THE EFFECTIVE COUNSELOR 1
As I move forward in life, gaining wisdom about myself and the world around me, my sense of purpose evolves and changes. I am now on a path that will lead me to the field of counseling, where I will serve others by facilitating emotional and spiritual growth. I feel a calling, if you will, to help those who are in turmoil. I have always had a strong desire to help those in need. When I graduate and start my career, I expect to be able to be a practical, ethical and effective counselor. There are a few areas that I believe are important for a counselor to develop and practice regularly: volunteerism, self-disclosure, self-care, spirituality and objectivity. I will now discuss these aspects as they pertain to the counseling profession and to myself as a future counselor.
Part of learning to become a counselor is completing an internship of a total of 250 hours (100 for pre-practicum and 150 for practicum).
Practicum is a requirement in all states for individuals seeking licensure at the independent level. Additionally, practicum is an opportunity for you to apply concepts learned in the classroom to real life client scenarios and demonstrate your ability to perform in a professional setting. This learning experience will familiarize you with the work place environment while providing networking opportunities that may potentially lead to employment following completion of the program. (Practicum Manual, p 3)
An internship can be a career advancement for some of us. I did an undergraduate internship at Behavioral Health Resources [BHR] so I plan to apply there. Having an internship gives students the opportunity to perform all the duties of a professional counselor and to develop their counseling skills in a supervised setting. When going to a site as an intern or to volunteer, we as
THE EFFECTIVE COUNSELOR...