Why a Clinical Mental Health Counselor uses Theory

According to Sheperis and Ellis (2014) professional counselors must practice from a foundation rooted in theory (pg178). Professional counselors have an obligation to build their foundations upon theories that are already in place. The individual personalities of counselors determine which theories fit their personal philosophies, and best serve their clients. Theories also help counselors to explain their practices to their clients. Theories also provide a foundation that helps counselors to create treatment plans for their clients (Levitt, Darnell, Erford, Vernon, 2014).

Theoretical Orientation as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor

Because I want to work with preschool aged children after completing this program, there are two theories that seemed to fit best for me as an adolescent counselor. Most of the problems that are occurring in the classroom are due to behavior, and it seems best to match the intervention to the behavior (Hackney, 1992).

It has been my experience that 3 and 4-year-olds are under stress due to their environments and other factors upon entering the classroom causing a need for Behavioral Intervention. Sometimes children enter the classroom never being exposed to other children or never being a part of a larger group of children. Children who are displaying undesired behaviors must be taught how to act in their new environments. The goal of Behavioral Intervention is to weaken or eliminate said behaviors and replace them with more desirable ones. Since entering the classroom in 2008, the Office of Head Start was already promoting behavior-based interventions, so this particular theory is one that I am already familiar with, I am just now able to put a name to it. Behavior Intervention is one of the multiple theories that seems as though it would work best with my philosophies and so far for the preschool clients that I wish to serve.

The second theory is Cognitive-Behavioral-Theory or CBT. CBT also seems to fit my views as a counselor in training and works well with Behavior Interventions. To change one's behavior, you have first to change the way they think. This again is the reason children who display undesirable behavior must be taught behaviors that are acceptable and appropriate. For example if a student want to play in the block area, but first needs to clean up after lunch and throws his self on the floor in a tantrum, my job would be to help the child to see that throwing the plate in the trash can helps him to make it to this goal that is to play in the block area. CBT seems to be where using first/then with children come from. First you put your plate in the trash then you play in the block area. This technique may not work in the beginning, but with consistency the child will get to the point where he will clean up after himself.

Both Behavior and Cognitive-Behavioral-Theories are treatments modalities that are grounded in theory. The American Counselors Association Code of Ethics states that “Counselors use techniques, procedures, modalities that are grounded in theory and or/have an empirical or scientific foundation (ACA, 2014).” Because both of these theories are rooted in science I would have to use art to incorporate these theories into practice (Simon, 2009)

References

American Counseling Association (ACA). (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=4

Sheperis, D. S., & Ellis, C. M. (2014). The counseling process. In B. T. Erford (Ed.), Orientation to the counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations (2nd ed).(pp. 160–193). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Hackney, H. (1992). Differentiating between counseling theory and process. ERIC Digest, 1–6. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Levitt, D. H., Darnell, A., Erford, B.T., & Vernon, A.(2014). Theories of counseling. In B. T. Erford (ed.), Orientation to the counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations (2nd ed.).(pp. 114–159). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Simon, George. (2009, July 23). Psychology: Art or Science? Retrieved from http://counsellingresource.com/features/2009/07/23/psychology-art-or-science/