Early on in my life I realized that I was the one in my family that everyone would come to for advice or simply someone they knew would listen. I was happy to realize that others valued my opinion and understood that I was honest and nonjudgmental. I was seen as someone who is always willing to help. During my undergraduate studies there was a moment where I found myself conflicted on which path I should focus my future career on but in time I knew my calling was to service others. Since receiving my bachelor’s degree I found my passion in helping others and decided that I wanted to further my professional career in the helping field through counseling.
Having a standard definition for counseling can be a difficult task due to counseling being such a complex field. As a future professional counselor, I would define counseling as helping client’s make positive changes, cope with life’s stressors, overcome obstacles, and to help them heal old wounds. Kottler and Shepherd (2014) defined counseling in part as a relationship, whether in a group, family, or individual format, that is constructed in a way to promote trust, safety, support, and lasting change. Counseling to me means making an impact on another person’s life. It means helping someone discover who they are based on their past and who they want to be in the future. Counseling means someone being able to open up and identify what is hindering their growth and going through a process to find affective tools to strengthen their development. Becoming a professional counselor is important to me because it meant being a resource to others and that is a part of why I chose to pursue a career in counseling.
Choosing a career in counseling seemed to be the obvious choice in a career path for me. I’ve always enjoyed helping others and the feeling I received from it. I have always enjoyed listening to other people’s stories and brainstorming ideas on how to work through a problem. Whether it was through work, a volunteer opportunity or personally helping a friend or family member, helping others has come natural for me. Kottler and Shepherd (2014) describe why people often choose a career in counseling and one point that the authors made was that some have suffered and were saved and now want to reverse the role. Choosing this field is also a way for me to give back to others because I have had influential people in my life to take the time and give to me. I hope that when becoming a professional counselor that I am able to give other’s the tools they need to be the best version of themselves.
Being a professional counselor means having the opportunity to work in a variety of settings with diverse clients. Myroup (2010) described mental health counselors being able to be flexible in working in a variety of environments such as a private office, within a large group, or in your own home. I would personally want to begin my professional career working in a mental health center providing individual and group counseling and work toward having a private practice. I would like to work with adults as well as children and adolescents focusing on stress management, depression, and anxiety. As a professional counselor I would like to incorporate multicultural counseling in my practices. Hayes and Erford (2017) define multicultural counseling as counseling that integrates cultural identities and takes into account their influence on the counseling relationship, process, and outcome. Integrating multicultural counseling is important to me because I would like to service clients from different racial backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, ages, sexual orientation, and those with disabilities. In order to effectively work with diverse clients I would have to become self-aware of my own biases and prejudices if I want to advocate on their behalf.
Professional counselors study many theories and practice multiple techniques to have one common outcome for their clients and that is to promote change. I believe that when people put forth a great effort and want to change then they will. I feel that clients need to first identify and acknowledge that a change needs to be made and then be committed to making a change. Kottler (2013) described in an article that change involves a high level of emotional arousal and that those strong emotions increase motivation and commitment to want to change. I hope that the counseling sessions that I hold with my clients are meaningful and have a lasting impression that provokes them to make the right choices and change behaviors.
There are many strengths that a professional counselor will need to affectively service clients. Myroup (2010) stated that mental health counselors must be good at resolving conflict, exhibiting patience, and listening attentively. Learning to recognize my own strengths as well as challenges I want to improve on has always been something I have taken with me after ending one experience to begin a new one. A strength that I have recognized I have is determination. I believe that having determination is an important strength to have as a professional counselor. Being able to focused on the client-counselor relationship, helping the client find purpose in each session, and overall helping the client resolve their issues takes determination. Another strength that I have recognized is being able to work well with others. In all the experience that I have in the helping field it has involved working in a team and I believe that teamwork is another strength that professional counselors should have. Kottler and Shepherd (2014) stated that counselors rarely operate alone and mostly work in either institutional or clinical settings as a part of a team. I enjoy working with others to brainstorm and come to a consensus on how to work with a client or complete a project and I know that becoming a professional counselor will allow for teamwork opportunities.
Along with recognizing my strengths I also acknowledge my challenges. A challenge that I have always recognized about myself is my introvert personality. I am often described by others as quite or shy or someone who doesn’t speak up. My shy and introvert personality often comes from fear of not knowing. When describing how no advice or books can completely prepare anyone for a career in counseling, Myroup (2010) stated that taking advantage and making the most of your time in school is beneficial in becoming confident and well prepared. I believe that the knowledge and skills that I will gain through each course as well as the hands on experience, it will help me to open up and feel more comfortable as an expert in the counseling field.
A career in counseling has always been an interest of mine because of my passion for helping others. I hope to gain a great amount of knowledge and skills in order to service a diverse group of clients and serve as a resource for them. I hope that as a professional counselor I am able to create a safe space for my clients and support them as they grow through the counseling experience. I believe that the skills I learn now as a professional counselor trainee will help promote commitment in my clients to want to change. Lastly, understanding my own strengths and weaknesses will help prepare me for the future. Although knowing that nothing will ever prepare me for every situation I will encounter as a professional counselor I know that my passion for this field will help me to continue to be the best counselor that I can be.
References
Hayes, D.G & Erford, B. T. (2017) Developing multicultural counseling competence: a systems
approach. London, England: Pearson.
Kottler, J.A. (2013, July 24) What really leads to change in people’s lives? Most life changing
alterations take place in daily life. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/change/201307/what-really-leads
-change-in-people-s-lives
Kottler, J.A. & Shepherd, D.S. (2014) Introduction to counseling: voices from the field. Pacific
Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Myroup, B. (2010) Mental Health Counselor: Is This Career for You?. ESSAI: Vol. 8,
Article 29.