Becoming a Mental Health Counselor: A Guide to Career Development and Professional Identity

✍ Scribed by Adam Volungis

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 295
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Becoming a Mental Health Counselor is a guide for students on the path to becoming licensed mental health therapists, as well as those just starting their careers. Filled with practical advice and tips, this book guides the reader through early career milestones of psychotherapists, including professional identity development, applying for jobs, and obtaining licensure. Volungis also discusses the reality of the profession, emphasizing the importance of self-care, ethics, personal identity, and managing expectations. The book concludes with an exploration of private practice and the next steps in the career ladder.

Ideally suited for professional development courses, this volume helps students prepare for life outside of school. It shows them how to transform the knowledge they’ve gained into a successful career.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Cover
Title
Copyright Page
Contents
Detailed Contents
Acknowledgments
1 Is Being a Mental Health Counselor the Right Career Choice for You?
Why Do You Want to Be a Mental Health Counselor?
Reflection Questions 1.1: Your Motivation to Be a Mental Health Counselor
Reflection Questions 1.2: Balancing Your Personal Needs with Client Well-being
Activity 1.1: Personal Qualities of Good Friends and Family Vs. Mental Health Counselor
What Are the Personal Qualities of a Mental Health Counselor?
Empathic with Compassion and Acceptance
Genuine and Authentic
Dignity and Respect
Instill Hope
Open and Tolerant
Advocate and Empower
Adaptive, Creative, and Flexible
Acknowledge Weaknesses and Willing to Change
Humor
Maintain Healthy Boundaries
Present and Mindfully Oriented
Confident, Patient, and Grounded
Passionate and Enthusiastic
Observe and Derive Satisfaction from the “smaller Things”
Interpersonally Adept and Able to Connect
Activity 1.2: Your Mental Health Counselor Personal Qualities
Self-awareness of and Coping with Personal Issues
Reflection Questions 1.3: Self-awareness and Insight of Personal Mental Health
Multicultural Awareness and Sensitivity
Activity 1.3: Self-awareness and Insight of Personal Cultural Privileges and Entitlements
Appreciate the Importance of Science: Evidence-based Practice
Reflection Questions 1.4: Self-awareness and Insight of Evidence-based Practices
Put the Ego Aside: Learn as Much as You Can
2 Professional Identity Development and Ethics
Professional Identity Development
Education and Accreditation
Scope and Approach to Practice
Specialization, Population Served, and Setting
Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Dimensions
Activity 2.1: Personal Professional Identity
Professional Ethics
Defining: Values, Morals, Ethics, and Laws
The Necessity for Having an Established Code of Ethics
Reflection Questions 2.1: Getting to Know Your Code of Ethics
Ethical Decision-making
Reflection Questions 2.2: Reflecting on Making Ethical Decisions
Legal and Ethical Issues in Counseling
Assuring Ethical Practice for Mental Health Counselors
Reflection Questions 2.3: Reviewing Ethics Codes of Interest to Mental Health Counselors
Activity 2.2: Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions
Reflection Questions 2.4: Reviewing Best Ethical Practices for Mental Health Counselors
3 Education and Licensure Requirements
Graduate Degree in Counseling
General Graduate Program Qualities for Consideration
Program Curriculum: Credit Hours and Course Content
Program Accreditation
Program Practicum and Internship Training Opportunities
Program Capstone Experience
Reflection Questions 3.1: Graduate Program Experience
Activity 3.1: Research State Licensure Requirements
Postgraduate Experience
Reflection Questions 3.2: Postgraduate Experience
Certification
Licensure Exams
National Counselor Examination
National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination
Other Exams
Jurisprudence Exam
Other Exam Formats
Counselor Exam Preparation and Practice Opportunities
Reflection Questions 3.3: Licensure Exams
Activity 3.2: Search for Study Materials and Study Strategies
Application for Licensure
Common Licensure Application Components
Common Licensure Application Mistakes
Reflection Questions 3.4: Application for Licensure
Activity 3.3: Preparing Licensure Application Materials
License Portability
4 Expectations Beyond Counseling
Paperwork
Intake Assessment
Case Formulation and Treatment Plan
Progress Note
Discharge Plan and Summary
Reflection Questions 4.1: Paperwork Challenges
Case Management
Reflection Questions 4.2: Case Management Expectations
Working with Colleagues
Reflection Questions 4.3: Working with Colleagues Challenges
Supervision
Reflection Questions 4.4: Supervision Thoughts
Managed Care Organizations
Reflection Questions 4.5: Managed Care Organizations Concerns
Mental Health Community Outreach
Activity 4.1: Mental Health Outreach in Your Community
Professional Advocacy
Reflection Questions 4.6: Social Advocacy Involvement
5 Obtaining the Right Job
Introduction
Searching for Desirable Jobs
Population and Agency Setting: Start Early with a Wide Net
Activity 5.1: Population Characteristics and Agency Setting
Reflection Questions 5.1: Population Characteristics and Agency Setting Review
The Finer Details of Benefits: Salary Is Important, but It Is Not Everything
Reflection Questions 5.2: Considering the Benefits of Benefits
The Job Search
Things You Should Know About the Job Position
Reflection Questions 5.3: Job Search Preparation Thoughts
Activity 5.2: Job Search: Making a List and Checking It Twice (and Many More Times)
Reflection Questions 5.4: Job Search Review
Résumé and Cover Letter
Résumé
Cover Letter
Activity 5.3: Résumé and Cover Letter Draft
Reflection Questions 5.5: Résumé and Cover Letter Draft Review
Managing Your Online Reputation
Your Online Interview
Reflection Questions 5.6: Your Online Interview Thoughts
Manage Your Online Reputation Like a Car Wash: Clean, Protect, and Polish
Activity 5.4: Managing Your Online Reputation: Give It a Car Wash
Reflection Questions 5.7: Managing Your Online Reputation Review
Interviewing
Before Your Interview: Research and Practice
Activity 5.5: Interview Research
Reflection Questions 5.8: Interview Research Review
During Your Interview: What You Say and Do (and Not Say and Do)
Reflection Questions 5.9: How You Present Yourself Review
Reflection Questions 5.10: How You Communicate Review
Reflection Questions 5.11: Questions Answered, Questions Asked
Activity 5.6: Practicing for Your Interview
After Your Interview: Processing, Thanking, Following Up, Offers, and Rejections
Reflection Questions 5.12: Was the Interview a Good “date”?
Reflection Questions 5.13: Processing Your Post-interview Options
6 Self-care: Preventing Burnout and Enjoying Life
Burnout: What It Looks Like in Mental Health Counselors
Burnout in the Mental Health Field: Its Effects on Mental Health Counselors and Clients
You, the Mental Health Counselor
Activity 6.1: Mental Health Counselors and Burnout
Your Agency and Clients
Reflection Questions 6.1: Agency-clients and Burnout
Contributing Factors to Burnout in Mental Health Counselors
Stuff Mental Health Counselors Do to Themselves (counselor-induced)
Activity 6.2: Counselor-induced Burnout
Stuff Agencies Do to Counselors (agency-induced)
Reflection Questions 6.2: Agency-induced Burnout
Mental Health Counselor Self-awareness and Self-monitoring
Activity 6.3: Self-awareness and Self-monitoring
Mental Health Counselor Proactive Self-care Strategies
Active and Healthy Body
Active and Healthy Mind
Active and Healthy Social Life
Rested and Relaxed Body and Mind
Spirituality
Professional Boundaries: Balancing Your Professional and Personal Life
Mentor for You
Counselor for You
Putting It All Together: Your Own Personalized Self-care Plan
Reflection Questions 6.3: Identifying Self-care Strategies
Activity 6.4: Self-care Strategies Identification and Planning
Reflection Questions 6.4: Self-care Strategies Identification and Planning Review
Activity 6.5: Self-care Plan Weekly Monitoring
Reflection Questions 6.5: Self-care Plan Weekly Monitoring Review
Brief Final Thoughts
7 Developing and Expanding Your Counseling Skills
Practice What You Preach
Reflection Questions 7.1: Practicing Client Techniques on Yourself
Consider Counseling for Yourself
Reflection Questions 7.2: Sitting in the Other Chair
Preach What You (claim To) Practice
Reflection Questions 7.3: Doing What You Were Trained to Do
Receive High-quality Supervision
Reflection Questions 7.4: Supervisor Qualities
Observe Other Counselors Conduct Sessions
Reflection Questions 7.5: Observing Others in Practice
Continue Building Conceptualization Skills
Reflection Questions 7.6: Conceptualizing Clients’ Presenting Problems
Continue Formal Training After Graduation
Reflection Questions 7.7: Continuous Training
Understand the Integration of Technology and Counseling
Reflection Questions 7.8: Counseling with Technology
Embrace and Accept Your Anxieties and Insecurities
Activity 7.1: Anxiety and Growth
8 Private Practice
Is Private Practice Right for You?
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Private Practice
Do You Have the Personal Qualities to Be Successful at Private Practice?
What You Should Know Before Starting a Private Practice
Activity 8.1: Processing Your Thoughts About Private Practice
Getting Started: Counseling Private Practice Is a Business (and That Is Okay)
Financing
Selecting a Business Entity
Business Name and License
Malpractice and Business Insurance
Reflection Questions 8.1: Your Private Practice Is a Business
Your Office
Paperwork and Forms
The Business of a Private Practice
Learn How to Manage Finances
Develop a Business Plan
Budgeting and Financial Planning
Setting and Disclosing Fees
Managed Care Organizations
Reflection Questions 8.2: the Business Side of Running a Business
Marketing
Develop a Marketing Plan
Develop a Niche for Your Practice
“Direct Forms” of Advertising
Activity 8.2: Reviewing Private Practice Websites
“indirect Forms” of Advertising
Networking
Community Work
Reflection Questions 8.3: Selling Yourself (your Business)
Concluding Comments
Appendix
Index
About the Author