Mental Health Counselor

The article describes mental health counselors as individuals that promote optimum mental and emotional well-being for their clients by emphasizing prevention. Mental health counselor deals with a broad range of mental health problems by performing various tasks.  They include maintaining the confidentiality of their patient data, encouraging their patients on the importance of expressing their feeling, thus helping them develop insight concerning their personal life and their relationship.

Mental health counselors should be conversant with various disciplines. This includes psychology to understand human behavior and abilities, therapy and counseling to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate individuals with mental dysfunctions.  Some of the skills required by Mental health counselors include having social perceptiveness and active listeners. In addition, they should have various abilities such as oral awareness and expression and problem sensitivity.

Therefore, this career is ideal for anyone interested in learning the cognitive and behavioral characteristics of people and being able to help the individual overcome their mental issues effectively. They will learn how their works styles concern clients’, integrity and self-control. They will familiarize with professional code of ethics and develop relationships amongst themselves.

Quotations

1. “Counsel and advise individuals and groups to promote optimum mental and emotional health” (Onetonline, 2021, para.1).
2. “Assist in overcoming dependencies, adjusting to life, or making changes” (Onetonline, 2021, para. 2).
3. “Knowledge of human behavior and performance” (Onetonline, 2021, para.4).
4. “Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do” (Onetonline, 2021, para.5).
5. “The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong” (Onetonline, 2021, para.6).
6. “Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others” (Onetonline, 2021, para.7).
7. “Complete documentation required by programs or regulations” (Onetonline, 2021, para.8).
8. “Face-to-Face Discussions” (Onetonline, 2021,para.9).
9. “Job requires being honest and ethical” (Onetonline, 2021, para.12).
10. “$22.91 hourly, $47,660 annual” (Onetonline, 2021 para.13).

Cherry, K. (2021). Mental Health Counselor Training, Skills, and Salary. Verywellmind, p. 1. Retrieved 23 October 2021, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-mental-health-counselor-4157925.

In this paper, Cherry evaluate on the importance of mental health counselor in the US. She expounds on the job setting, responsibilities, training, skills needed, and salary for mental health counselors. Mental health counselling comprises several psychotherapy procedures and techniques to help people with psychological problems and distress. To become a Mental healthcare counselor, they should have a bachelor’s degree in human service and a master’s degree.

The prevalence of mental illness is quite high, and thus intervention of qualified professionals to solve mental issues by carrying diagnosis, treatment, and prevention are highly needed. Some of the skills required by Mental healthcare counselors include emotional intelligence, compassion, empathy, and non-verbal communication. The Mental healthcare counselor’s salary varies due to geographical location.

This article is relevant for the general population. Cherry evaluates that although Mental healthcare counselors earn less than a psychologist, they receive third-party reimbursement. Therefore, more people should be Mental healthcare counselors as one of the careers to venture in.

Quotations

1. “Research shows that close to 50% of adults will have at least one mental illness during their lifetime “(Cherry, 2021, para.1).
2. “Mental health counselors represent just one profession that specifically works with people dealing with cognitive, behavioral, and emotional issues “(Cherry, 2021, para.5).
3. “Some mental health counselors choose to work with specific populations “(Cherry, 2021, para.6).
4. “Counseling tends to view individual needs within a humanistic context” (Cherry, 2021, para.7).
5. “Counselors also strive to help you function not just minimally, but optimally “(Cherry, 2021, para.8).
6. “Mental health counselors begin by earning a bachelor’s degree in human services “(Cherry, 2021, para.9).
7. “The minimum requirements for a licensed mental health counselor are a master’s degree “(Cherry, 2021, para.10).
8. “Aspiring mental health counselors must also pass a state licensing exam” (Cherry, 2021, para.12).
9. “Certification is purely voluntary” (Cherry, 2021, para.14).
10. “One of the greatest rewards of being a mental health counselor is being able to have a direct impact on the lives and well-being of clients” (Cherry, 2021, para.17).

 Posluns, K., & Gall, T. (2021). Dear Mental Health Practitioners, Take Care of Yourselves: a Literature Review on Self-Care. NCBI. Retrieved 23 October 2021, from http://10.1007/s10447-019-09382-w.

The authors call out the need for mental health practitioners to take care of themselves. This is because mental health practitioners suffer from stress, burnout, and professional impairments, which can have a negative impact when it comes to clinical work, which may tamper with their ability to help and not cause harm to others. Therefore engaging themselves in self-care can promote the well-being of these practitioners.

 Mental health practitioners include counselors, are expected to work on one-way care culture. This means they are supposed to offer care to their client without expecting the same treatment from the clients. Establishing and maintaining a one-way working relationship requires a lot of energy and effort, therefore, making mental health practitioners susceptible to negative outcomes such as stress, burnout, and professional impairments. Therefore, mental health practitioners need to learn how to care for and nourish themselves and ways of taking time.

To be able to promote the well-being of their patient, Mental health practitioners must be well first. Therefore, understanding self-care is one of the ethical obligations of mental health professionals.

Quotations

1. ” Stress, burnout, and professional impairment are prevalent among mental health professionals and can have a negative impact on their clinical work, while engagement in self-care can help promote therapist well-being” (Posluns & Gall, 2021, p.1).
2. “Establishing and maintaining these one-way working relationships takes significant effort and energy “(Posluns & Gall, 2021, p.1).
3. “Placing practitioners at increased risk for negative outcomes such as stress” (Posluns & Gall, 2021, p.1).
4. “Ironically, while helping clients move toward well-being, practitioners often can overlook their own needs” (Posluns & Gall, 2021,p.1).
5. “Experienced therapists support including self-care as a primary objective for mental health practitioners “(Posluns & Gall, 2021, p.2).
6. “The practitioner is a powerful but vulnerable tool in the caring process that requires attention and care “(Posluns & Gall, 2021 p.2).
7. “To promote responsible caring, several regulating bodies have, therefore, included practitioner self-care in their code of ethics” (Posluns & Gall, 2021,p.2).
8. “The cumulative effects of emotional, mental, and physical burnout thus can lead to professional impairment in the provision of services” (Posluns & Gall, 2021 p.3).
9. “Engagement in self-care is associated with greater well-being” (Posluns & Gall, 2021, p.4).
10. “Self-care refers to the ability to refill and refuel oneself in healthy ways” (Posluns & Gall, 2021,p.4).

Fader, S. (2021). What Is A Mental Health Counselor And What Isn’t | BetterHelp. Betterhelp.com. Retrieved 23 October 2021, from https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/counseling/what-is-a-mental-health-counselor-and-what-isnt/?utm_source=AdWords&utm_medium=Search_PPC_c&utm_term=_b&utm_content=118051369887&network=g&placement=&target=&matchtype=b&utm_campaign=11771068538&ad_type=text&adposition=&gclid=CjwKCAjw5c6LBhBdEiwAP9ejG2OUxKfFbys4wlcCk_n3scwXfVEBNA2KB1t5qetO88E3_nsUjIFeBBoCb8kQAvD_BwE.

According to Fader, there is much more to the mental health counseling profession than just offering opinions and advice to people on what they should do. Mental healthcare counselors have undergone training as a profession. Besides this, people have at least a master’s degree in psychology, which is the minimum requirement for a clinical license. With academic knowledge concerning mental issues, counselors must fulfill certain professional requirements before acquiring a license to practice.

Mental healthcare counselors are educated to conquer personal bias and prejudice in their work with clients. They put aside their own beliefs, opinions and approach their client in a manner that builds a beneficial relationship with their clients. They also advocate for their client by pleading with the cause for their patient’s needs to other medical professionals or the authority.

Any person in college may opt for Mental healthcare counselors since they deal with people’s mental wellness in society. Also, empathetic and active listeners sine authors state they can diagnose mental issues and give solution-oriented feedback to help their patients. There is a huge difference between seeking help from professional counseling to anybody’s ordinary opinions.

Quotations

1. “Many times, we feel that we are in a fantastic position to give out advice, perhaps even more so than other people” (Fader, 2021, para.1)
2. “There is a lot more to the mental health counseling profession than simply handing out opinions and advice “(Fader, 2021, para.1).
3. “A professional advertising as a mental health counselor typically has at least a master’s degree in counseling psychology” (Fader, 2021, para.2).
4. “Counselors are required to fulfill various other professional criteria before they can obtain a license to practice “(Fader, 2021, para.3).
5. “Mental health counselors are designed to be advocates for their clients” (Fader, 2021, para.5).
6. “Counselors help their clients learn how to advocate for themselves if they have struggled with doing so in the past” (Fader, 2021, para.6).
7. “These counselors offer general guidance but are not trained to work with mental illness or behavioral health issues” (Fader, 2021, para.6).
8. “Clinical mental health counselors are highly-skilled professionals who provide flexible, consumer-oriented therapy” (Fader, 2021, para.7)
9. “Combine traditional psychotherapy with a practical, problem-solving approach that creates a dynamic and efficient path for change and problem resolution” (Fader, 2021, para.7)
10. “Mental health counselors are trained to work with people and their specific circumstances”(Fader, 2021, para.9)