Historical Perspective One of the earlier works done examining self-care relating to professional psychologist was Professionals in distress: Issues, syndromes, and solutions in psychology (Kilburg, Nathan, & Thoreson, 1986). It is the self-proclaimed best sttampt made at the time to address issues of distressed psychologists. There are a numner of frustrations that accompany being a psychologist including academics, teaching, pressure to do research, and mediocre salaries (Kilburg, Nathan, & Thoreson, 1986). Self-care is necessary when the build up cause a decline in the psychologists ability to perform competently.. Professionals in the field of psychology can be their own worst enemies because of the fact they are trained to be independent, …show more content…
Kabat-Zinn (1993) defined mindfulness as “helping people live each moment of their lives, even the painful ones, as fully as possible.” Mindfulness is related to self-care in that it encourages individuals to look inward at thoughts, feelings, and attitudes occurring in the moment. Professional psychologists are forced to deal with difficult emotions that can arise in session, which can bring up their own personal histories. Shapiro, Brown, & Biegel,(2007), studied the effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on participants in training to become professional therapists. MSRB “is based on the premise that enhancing the capacity to be mindful, to attend to present moment experience in a receptive manner will over time, reduce the identification with self-focused thoughts and emotions that can lead to poorer mental health (Shapiro, Brown, & Biegel 2007; Kabat-Zinn, (1990).” The study by Shapiro, Brown, & Biegel (2007) was done to examine the benefits of engaging in MSRB as a form of self-care. The results found that increasing mindfulness was associated with declines in perceived stress, anxiety, rumination, and increased self-compassion. Professionals with lowers levels of these negative characteristics …show more content…
As noted in Norcross (2005) a myth exists that mental health physicians do not require personal therapy. The process of therapy can be used as a means of professional growth and can produce benefits associated with development into the profession. Within Norcross (2005), Norcross, Strausser-Kirtland, & Misser (1998) examined benefits occurring from therapist’s who engage in personal therapy. Results specific to self-care showed an improvement in emotional and mental functioning. Clinicians who engaged in person therapy were more likely to find their professional work gratifying. Personal treatment was also found to diminish emotional stress and perceived burdens of the professionals (Norcross, Strausser- Kirtland, & Missar,
Therapist met with the client for individual therapy at school. Therapist did a check in regards to symptoms, mood, thoughts, emotions, coping skills, the goals that he achieved, and behaviors since the last session. Therapist processed the client's negative thoughts. Therapist used open-ended questions to address any concerns the client may have. Therapist encouraged the client to keep motivated during the stressful time, especially when he has negative thoughts, which stats usually with negative thoughts, argue with his sisters, or with his aunt, or if he has been triggered by any internal or external thoughts.
Section 1: Professional Development Plan For most of my life I have been motivated to help people so when I made the decision to continue my education at Walden University, I knew that I was ready for the journey. I am currently seeking a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and I am expected to graduate in the winter of 2025. This paper was written on June 30th, 2023, with the intent of further understanding my motivations for seeking this degree as well as visualizing the type of counselor I want to be in the future. Throughout this paper, I also discuss what is expected of me throughout my degree program, counseling career, and overall professional development.
Assignment Wk. 7: Interview Subject The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Mental health counselor I have chosen to interview for my final project. In this paper I will include the specialties, the age groups and the modality of clients she services. Further I will explain, why I chose to interview Ms. T Licensed Mental Health Counselor Interviewee
Clients diagnosed with a mental disorder is something that is viewed differently from the perspectives of others. This occurs when others lack the knowledge and/or empathy of those affected by their presenting problems. Some individuals may "identify and label individuals with mental and behavioral illnesses as unequal" (Ahmedani, 2011). There are clients that are affected by that perspective from able-bodies individuals; however for R.P., he is accepted as a person over his mental disorder. He is a human being working on improving his mental and physical health.
American Counseling Association: Membership While becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), it is important to follow the American Counseling Association’s (ACA, 2014) Code of Ethics when treating clients, making ethical decisions, and adhering to the professional standards set forth within the Code of Ethics (Remley & Herlihy, 2016). Another beneficial tool as an LPC, is joining the American Counseling Association, and other professional organizations. In this paper, I will discuss the membership benefits of joining the American Counseling Association and highlight the advantages of also joining the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA).
My interest in a counseling related profession and helping others spawned as a result of a lifetime of learning and curiosity; namely, mindfully molding my thoughts, actions, and habits into a perpetual pattern of unconscious and unpremeditated altruistic behavior. Furthermore, I have always aspired to determine the roots of all my emotions and master the behaviors of a trustworthy, loyal, courteous, and kind individual. Every day should begin with the thought, “What can I, as an individual or collaboratively with others, accomplish to relieve part of the shared and total human suffering of this world?” If such a mantra was revered by the collective consciousness of the human race, misery and suffering would be sharply reduced, if not eliminated
Journal #1: My Thoughts on Becoming a Mental Health Counselor The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the views of becoming a mental health counselor. Although there are many professions to choose from, I decided a mental health counselor with a specialized area in women’s health and domestic violence is my true calling. Tiffany Rush-Wilson Ph. D. stated, “That if we are in this field is because we have a true passion and the seed to do this type of work” (Laureate, 2012).
Therapeutic Professions: A Look Into the Mind Have you been feeling stressed, fatigued, or unmotivated? Do you feel as if you have an unknown driving force in your inner subconscious that may be the cause of those symptoms? If so, a therapist is not only able to identify that issue, but solves it as well.
This self-awareness should include continuously examining their own development and unexamined personal trauma, as well as, personal biases, ideas, values, and beliefs related to culture, crisis, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and suicide. Counselors should also practice self-awareness related to their own knowledge and level of competence in providing crisis services. Lastly, self-awareness should include monitoring their personal reactions to the trauma and crisis they are working with, changes to their own personal schema, and failures to address personal issues (Sartor, 2016). By engaging in self-awareness, the counselor can provide appropriate services to assist the client, rather than cause harm. Furthermore, practicing self-awareness and engaging in self-care activities can serve to protect crisis counselors from burnout, vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue (Sartor, 2016; Jackson-Cherry & Erford,
Therapists must access their own internal process such as their feelings, attitudes and moods. Therapists’, who are not receptive to the awareness of their flow of thoughts and feelings, will not be able to help clients be aware of theirs (Kahn, 1997, p. 40). Though congruence does not mean that therapists have to share personal issues with clients, a therapist must not conceal their inner process from the client, and not be defensive but transparent (Kahn, 1997, p. 41). By being open sometimes a therapist learns more not only about their client but about themselves
Through me becoming aware of the situation it enables me to maintain a professional healthy relationship and bias with the client. Therapy will allow me to learn how to observe, acknowledge confront, and deal with the situation ethically, and right away when it starts to happen. It can also allow me to identify and explore my blind spots that I am confronted with through my clients, and will allow me to help set my personal life away from work, and help succeed professionally. I believe that through personal therapy, it will enable me to engage in my own personal self-awareness and overall well-being, and decrease the possibility of burnout that comes with the profession. Therapy will also help develop my career goal and aspirations in a positive way in helping me
Like other professions in the mental health field and helping professions, counseling typically attracts those who are imbued with a need to help others, to make a difference in others’ lives, the community around them and sometimes even the world. There are many facets to a counselor and to counseling, some of which take on personal attributes such as personality, the values and beliefs held by counselors, and what they perceive their role in the counseling profession to be. Other facets involve ethical considerations in therapy, the importance of the profession, the value and process of change, important counseling practices and the value of necessary self-care a counselor ought to engage in. The role of a counselor is to act as a conduit to change and wellbeing in a client.
9/10 ref) An individual must try in meditation practise to ‘subdue subtle distractions’ to try to achieve exclusive attention to achieve metacognitive awareness. Rather than ‘letting go’ of these thoughts that came to conscious awareness, I was instead making to-do lists, planning and ruminating about the past. I felt numerous times during the tasks quite difficult to fully ‘zone out,’ fully relax and ‘be in the moment.’ This led to further feelings of anxiousness as I became aware about my own thought-patterns both positive and negative – factors which essentially drive stressors.
Not being able to cope with certain situations in my life, turned to many problems and made it hard to live, happily. After receiving therapy with a certified psychologist for almost nine years, my outlook on life has completely transformed. I have learned how to confront my emotions in a healthy way and how to have a positive attitude towards my day, regardless of the trials that life throws at me. I have been able to develop a character that others have called selfless, caring, and determined to help others. The influence of a psychologist 's help has exponentially heightened my interest in aiding people in dealing with difficult situations and inspired me to pursue a degree in
As we learn and practice mindfulness, we will become more aware, and others around us are likely to find us as helpful, patient, open-hearted, non-judgmental and compassionate human being. Being more mindful and aware will ultimately help us to live and enjoy our life to the full! Need we desire more? Mindfulness today, is one of the most talked about developments in human psychology, and innumerable researches are being undertaken across the globe to understand its positive effects and implications.