professional-identity-and-credential-reaction-paper-Mandatory assignments-21.docx

lOMoARcPSD|22015503

Professional identity and credential reaction

paper

Orientation to Counseling Professional Identity (Liberty

University)

Online, School of Behavioral Sciences, Counselor Education & Family Studies Deleted: Matthew P.

Kramer¶

Counselor identity is essential on both a professional and individual level. On a professional

level, identity gives definition to the profession and drives the perception and understanding of

the public - those that would promote, fund, regulate or need the services or knowledge base.

Lack of identity agreement among counseling professionals, the organizations within the

profession, and public governing and licensing bodies creates confusion, impacts, portability of

professionals, public perception, growth and funding. Ultimately, the lack of clear identity limits

the ability of the profession to fully meet the needs of the people it is designed to serve and

those that are serving.

and therefore Commented [HJ2]: Use the new APA 7th edition for citing sources. (Simmons et al., 2020).

The importance of professional identity

an individual as they establish their identity in the profession. The identity of each individual

working in the profession then shapes the identity of the profession.

The profession of counseling is young (Simmons, Lilley & Kuhnley,2020)

faces many inherent challenges and struggles of the young. In many cases, there is agreement in

principal and purpose, but remains a lack of agreement in the details or uniformity of education

requirements, practice standards, licensure and certification, regulation, etc. The following is

intended as a summary and reaction to the discussion of identity presented by Introduction to

Counseling, Integration of Faith, Professional Identity and Clinical Practice (Simmons, Lilley &

Kuhnley,2020) and just two views of professionals addressing the current challenges to the

professional identity of counseling (Elliott, 2019; Shook, 2019).

counseling that professional counselors and counseling organizations could use with the general

counselor is and what they do. It should alco be clear how professional counseling is distinct

from other social sciences. To uphold and further professional identity, an organization must

also have “unifying bodies and practice standards” (Simmons, Lilley & Kuhnley,2020). These

entities help shape identity by developing standards for all aspects of the profession, including

training, testing, licensure and certification, and practice scope.

Personal counselor identity, “includes a process of engaging with values, attitudes, and

actions championed by the profession, and working to integrate such values, attitudes, and

actions with one’s larger identity system” (Lile,

minimum identity of the practice and then develop their personal identity within the profession

The challenges to professional identity stem from a lack of clarity on what a counselor is,

what they do, and why counseling is distinct from other social sciences. The answers to these

questions drive identity. Lack of agreement in any of these areas challenges that identity.

Disagreements come from within the profession itself and those outside the profession,

primarily the governing bodies that regulate the licensure, certification, and practice of

counseling.

a lack of unity among the “entities that define a counselor identity: professional associations, the

ethics, and our educational training standards” (Simmons, Lilley & Kuhnley,2020). In short,

within the field of counseling, there is no single authority identified to set uniform standards or

settle disputes. Similarly, among the bodies that control licensure and certification and the

entities that would regulate the practice of counselling there is not unity. Licensure, scope of

practice and even titling are controlled individually by state governing bodies with differing

standards (Simmons, Lilley & Kuhnley,2020). Regional and local advocacy works to create

identity or may result in confusion.

In an article published in the Professional Counselor, a research study was done

covering six states and including twelve counselors impacted as they moved between states.

These scholars describe the frustration of lack of uniform identity among states in areas of

research hopes to lay the foundations for work toward portability in the future (Elliott, 2019).

The inability to make progress with governing bodies leads many to create more definitive and

scholarly research results in the hopes of future progress.

Commented [HJ4]: Good overview of the challenges.

counseling advocacy, speaks broadly about the history and state of counseling identity. He

portability of the profession, legislation and funding. He speaks about accomplishments so far

and potential paths to achieve clearer identity. He notes improvements toward identity by the

work of the 20/20 initiative’s consensus definition of counseling and the American Counseling

Association (ACA), Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational

Programs (CACREP) organizations’ work in areas of advocacy, standing, licensure and

credentialling, code of ethics and testing.

Finally, Sheperis gives his view of the future of this work. He notes that public

understanding and acceptance of credentialling, driven by other sciences like medicine, may be

an effective unifying tool for counseling and that as the profession grows internationally, testing

may bridge the gaps of the many education systems that train counselors (Shook, 2019).

What are your motivators to become a professional counselor?

My motivation for pursing counseling comes from firsthand experience with addiction. I

believe my problems were rooted in mental health issues such as trauma, personal development,

and attachment. Ultimately, I was helped by a combination of mental health therapy and

Alcoholics Anonymous. From those experiences I was able to see the gravity of the impact of

mental health, the benefits toward wellness and the enormous unmet need for related services.

overwhelming sense of gratitude and a desire to give back some of what I have been given.

I have a Christian worldview, a lifetime of experiences in marriage, raising children,

Since my encounter with this previously unknown world to me, I have applied some self-

teaching, reading books about mental health and addiction. My interest in pursuing a formal

degree and licensure is that I may formally learn from the professional knowledge base and

methods to practically apply that knowledge to help individuals. I wish to know what it means to

be a counselor and how to use that knowledge.

What will you do to establish your identity as a counselor?

I believe that the combination of my life experience and my passion toward mental

health will be the core of my journey in learning the world and practice of professional

counseling. As I progress through the formal teaching and training, I hope learn how to channel

my passions and interests as a part of the profession of counseling. I intend to follow the

unifying practices of the profession, but it is my genuine prayer that my individual identity, my

legacy and contribution to the profession’s identity, would come from my desire to help at least

Commented [HJ7]: Once you get past the technology learning curve, you will be soaring ahead!!

for 30 years and so much is different. My first week has been largely an exercise in learning

any of the requirements. Most of my first week was consumed in trial and error learning of the

landscape of modern online learning. Asking for help and patience will be my future strategy to

combat this challenge. I have asked two of my adult children to help guide me as their schedules

permit.

Other barriers I am concerned about are age and schedule. My age and my time

availability will require me to find a focused area where I may be of service for the years and

available time. My strategy is to remain open to all possibilities. I am currently drawn toward

addiction-related mental illness and counseling individuals and intend to join an organization

that addresses this area to gain more information and be more involved.