During my counseling career, the cultural and professional values that drive me as a person comprise of ensuring am aware of my cultural values as well as biases. I believe in the need for being cognizant of diverse cultural biases and values in line with recognizing the areas I am supposed to exercise limits. In expanding my skills, I usually emphasize on acknowledging the cultural and racial heritage of my clients as well as the influences of racism, oppression, stereotyping, and discrimination. I also ensure to seek additional opportunities for learning to allow me to boost my understanding of the diverse cultural populations. Furthermore, I ensure to be aware of the worldviews of my clients. I do this by recognizing that the worldviews of my clients are distinct from theirs. In achieving this understanding, I make sure to be aware of my emotional reactions to different ethnic and racial groups, poses knowledge concerning the population I work with, as well as familiarize myself with research appropriate to the cultures I deal with. To be competent in my field, I recognize that the culture and race of the culture influence their decision-making, personality, vocational choice, as well as willingness to seek professional assistance (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). This allows me to deliver effective counseling services to my clients.
In my profession, I believe in understanding the role that needs playing to deliver effective services. In my case, I believe that my role as a counselor is to emphasize of addressing the diverse needs of my clients in a comprehensive manner through deploying interventional counseling initiatives. I work with different kinds of clients. Since I am a specialist in human behavior as well as relationships, I offer help to clients via three major interventions including consultation, individual counseling, and coordination. I believe in ensuring that the counseling relationship remains confidential to meet the needs of the clients individually to allow them to cope with the problems they face in a constructive manner (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015).
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In my counseling profession, the kinds of services I deliver revolve around couple counseling. Counseling couples allow me to guide couples in their relationships with the effort of recognizing and reconciling and managing the bothersome differences in line with the repeating patterns that cause stress in a relationship. In doing so, I can allow them to get their relationship back on track. In my professional services, the theoretical approach/application I will utilize is one guided by Gottman approaches. The approaches assist in guiding couples on the elements that characterize their relationships in line with the ones that need development and strengthening. For instance, the therapeutic intervention by Gottman serves as a process of analyzing conflicts (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). Here, I would use the style to guide the couples of reflecting to allow them to identify the weaknesses and strengths of their relationship while at the same time suggesting effective ways of addressing their conflicts.
In establishing purpose and goals with my clients, I would focus on identifying ways in which I can assist the clients based on the problems they encounter. I would emphasize the diverse issues facing the clients and prioritize them. This way, I would be able to identify the goal that demands significant attention. I would make sure to diverse all my attention to a specific goal at any given time to allow me to boost my success chances. In the event that I have several goals, I would ensure to deal with the others after accomplishing the initial one (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). I would then integrate the goal into my plan of action to boost my success chances.
To allow me to connect with my clients, I would ensure that my focus is on the client. Whereas this might appear obvious to certain individuals, it serves as the most vital area to focus on when connecting with the client. All areas of the counseling session should concern the feelings, thoughts, and actions of the client. To keep the attention on the client, I would need to hone my listening skills and ensure I exercise caution regarding the words I say to them. Moreover, it would be crucial to clear my head before any session to allow me to remain focused and offer my clients the kind of attention they need. Furthermore, when it comes to assessing the clients, I would ensure to have several questions to ask the client. These would revolve around the present problem they are facing, the reason for choosing to counsel, discussions about family, in line what they anticipate to realize from the counseling session (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). Such assessments would allow me to offer them effective services.
When delivering counseling service, I would expect to encounter certain challenges. The major challenge would result from counseling a reluctant client. During the counseling process, it might be possible to come across a client who is not willing to open up concerning the issues they are facing. The hesitance might emanate from embarrassment, shyness, guilt, as well as skepticism concerning counseling. Additionally, certain young individuals whose guardians or parents led them to seek professional assistance for being rebellious might present challenges. In any case, lack of sufficient information might pose challenges for a counselor in addressing the issue in an effective manner (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). In addition, the absence of sufficient dialogue hinders the establishment of an effective rapport.
In conclusion, acquiring professional skills in counseling services require individuals to identify their own cultural and professional values. They should also define their roles as counselors in line with the kind of service they would like to specialize. Furthermore, considering a theoretical approach to use together with ways of establishing goals and purpose with clients would help in connecting with clients. It would also be vital to consider using assessments and be prepared for any challenges that might emerge to deliver effective services.
Reference
Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2015). Foundations of couples, marriage, and family counseling. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
