The counseling profession has often been overshadowed by the medical fraternity. Nothing can be further from the truth. Counselors tend to have multiple roles depending on the context of the challenge. For example, a counselor in interdisciplinary community outreach has the responsibility of providing quality services in the community. On another hand, counselors in an emergency response team have to work towards calming victims who may have panicked. That said, it is necessary that counselors ensure their wellbeing through various self-care strategies such as wellness, engaging in life outside professionalism, and self-checkup (Shallcross, 2011). Interestingly, mental health counselors are required to have quite demanding provisions to be licensed for practice. Although the counseling profession is often overlooked, it proves to be interesting and demanding judging by the many roles and responsibilities of counselors in the society.
Multiple Professional Roles And Functions of Counselors
There are various specialty areas of therapy that call for different roles for involved counselors. An example is behavioral and family therapy. Regarding behavioral therapy, the function of a counselor is to assess and provide conclusions related to a patient’s behavior and in the end, provide necessary steps that will ensure an end to a diagnosed disorder (DK Publishing, 2012). In family therapy, the role of a counselor is to help families lead ordinary and developing lives as a unit (DK Publishing, 2012). Counselors have a vital role in assuring that they interact well with different patients and ensure that the dignity of humanity is upheld. There come times when a counselor may have to deal with clients who are experiencing diverse problems. In this regard, the counselor is tasked with providing accurate and necessary information that will help other health practitioners to make informed judgements and treatments for the client (DK Publishing, 2012). This integration has to be seamless and complimentary which means that although different, the inter-behavioral healthcare systems should work as a unit.
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In certain cases, true help to a client who is seeking counseling services can only be achieved when counselors from different agencies and organizations have to come together to tackle the challenge. In such cases, professional counselors have to play the roles of a doctor and team member or leader. This is because such interagency and inter-organizational call for teamwork to ensure effective assessment and diagnosis as well as treatment. This is usually the case where a client may be having multiple psychological disorders that call for the input of various professionals.
Counselors’ Roles And Responsibilities As Members of Interdisciplinary Community Outreach And Emergency Management Response
Interdisciplinary Community Outreach
Interdisciplinary community outreach is tasked with serving the community in addressing common social problems. Counselors who are members of an interdisciplinary are tasked with ensuring that they use their expertise to counsel members of the community regarding how to lead healthier lives concerning psychology (Buki, 2013). Therefore, counselors are more like preachers who spread the gospel of counseling to the community. Also, the other role of a counselor in interdisciplinary community outreach is to educate those in the company about the importance of seeking counselling whenever there is a need. It is essential to point out that going for counseling is that first step of internal healing from a challenge.
Emergency Management Response Teams
In emergency management teams, it goes without saying that the primary role of a therapist would be to quell trauma and panic in the victims and any participants. This is the first step of healing that ensures that every person is in a safe psychological state and notably, factors such as PTSD are eradicated. In the case of emergency management response teams, a counselor should recognize that he/she has the responsibility of assuring the victims of the disaster that there are better days (Buki, 2013). The other major role in emergency teams comes when calming down the public as each person wants to know whether a family member has died or is experiencing injuries (DK Publishing, 2012). With panic striking the involved, geographical area(s), counselors may find themselves at crossroads with the responsibility of restoring calms as the involved parties work on saving lives.
Role And Process Of The Professional Counselor Advocating On Behalf of The Profession
As a professional counselor, one is tasked with advocating for the profession and ensuring its development. First, a counselor may seek to propel the advancement of the counseling profession by advocating for research in the field (Meyers, 2014). By advocating for advancements in the profession, a counselor will be playing a key role of providing that counseling becomes even more integrated into the society. Therefore, the position of counseling is established and just like any other science, resources can be allocated to assure its advancements. It is necessary to point out that the responsibility of advocating for research in counseling can only be achieved by the willingness and diligence of therapists.
Similarly, counselors should encourage the public in the essence of seeking psychological help when facing common societal challenges such as trauma, stress, and depression (Meyers, 2014). In both instances, a counselor will be advancing the popularity of the counseling profession and concerning the latter, the significance of counseling will be more appreciated. Admittedly, counselors should put an effort to creating a positive image for the profession. A notable way of assuring this was proposed over a decade ago by Myers, Sweeney & White (2002) who insisted that it is imperative that a counselor is included in every advocacy process in the society. Fortunately, counselors have gone on to be included more into matters affecting the society although there is need for them to fight for the profession even more.
Advocacy Processes Needed To Address Institutional And Social Barriers
A Multicultural Approach
Over time, the world has become diverse, and as a result of the global village prospect, it is essential to point out that counselors now have a tougher to challenge to serve the wider population. As cultures interact and diversity is enhanced, the scope of psychological issues increase, and it is up to counselors and other necessary stakeholders to advocate for a shift in counseling in this regard (Meyers, 2014). As Bemark, a researcher, insists, “Advocacy is not an adjunct piece; it’s a core, fundamental piece of any counseling we do with anybody” (Meyers, 2014).
Interagency Counseling
Notably, the increasing scope of counseling requires advocacy to ensure that agencies can integrate better the wellbeing of affected persons. Take the example of a child with the psychosomatic disorder. Although the child may have medical challenges such as the presence of hydrocephalus, it is vital that the services of a counselor are seeking to control the effects of the medical condition on the individual’s behavior. This calls for active collaboration, and it is unfortunate that many “clinical practitioners” have been ignoring that in certain cases, even medical attention is rendered obsolete without a counselor’s inclusion.
Counseling Insurance
Notably, counseling remains unaffordable for many people, and although the insurance world is starting to catch up, the society is not yet there. The prerequisite advocacy processes such as discussions with government and private stakeholders have to be put in place to ensure equity in counseling (Meyers, 2014). Therefore, counseling should not be seen as a rich man’s affair.
Self-Care Strategies Appropriate To The Counselor Role
Counselors tend to be the saviours of other people although few understand how to protect themselves. In counseling, self-care can be described as the tendency of a counselor to insulate him/herself from possible negative and especially emotional repercussions as a result of engaging with the client during the therapy period (Shallcross, 2011). What is important to note, in this case, is that a person who is gasping for air cannot help other people. According to Shallcross (2011), there are three primary self-care strategies appropriate to the counselor role: Wellness, have a separate life from being a professional, and self-checkup.
Ensuring wellness is a preached gospel in almost all counseling corridors. Counselors should take time to take care of their wellness by engaging in yoga classes, living a healthy life and even using certain hours for exercise (Shallcross, 2011). If this is achieved, counselors will be exercising what they preach generously to their clients, self-care. Just like every other profession, counselors should exercise self-care by getting a life separate from being a therapists. This includes going on vacation and having dinner with one’s family. Notably, the major aspect of self-care stands to be self-checkup. It is imperative to have regular medical checkups and take charge of their work hours. For instance, burnout is a major challenge among counselors. By exercising certain aspects of the self-checkup strategy such as working under supervision, counselors can minimize the rates of burnout and consequently enhance their wellness as professionals (Shallcross, 2011).
Roles And Settings Of Clinical Mental Health Counselors
Clinical mental health counselors are specific professionals who take part in roles related to their practice. What differentiates clinical mental health counselors from other therapists is that they require a distinct form of training and clinical practice to qualify. An example of the professional qualifications is a master’s degree in counselling in addition to a minimum of two years’ experience in post-master clinical setting while being supervised by a licensed mental health professional (Young & Cashwell, 2016). Some of the roles of a clinical mental health counselor are to provide assessment and diagnosis as well as treatment planning. Regarding assessment and diagnosis, it is up to the clinical mental health counselor to assess a patient and provide a suitable diagnosis judging by the characteristics achieved from the assessment (Young & Cashwell, 2016). After conducting psychotherapy, the clinical mental health counselor is required to professionally present a treatment plan that will see the patient recover (Yung & Cashwell, 2016). Other roles of a clinical mental health counselor include engaging clients in solution-based therapy, crisis management, and treating patients with substance and alcohol abuse challenges.
From the understanding of the roles of clinical health counselors, it is apparent that they fit in a range of settings. The settings of a clinical health counselor include mental health clinics for mentally challenged patients, correctional institutions to assist criminals, alcohol and drug rehabilitation centres, and residential care facilities (Young & Cashwell, 2016). In the mentioned settings, it is not hard to notice why clinical mental health counselors require rigorous training and professionalism before being licensed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, counselling proves to be a wide field with advantages and challenges which must be enhanced and steps are taken to address them respectively. Counselors play multiple roles depending on the setting and context of the challenge at hand. While a counselor would be required to help families and couples to lead peaceful and normal lives in family therapy, he/she may have to interact with other agencies and organizations such as during emergency cases. However, it is evident that apart from helping patients, counselors have the responsibility of advocating for their profession. This can be done by encouraging researches in counseling and proposing the inclusion of a counselor in every advocacy process in the society. In the end, the counselling profession proves to be of significance in the society as depicted by the wide range of settings and roles that a clinical mental health counselor has.
References
Buki, L. P. (2014). The relevance of counseling psychology in addressing major social issues. The Counselling Psychologist , 42(1), pp. 6-12.
DK Publishing (2012). The psychology book. London: DK Publishing.
Meyers, L. (2014). Advocacy in action. Counseling Today. Retrieved from ct.counseling.org/2014/04/advocacy-in-action
Myers, J. E., Sweeney, T. J. & White, V. E. (2002). Advocacy for counseling and counselors: A professional imperative. Journal of Counseling and Development , 80(4), pp. 394-402.
Shallcross, N. (2011). Taking care of yourself as a counselor. Counseling Today . Retrieved from ct.counseling.org/2011/01/taking-care-of-yourself-as-a-counselor
Young, J. C. & Cashwell, C. S. (2016). Clinical mental health counseling: Elements of effective practice. California: Sage Publications.
