...In early August 2015, I relocated to Jacksonville to embark on my Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) at the University of North Florida (UNF). This marked a definitive step in my career transition process. Approximately three years ago, several life and work related events converged which caused me to re-evaluate my life. Personal triggers included - turning 50, my husband’s health issues and his post-retirement life-style change and my mother’s retirement and her subsequent move to Jacksonville. At work, I was charged with the assessment of Obamacare and the implementation of the Health Exchange for Medicaid products; areas which I oversaw. I was also selected by senior executives at the corporation where I was employed to participate in the Executive Leadership Program for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Despite having been certified from the prestigious program and recognized by internal and external entities as a leader and subject matter expert in my field, I was becoming increasing disenchanted at work. I was not able to break the “glass ceiling”. Those at the executive levels were (and are) mostly white males. Minorities (non-whites, non-hetero males and females) were already in place. There appeared to be no need to admit additional “tokens” to fulfill an appearance of diversity at the upper echelons. When I evaluated the impact of Obamacare, I predicted the need for substantial downsizing due to automation and projected revenue...
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...examines the basic ethical issues and current trends affecting the counselor working in a contemporary school or agency. Topics include: the nature and scope of counseling, the definition of ethics and its meaning for professional counselors, and the relationship between counseling and professional ethical practice as defined by the American Counseling Association. The variety of agency and school settings are examined to illustrate the specific ethical guidelines that apply to schools and agencies. Professional norms, such as non-malfeasance, patient autonomy, and confidentiality are explained. (3 credits) TEXT: Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Standards, research and emerging issues (4th edition) Elizabeth Reynolds Welfel (2013) Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage ISBN13: 978-0-8400-2858-7 American Counselor Association Code of Ethics http://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=4 Code of Ethics of the American Mental Health Counseling Association. Available on-line at www.amhca.org/ethics.html American School Counselor Association Ethical Standards for School Counselors, Available on-line at www.schoolcounselor.org/library/ethics.pdf Program Outcomes (PO) – Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling Program Outcome (PO) Code | Program Outcomes (POs) | Program Goal (PG) Alignment | * PO1 | * Students will identify and describe the application of the American Mental Health Counseling Association standards in...
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...Christine Henderson Rose The Diverse Nature of Psychology Diversity is psychology adds distinct outlooks of human behavior in the different branches of psychology. Diversity continues hence the amount of branches and subtopics of psychology. Subtopics develop from adaption to constant changes. Diversity is the reason for second opinions and different perspectives. People adapt so do the methods of treatment. Social and counseling psychology covers large areas in psychology and benefits from the behavioral and humanistic perspective. The want to deal common repression and knowing one’s biases is diversity; no one will understand completely another person pending if that person trusts enough to share experiences. Major Concepts in Psychology Under an exact perspective or viewpoint of psychology, the major concepts describe human behavior. Psychology reaps the benefits from a diverse disposition but does not have the union. Diverse thinking creates an extensive variety of thought but may reduce the focal point on a specific idea or fused theories. No two people will distinguish an occurrence the same sense. For example, a death of a family member may be hard for one person to make sense of but to another person the death may not be negative. The same goes for a psychologist or any clinician; a patient may receive a different diagnosis from a psychologist, especially with the overlapping in psychology. Diversity puts forth an energetic power on the major concepts in psychology...
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...Events Impact on School Counseling Profession Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred December 14, 2012 in Newton, Connecticut. This was one of the deadliest mass shooting at a grade school in the history of the United States. A 20 year old male, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adult staffers. Lanza also shot his mother. Lanza committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Lanza had significant mental health issues which psychologist say did affect his ability to live a normal life. (www.CNN.com). Today there are has been more than 100 school shootings since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. (www.schoolsecurity). Traumatic stress and psychological distress play a major role in counseling children. School counseling has become even more valuable in the U.S. due to traumatic events such as school shootings. School shootings have had a major impact on students, families and communities. There is a more security and law enforcement present at schools across the US and metal detectors in schools also. School children are being taught how to prepare if there is a shooter or shooters in schools. Due to the increased acts of violence in schools and the need for intensive intervention in student issues, school personnel, school boards, and communities are recognizing the need to provide effective prevention and intervention programs to address social, emotional, and academic needs of students. (Davis, T., 2015, Exploring School Counseling). In the next ten years...
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...Roughly five years ago, this particular learner had the excellent opportunity to complete a three-month internship at Calvary Refuge Center. Calvary Refuge Center serves the diverse population of Clayton County Georgia with the goal of transition and rehabilitation. They focus on taking people off the street and counseling them through career, housing and emotional areas of their lives. Calvary prides itself on the intervention of the homeless situation that is so common in the Metropolitan Atlanta area. Although the Center gets its funding from government and private grants, the mostly rely on the generosity of others and volunteers/interns. Overall Calvary Refuge Center advocates for those who don’t have much of a voice in the homeless community. Description of the organization. Calvary Refuge Center is a non-profit organization and, in its simplest form, a homeless shelter. Calvary Refuge Center began as an informal service to Clayton County residents who had no place to go providing food and overnight shelter at Calvary Baptist Church in Clayton County in 1985. The organization eventually moved to its current location 4265...
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...International Counseling Psychology Students in the United States Y. Barry Chung University of Illinois at Urbana-Charnpaign The special needs and concerns of international counseling psychology students in the United States have been largely ignored. The purpose of this paper is to discuss education issues regarding this student population . Topics covered include: admission, language and cultural adjustment, learning experience, practicum and internship, thesis and dissertation, reentry, and recommendations for future research . Many counseling psychology education programs in the United States are committed to increasing diversity in their student body by recruiting students from different demographic backgrounds (e .g ., sex, age, geographic location, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical disability, etc .) . Some programs are more successful than others in this effort . However, a diverse student body also demands special attention in education programs . It is obvious that students from different backgrounds may have different needs and concerns . Unfortunately, some programs tend to treat everybody the same way with limited assistance for the professional growth of students from diverse backgrounds . International counseling psychology students in the U.S . are among those whose needs and concerns are largely ignored . International students constitute a significant portion of the student population and they certainly contribute to diversity in counseling psychology...
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...The American Counseling Association (ACA) has officially approved the multicultural competencies and has put much more emphasis on these competencies. Unlike the ACA, the American Psychological Association (APA), however, has only established non-obligating instructional rules for multicultural competencies (Ridley & Kleiner, 2003). Nonetheless, a noteworthy period of progress came forth with the publication of the “Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists” (American Psychological Association [APA], 2003). Supporters of multiculturalism worked together to incorporate and combine multiculturalism into the field of psychology and specific for APA (Arredondo & Perez,...
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...Benefits of Coaching Coaching is one of the most practical forms of counseling, aimed at self-help, personal counseling, group counseling (e.g. family) and person-centered counseling which may include career or business goals. It is a useful approach to fundamental improvements in career, health, or other project-style areas of concern. For many people, the primary area of life that needs improvement concerns career/business goals. A coach can assist in that area and if you are already working within an organization in upper management or seeking upper-level management opportunities an Executive Coach is best. The benefit of coaching in general is it can help with life challenges such as gaining fresh perspectives on personal challenges, enhanced decision-making skills, greater interpersonal effectiveness, and increased confidence for current and future endeavors. In addition, personal satisfaction, clarification of issues and expectations, improvement of...
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...The person I chose to shadow happened to be a female approximately 30-40 years of age. She is a counselor, teacher, mother, and mentor for all students who visit her office. However, the school would say that her areas of expertise are Counseling, University Retention, and Social Welfare. During her average day she deals with student breakdowns, reports for the office, emails, and instructs a Freshman Year Experience course. Many people would consider her superwoman. But then again doesn’t every woman take on these roles in her life? Balancing a professional work environment while tending to a family. Could it be that her position as a counselor strengthens this thought and question? Human Resources Approach According to Miller, “the human resources approach acknowledges contributions of classical and, especially, human relations approaches to organizing” (45). I thought that this concept related best with my interviewee. As program coordinator as her official title she is in charge of many responsibilities. I asked her if she could describe her job as well as what are her main responsibilities were for. Her response was financial aid counseling, personal counseling, career & graduate/professional school counseling, and career services. She then explained her role as a program coordinator for that...
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...1977, guidance and counseling became an important issue in our schools system. Since then, guidance and counseling has been a regular topic in our dailies conferences and seminars. For example, Nnadi (1984). Stressed its importance in our educational system and the priority that should be given to it in out schools because of its usefulness in transition in the various stages of education. Also, Nwabuisi (1984), emphasized on the necessity of proper guidance programme in schools if the current national policy on education is to have the desired impact. Perhaps, Durojaiye's (1972), Stand on the issue of guidance and counseling in our schools was one of the factors that influenced the formulation of the aspect of the new national policy on education that deals with guidance programme in schools today. Taking into consideration, our rapid educational and economic growth, he emphasized on the need for guidance and counseling in our educational policy. In his words; "We can see that the need for guidance and counseling in Nigeria becomes increasingly pressing as economic and educational strides are being made in the country. Each student needs to be helped to strengthen his abilities to make nice choices and to face problems encountered in society. Those who fall by the way side because of physical, intellectual or emotional inadequacy particularly need guidance"(p.72). In the above statement, Durojaiye points out clearly the fact that guidance and counseling is very important...
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...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, treating people with mental health issues including depression...
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...Psychology, Only a Dream or Wise Career Choice? What career do I want to be a professional in? I aspire to become a Counseling Psychologist. Due to all the obstacles I have had to learn how to cope with I want to help others do the same. My passion for understanding how the brain works has become stronger in the recent years. I love learning about the brain, helping others and have a caring personality. I understand the challenges I will face on the road to becoming a counseling psychologist. Some of these challenges that could delay or prevent me from obtaining my career goal include change in major, academic and financial struggles. What is counseling psychology? According to the American Psychology Association, counseling psychology focuses...
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...This is what I am expected to do. Assignment 2: Ethics Review In this assignment, you will explore professional counseling ethical codes. You will examine multiple codes of ethics to assist in practicing CMHC in an ethical manner. You will also familiarize yourself with the sections of the codes that govern your responsibilities as a counseling student. Tasks: * Compare and contrast the ACA's, the AMHCA's, and the NBCC's codes of ethics. * Describe your responsibilities as a student as per the ACA's and the AMHCA's codes of ethics. Your final product will be a 3- to 5-page Microsoft Word document written in APA format, utilizing at least three scholarly sources. Your paper should be written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. This is the grading rubric Assignment Components | Proficient | Max Points | | | | Compare and contrast the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Mental Health Counseling Association (AMHCA), and National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) codes of ethics. | Thoughtful and insightful understanding of the parallels and variations between the ACA, AMHCA, and NBCC codes of ethics is reflected. Accurate analysis and synthesis of the ethical codes reflects an appropriate connection between the three codes. | ...
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...Week 2 Discussion Nikita Tyler Brief Summary of Case Study While reading the three case studies in our ACA Ethical Standards casebook I specifically enjoyed reading Carmen’s the most. Carmen was a 19 year old Latino female from Puerto Rico who attended a community college in her neighborhood. She was being counseled by a 28 year old Caucasian female named Allison. Allison is a doctoral student involved in a practicum program at the community college. Allison has held previous counseling sessions with Carmen about her future career options. Carmen seemed to be very excited about the choices and could not wait to get her dad’s opinions about what she should do about her future. This is common behavior for Carmen’s culture, however, her counselor found it to be dysfunctional and wanted to correct Carmen’s behavior and make her be independent. Carmen did not approve of her counselor’s interference with her family matters and stop attending sessions. Ethical Dilemma in Case Study The issue at hand in this particular case study is the counselor loses site of the client’s goals and needs. Once the client said she could not wait to get her dad’s opinions about her options the counselor begin to think about herself and what she would and would not do. As a professional counselor, one needs to be respectful of cultures and their values. Latino families are known to be very enmeshed and respectful of their parent’s thoughts and concerns about their future choices. Depth and Breadth...
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...of Ethics As approved by the ACA Governing Council AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION counseling.org Mission The mission of the American Counseling Association is to enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counselors, advancing the counseling profession, and using the profession and practice of counseling to promote respect for human dignity and diversity. © 2014 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved. Note: This document may be reproduced in its entirety without permission for non-commercial purposes only. Contents ACA Code of Ethics Preamble • 3 ACA Code of Ethics Purpose • 3 Section A The Counseling Relationship • 4 Section B Section Confidentiality and Privacy • 6 C Professional Responsibility • 8 Section D Relationships With Other Professionals • 10 Section E Evaluation, Assessment, and Interpretation • 11 Section F Supervision, Training, and Teaching • 12 Section G Research and Publication • 15 Section H Distance Counseling, Technology, and Social Media • 17 Section I Resolving Ethical Issues • 18 Glossary of Terms • 20 Index • 21 • 2 • ACA Code of Ethics Preamble The American Counseling Association (ACA) is an educational, scientific, and professional organization whose members work in a variety of settings and serve in multiple capacities. Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals...
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