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Bolton L Counselor Identity Paper 1
Orientation to Counseling Professional Identity (Liberty
University)
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Running head: COUNSELOR IDENTITY 1
Counselor Identity Paper
Lenny J. Bolton
Liberty University
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Abstract
This paper investigates the counselor identity as it relates to trying to define what the counseling
profession is and the impact that a counselor has upon both the community they serve, as well as
the profession itself. Most importantly the need for enhancing cohesiveness of the general
understanding of what the counseling profession does. Since there is not a concrete standard
federally for counselors CACREP accreditation has been the prerequisite for licensure. One of
the tenants that strongly ties with the counselor identity is the idea of uniform standards required
to create unity amongst a professional's education. In connection with a uniform standard comes
the issue of credentialing and the associated acronyms; are these needed for counselor identity
and do they help the public see professionality/professionalism? Instead we should really be
looking into what practices best serve the public/clientele’s wants or needs that way we as
counselors can best serve them and place emphasis on those things most important to those
clients.
Keywords: counselor identity, current issues, credentialing, licensure
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Counselor Identity Paper
Summary
Counseling as a profession is a foundation in many people’s lives as they may need an
outlet to safely seek support and guidance in their lives. However, it can be said that a
counselor’s identity is not thought about much regarding their profession. “Counseling is a
professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish
mental health, wellness, education, and career goals,” (Spurgeon, 2012, p. 4). It can be said that
the basic tenant of counselors is to nurture connections. This is an important part of the
counselor’s identity because the nature of their work is to help the clients that are under their
care but if the counselor does not connect the importance of the helping relationship that can
hinder their ability to be an effective member of the therapeutic community.
When trying to answer the question, Does Counseling have an identity? It is important
that a standard is achieved which includes, “a definition for professional counseling, a common
training curriculum, an established code of ethics, the development of national and regional
associations, licensure, and federal regulations,” (p.8). A counseling identity has been adopted
by a good number of organizations that promote unity within the counseling profession. One
could argue that this, in part, has been achieved by the eight common core areas the CACREP
looks for when providing accreditation for counseling degree programs. Not only are these areas
required for accreditation, they must also be exemplified by counseling students for them to
show their comprehension and ability to execute effectively the core areas.
Counseling education has done a great job of trying to unify the educational,
practicum, and internship requirements of CACREP accredited programs; however, when you
look at the state level specifics can vary thus consistency is not necessarily maintained. This
has made to
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the issue of reciprocity important in the field of counseling so that a similar set of outcomes from
different degree programs are similar in nature regarding values, skills, and expectations (p. 12).
Unification does not mean perfection by any means and it is very important the counselors
recognize and acknowledge this so that they may share their experience, both positive and
negative, with other counselors as to create a relationship that allows for constant growth.
Growth is very important in the counseling identity because people are constantly changing, and
no two clients will present the same nor will a single client always present the same. Continuing
education and trainings are vital in order to try and help counselors become more effective. This
requires an open exchange of dialogue amongst counselors and their superiors but most
importantly within themselves.
The dialogue that needed to take place has already had some noticeable traction in some
areas of the counseling profession. One instance was noted by Shook (2019) when acronyms for
mental health professionals were something akin to alphabet soup being that there were so many
letters and abbreviations being thrown around. This made it confusing for clientele to really
pinpoint a professional counselor to seek help from because as a lay person they were not
knowledgeable whether they should see a LPC, LPCC, MHC, etc. At this point it really became
the counselor's choice in which acronym that they wanted to use; however, it was noted that they
should really be using only the information that was most relevant. Because while counselors
wanted to emphasis their credentials and seem relevant to their client's needs and wants; many
times, the extra letters went over the head of clients because sometimes the acronyms as
qualifications for counselors were not being adequately assessed by clients. It could be assumed
that if a person successfully graduated from a program that they were qualified to provide
services sought for by the client.
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While the counseling profession has gained momentum since its inception, there has
been little done to incorporate a national standard for all counselors (Lawson et al., 2017). This
creates some concern for counseling professionals and students alike; because for licensure
purposes, CACREP is considered a pre-requisite but not required in every state. This has led to
some ambiguity amongst the states, especially those that do not offer students a CACREP
accreditation but something that is it’s equivalent. This creates some degree of apprehension
since there is not a formal review of these programs to ensure that they are meeting standards
like that of the CACREP counterparts. The American Counseling Association during this early
change in licensing requirements allowed graduates from nonclinical tracks could show
comprehension and sufficient mastery of material learned.
While it is important that a standard be created for the uniformity of the counseling
profession one must ask themselves how that come to fruition. The essence of becoming a
counselor is the hope to enter a helping profession to help foster the well-being others through
advocacy. In order to be able to help others one must first be both ready and willing to embrace
their own identity as it revolves around helping others. Additionally, one must be constantly
developing their relationships and knowledge regarding how they may best understand how the
behind the scenes rules and regulations are being created by the various organizations and
licensing boards of the state in which they practice. This can be achieved by conducting research
to help address the problem and then make progress towards a standard of practice that can be
used in better understanding accreditation. To make a standard of practice it is important that the
goals of the organization are understood so that a concrete action plan may be suggested for
implementation. Once all the research has been assimilated into a cohesive construct it must
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then be evaluated for effectiveness in practice and put into effect/action if it works or
reconstructed if it is not working properly.
Reactions
With respect to a counselor’s identity I can see it being a combination of integrating one's
own personal identity with the information attained from attending a CACREP accredited school
in order to shape their newly formed identity as a counselor. I think it can really be a struggle for
a new graduate to find their own footing in the counseling profession as they try to migrate into
the helping profession that counseling is. I believe one of the challenges prospective counseling
students face is deciding whether to attend a CACREP accredited university or not, because
ultimately that is going to set the path in which their journey as a counseling professional goes
down. This is especially true since no two programs look the same; however, every program
should have some similarities amongst them in order to help promote the unity in the counseling
profession.
One challenge that was thought about during the podcast was how does one effectively
explain or try to combat any public scrutiny that goes with portability of licensure not being
uniform across all 50 states. This is a challenge because no one really knows exactly where life
will take us and it could potentially stall career progress if you are licensed in one state but then
move to another with potentially more strict license requirement in which one has to take more
time completing obstacles before being able to return to helping people in their care. Another
challenge comes with the various career paths and specializations within the field of counseling;
at what point does any specific specialization benefit or hinder your future career path. Could
becoming a Licensed Family Marriage Therapist close career door for you that would be open if
you instead became a School Counselor or Mental Health Counselor? Since at the core, I believe
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counselors want to help people and may not necessarily think of that before attending a school
with only a specific specialization offered to students.
Summary and Reactions to SafeAssign Report
My SafeAssign report came back with a thirty-one percent match with both the
institutional database and top sources coming from other student’s papers and no excluded
sources. It appears a good portion of the thirty-one percent match stems from commonalities
addressed in the assignment instructions including running head and heading, titles, and
references used by other students in the Counseling 500 course. While there were two direct
quotes identified in my paper; however, both of those quotes were properly cited both in-text
and on the reference page. Lastly, the report noted that all the references as a one hundred
percent match as well, which would be assumed given that every student was to use the same
sources for the paper.
I was unsure what to expect when getting the results as I have not been a student for
some years now, I was worried that the result might indicate that I would have to go back and
redo entire sections of my paper. Especially because the number thirty one percent seems
daunting at first glance when looking at the report and its findings the number seems less scary
that originally thought. I believe that my results indicate a certain level of independent thinking
and reasoning given that only two direct quotes were detected. I believe this show that I was able
to synthesize the material and articulate a response that was original while incorporating the
sources appropriately while avoiding any direct plagiarism.
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References
Lawson, G., Trepal, H.C, Lee, R. W., Kress, V. E. (2017). Advocating for educational standards
in counselor licensure laws. Counselor Education and Supervision, 56, 162-176.
Shook, M. (Producer). (2019, August 6). EP137: What On Earth Shall We Call Ourselves?
Challenging the NCC/LPC/LMHC Acronym Soup with Donna Sheperis [Audio Podcast].
The Thoughtful Counselor. Retrieved from https://thethoughtfulcounselor.com/?
p=227330.
Spurgeon, S. (2012). Counselor identity: A national imperative. Journal of Professional
Counseling, Practice, Theory, and Research, 39, 3-16.
