Foundations of Mental Health Counseling -Literature Review

FOUNDATIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING 9

Foundations of Mental Health Counseling

Donna O’HaraDO

Argosy University

January 26, 2018

1. Interview

I interviewed Glendora Dvine, a licensed professional counselor operating in her private practice Dvine Systems GA. Glendora is a successful female counselor who has been interacting with diverse clients for more than 8 years. Her contact details are found on her website at familycounselorinmcdonoughga.com.

Glendora noted that her responsibilities as a mental health counselor varied from promoting healthy lifestyles to the provision of group and individual therapy. Additionally, clinical assessments, diagnosis, and treatment are parts of her responsibilities. In general, the counselor argued that mental health counseling was an interdisciplinary and multifaceted profession which targeted the preservation and restoration of the client’s mental health. As a professional counselor, she felt the urge to identify an individual’s problems and develop techniques to alleviate the challenges at the personal level. She also works tirelessly to equip clients with effective tools for self –help- a phenomenon known as psycho-education (Leppma, 2012).

Though Glendora previously worked with multiple clients presenting a wide range of problems, she identified her ideal clients as young adults dealing with substance abuse, self-esteem issues, anxiety, and depression. In this case, the rise in the rates of suicide and incarceration among young adults of the minority groups motivated the interviewee’s choice of client. She also noted that group therapy worked perfectly with her clients as a result of effective leadership skills. Additionally, she argued that as a counselor, she had the moral duty to integrate theory, techniques, and ethics in solving the problems of the multicultural populations.

Glendora revealed that she was registered as a nationally certified counselor. Glendora also completed a CACREP approved program in mental health counseling. She also cited being a professional member of the American Counseling Association.

When it comes to training, the interviewee stated that this far, the theory of the behavioral sciences accounted for many training programs. In addition, she participated in several CACREP accredited programs some of which required 100 hours of face to face supervision. On the other hand, the AMHCA standards of clinical practice provided guidance in clinical assessments, diagnosis, and treatment (Hurt-Avila & Castillo, 2017). The ACA code of ethics also stipulated guidelines for an ethical practice.

Glendora suggested that the same techniques used to identify and remove stressors in clients were useful for the counselor’s self-care. In this case, she noted that counselors should be self-aware in order to externalize and contain their problems. For this reason, counselors should develop a consistent plan that allows them to engage in nourishing activities. They should also create emergency strategies for unprecedented stressors and seek support from peers and colleagues. Lastly, she noted that the most useful self-care tool is self-compassion.

The interviewee’s advice for counselors in training was to identify the passion and sources of motivation before selecting an area of specialization if they envisioned a rewarding career. In addition, she proposed that counselors in training should study the future direction of the counseling profession since it is on an ongoing development.

2. Benefits of ACA Membership

The ACA Government Relations listserv keeps members informed of any new legislation and the implications to the counseling profession (Yep, n.d). Also, by being a member of the ACA, one can access regular updates on relevant program and funding support. On the other hand, the ACA membership certificate serves as an important tool to show the credibility of counselors and leadership in adherence to the ACA code of ethics. Therefore, clients are likely to trust counselors who have an ACA certificate. The membership also keeps members informed on contemporary solutions to emerging issues through magazines, journals, newsletters, and news bulletins. Moreover, it gives unlimited access to professional development courses that can be used as credits during the licensure process (Yep, n.d). Lastly, the ACA-ACES Syllabus Clearinghouse helps counselors to progressively refresh their knowledge based on modern approaches and changes in the profession.

3. Requirements for Counselor Licensure in Georgia and Plan for Licensure and Certification

I plan to work in the state of Georgia where licensing requirements require interested persons to have graduate level education before submitting a formal application to the State’s board. Additionally, the applicant must not have a criminal record for proof of good character. Supervised work experience and passing of an exam are compulsory for individuals who wish to change status from Associate Licensed Professional Counselor (ALPC) to Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

A minimum of a master level education in a counseling-oriented field is required for licensure. However, the degree programs must be accredited by agencies that are recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (Counselor-License, n.d.). Counseling theory or psychotherapy is a mandatory subject of coverage by the applicant. Additionally, the coverage of at least six among the areas listed below is compulsory.

· Social and Cultural Foundations Comment by almcleod: See pages 64-65 in APA manual for how to format a bulleted list.

· Human Growth and Development

· Advanced Psychotherapy Intervention Theory

· Group Counseling Dynamics

· Career Development

· Research Methods

· Individual Appraisal

· Psychopathology

· Professional Orientation (Counselor-License, N.D.)

A minimum of 300 hours of internship that is supervised by an instructor is also compulsory. The board credits applicants for some course work that would be done after the masters. The board in Georgia also requires applicants to have relevant supervised practice that is dependent on the educational background. For instance, applicants holding a doctoral degree in a counseling-oriented program require only one-year internship to serve as proof of supervised practice (Counselor-License, n.d.). However, master’s level applicants should provide evidence of at least four years of supervised practice. The board gives credit for not more than one-year practicum experience acquired before the completion of a degree. The specialist degree in counseling amounts to two years of supervised practice along with an internship. Lastly, a master’s in vocational counseling translates to three years of supervision.

The number of years that one works as an associate are dependent on job status (full time or not) for the associate counselor. The director who is the employer and a supervisor are important figures during this type of employment. The supervisor must be recognized by the board and they evaluate performance and experience for licensure. For testing purposes, applicants must take either the National Counselors Examination or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination.

Counselors who have licenses from other states can access licensure in Georgia via endorsement provided the requirements in the previous state are higher or similar to Georgia’s.

For maintenance of the license, counselors are required to participate in 35 hours of education programs within every two years where professional ethics counts for at least five hours and the core areas of licensing at least 15 hours.

MY PLAN FOR LICENSURE Comment by almcleod: Also include estimated dates for each step.

My interest is to secure a counseling license in the state of Georgia and later surrounding states which will allow me to practice virtually and face to face. At first, I will present a notarized application to Georgia’s board to be recognized as an associate counselor. I will include the master’s program transcript, test scores, contact affidavit (director and supervisor), proof of internship and a processing fee.

After completion of the supervised practice, I will apply for the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination. After the NBCC confirms my application, I will pay a fee of $195 and later select my testing center. Having met the requirement for licensure, I will formally apply to be considered an LPC. Lastly, to become a nationally certified counselor, I plan to complete a doctoral degree and later apply through the NBCC website.

4. Why Am I Here?

My journey into counseling is based on my mom being diagnosed with mental illness when I was five years old. Me Bbeing in foster care and living with several different family members left me vulnerable to all forms of abuse from the age of 5 until 18. I had issues with anger and I demonstrated passive aggressive behavior. I used comedy as a way to take the focus off me and I continuously conflicted with others. I was labeled an at-risk child. However, as an adult I went through a process of forgiveness and this process led me to going back to help others labeled as I was as a child.

I am therefore interested in helping people overcome deep rooted mental and emotional challenges. For this reason, I prefer to work with children and young adults who experience or witness domestic violence or abuse because it can have lasting consequences. I’m enthusiastic about the use of therapy to deconstruct internal conflicts and biases that can lower self-esteem or become stressors in an individual’s life. By pursuing a master’s program in a counseling related field, I stand a better chance in getting myself registered as a professional counselor. Thereafter, I would focus on helping people, especially children and teens who encounter scenes similar to mine.

On the other hand, being an African American woman, I am motivated to pursue CMH because the training equips counselors with multicultural skills that can be applied to diverse clientele. The percentage of counselors from the minority groups is significantly low. Therefore, I intend to use the multicultural skills to attend to clients from the minority groups where children encounter a relatively large number of stressors. For instance, Dettlaff (2010) argues that poverty and settlement related factors contribute to abuse of children in immigrant families. Interventions are therefore needed.

Counseling also entails a sequence of challenging but rewarding tasks. In this case, my goal in life is to help as many people as possible. The undertaking to help others creates a feeling of fulfillment and achievement. Indeed, helping people to change their behaviors and perceptions in a positive way that fosters the achievement of goals creates a rewarding experience.

On the other hand, being a patriotic citizen of my country, I would wish to help the victims of natural disasters or national crises such as the great depression. In natural disasters, the victims suffer from post-traumatic stress. Moreover, they are also vulnerable to depression due the drastic changes that occur in their lives. As a patriotic mental health counselor, I would devote my time and resources to ensure that such victims get a helper to aid them in regaining their lives. Similarly, during economic recessions, families face unprecedented changes due to the loss of jobs and livelihoods by the breadwinners. My goal would be to help the families (especially the children) to overcome the stress factors.

Lastly, the CACREP argues that counseling is a highly regarded profession. In this case, the prestige that is associated with the profession motivates the urge to help troubled young ones. In this case, I can easily identify with my profession as a mental health counselor.

References

CACREP. Clinical Mental Health Counseling | CACREP. Cacrep.org. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from http://www.cacrep.org/program/clinical-mental-health-counseling-101/

Counselor-License. Counselor License in Georgia | Requirements for an LPC in GA. Counselor-license.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://www.counselor-license.com/states/georgia-counselor-license.html#context/api/listings/prefilter

Dettlaff, A. (2010). Child Welfare Practice with Immigrant Children and Families: Challenges and Responses. Journal Of Public Child Welfare, 4(3), 241-244.

Hurt-Avila, K., & Castillo, J. (2017). Accreditation, Professional Identity Development, and Professional Competence: A Discriminant Analysis. Journal Of Counselor Leadership And Advocacy, 4(1), 39-51.

Leppma, M. (2012). Loving-Kindness Meditation and Counseling. Journal Of Mental Health Counseling, 34(3), 197-204.

Yep, R. American Counseling Association Member's Resource Guide. Counseling.org. Retrieved 25 January 2018, from https://www.counseling.org/Counselors/ACA-Welcome-Kit.pdf