected to provide medical advice. Approximately 25 percent of North Americans suffer from diagnosable mental health issues each year. With the increasing awareness of the related social, political and economic impacts of these problems, there is a greater need for professional mental health counselors. Additionally, health care insurance providers, driving the demand for more qualified professionals, recognize most mental health counseling. After earning a master's degree in mental health counseling, most people choose to get licensed or certified in a specialty such as: • Rehabilitation counseling • Substance abuse counseling • Marriage and family counseling Mental health counselors work with individuals, groups and communities on a variety of mental health...
Words: 1282 - Pages: 6
...experiences counseling professionals can begin to face emotional issues of their own. Understanding and recognizing how this happens, why it happens and ways to effectively combat it when it does are an important aspect of being a professional counselor. The Wellbeing of Counseling Professionals Pray, eat right, exercise, get plenty of sleep, take time for yourself and talk to someone. Six common and well know key pieces to dealing with the daily struggles of life, they help control stress and reduce anxiety. But what if you are the one that people turn to when they need to talk, to share distressing life experiences and are seeking understanding and compassion. Caring for the needs of others can quickly over shadow the needs of caring for ones self, what are the consequences of this and how can we as counselors maintain healthy lives so that we may serve others to the best of our abilities. In order for a counselor to be effective in the help that they give to their clients they must offer a more vulnerable side of themselves during a session. This is extremely important in helping the client feel safe and allows them to see the counselor as someone in whom they can trust, but this type of relationship can leave the counselor feeling mentally and physically depleted. “When clients express feelings of pain, confusion, shock, trauma, distress, or other significant emotions, these can sometimes be transferred or projected onto the professional helpers’ psyches” (Stebnicki...
Words: 1411 - Pages: 6
...The Role and Life of a Mental Health Counselor COUN 6100-13 Intro to Mental Health Counseling Component I: Narrative Summation of Interview Mrs. Washington-Williams was able to explain to me the difference from a mental health counselor and a social worker. Mental health counselors focus on interventions and preventions for their clients. Although social worker and mental health counselors have some similar things in common there are also some that are different when it comes to working with our clients. A normal day according to Mrs. Washington-Williams goes as her checking in on her clients throughout the day, having one-on-one counseling session, group counseling, and looking over the client goals to determine if the client has worked towards their goals and made progress. All counselors do struggle with ethical and legal issues; but they do keep in mind on can help and hurt them. Because of that she has to keep in mind that the client she is working has a great imagination. Some of the clients like to come up with stories and see if anything will be done. She did state that an investigation is and reviewed to see if the stories are true or false. Not all counselors go by theories and apply them in their practice but they still acknowledge them. When asked about theories she stated that due to every client is different and the treatment various; she do not use theories as often but when they are need she does the research and apply what...
Words: 1751 - Pages: 8
...Occupational Projections for Mental Health Counselors “Although network systems and data communications analyst is expected to be the fastest growing occupation, most of the other 20 fastest growing occupations are related to healthcare” (Sommers, 2007, p. 3). Upon researching the occupational projections for the years 2006-2022, and specifically projections for mental health counselors, I observed that the outlook was going to be favorable. Overall those in the professional and other related occupations should expect an increase in employment opportunities and new jobs openings. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition website, “employment of mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists is projected to grow 29 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2014). There are several elements that will affect the future employment of mental health counselors: a need for counselors for the ageing population and veterans, mandatory health care for individuals by law, and a growth in employment opportunities and new job openings. As the population in the United States ages because of the baby boomers (a massive explosion in births between the years 1946 and 1964) there is more need for professionals in the health care field. Unlike the past, it has also become very common place for individuals to seek mental health ...
Words: 614 - Pages: 3
...The Roles and Functions of a CMHC Abstract The clinical mental health counseling approach has been described as a continuum with healthy individuals on one end and severe mentally ill individuals on the other; consequently, everyone can benefit from clinical mental health counseling. The client-counselor relationship is one in which the client is led to identify strengths and challenges, and develop skills with the goal of independent problem-solving, long-term benefits and future prevention. This paper seeks to explore these domains further. Clinical Roles and Approaches of the CMHC The clinical mental health counseling approach has been described as a continuum with healthy individuals on one end and severe mentally ill individuals on the other; consequently, everyone can benefit from clinical mental health counseling. According to Hersehson and Poser (1987), the client-counselor relationship is one in which the client is led to identify strengths and challenges, and develop skills with the goal of independent problem-solving, long-term benefits and future prevention. Clinical mental health counselors (CMHC) are trained to treat their clients holistically and to use diverse approaches to address wide-ranging issues, diverse cultural backgrounds and life styles, and community settings (Gladding & Newsome, 2011; Myers & Sweeney, 2007). According to Gladding & Newsome (2011) the CMHC will provide services in the following capacities: Mental health counseling...
Words: 1343 - Pages: 6
