Essay Sample on Counseling: A Collaborative Effort to Find Solutions & Reassurance

Introduction

Counseling is a collaborative effort between a counselor and the client, aimed at finding a solution to an individual or a psychological problem. The counselor assists the client to focus on self, express the feelings, find a solution to a problem, feel relief, and gain reassurance, and also understand others. There are different areas of counseling like matrimonial and domestic counseling, career and leadership, psychological wellbeing, and informative psychotherapy. Obtaining services of a professional and competent counselor can go a long way in helping a person navigate a difficult life situation such as loss of a loved one, trauma, divorce, loss of a job, and a disaster. Also, professional counseling can help a person overcome substance abuse and other destructive behaviors. Professional counseling has dramatically impacted the mental health of people in the past and has the potential of increasing the wellbeing of people in the future.

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Present

With progress in time, the approach to guidance and counseling has also shifted. Today we have trained counseling professionals who are certified and licensed to offer counseling services to the general public (Morgen, Miller, & Stretch, 2012). Some regulations govern counseling in terms of legislation, training programs, licensure regulations, and work settings.

Statistics have shown that many Americans are open to seeking counseling services, and most of those who have sought the services of a counselor in the past expressed satisfaction and effectiveness of the counseling sessions. In the study to determine the popularity and effectiveness of counseling in America, it was found that 42% of Americans had engaged counselors, 13% said they were seeing a counselor at the time of the study, with only 23% saying they would never see a counselor (Sue et al., 2019). These statistics show that counseling is an essential aspect of the lives of Americans.

Past

The counseling profession traces its roots back in ancient Greece and Rome. The great philosophical teachers of the time, such as Plato and Aristotle, used to offer teachings that were used to help people deal with difficult situations. The Catholic priests in the middle ages would counsel people during a confessional hearing and be expected to keep any information from church members highly confidential (Erford & Bardhoshi, 2018). However, in it not until the twentieth century that formal counseling and counseling as a profession began. The social reforms in the late 18's coupled with hardships in urban slums and forced child labor, necessitated the development of guidance and counseling to assist the people in coping with the problems they faced at the time. School counseling also started becoming widespread to help students cope with school life and prepare them responsible members of society.

In the past, the person being counseled was seen as problematic, and traditional counseling would be conducted by leaders, the elderly, or the parents. Counseling would be done mostly on individuals or groups who were perceived to be disrupting peace in family or neighborhood set up (Erford & Bardhoshi, 2018). Counseling was also done during important rites of passage such as initiation or when entering marriage as a preparation for the next stage of life.

Future

With the rising cases of stress factors, the demand for counseling services is expected to increase. Economic pressure is only going to aggravate the bad situation, and therefore, counselors need to work more to help the American population manage stress. 28% of the Americans admitted have feelings of stress due to high taxation rates. High unemployment rates contribute significantly as a stress factor, with 25% of the Americans unemployed. Low wages also said to contribute towards stressing US citizens. The study revealed that 44% of Americans are suffering from moderate to high stress (Cohen & JanickiDeverts, 2012). Apart from economic reasons, the decline in the function of the family unit also contributes significantly to the stress the Americans are experiencing.

The advancing information technology has had a tremendous impact on guidance and counseling and is expected to revolutionize the approach of counseling further. People are increasingly looking for counseling information from the internet. Also, with the use of artificial intelligence, experts have developed sophisticated tools that can analyze speech and assess the degree of stress or depression (Cohen & JanickiDeverts, 2012).

Conclusion

Counseling plays a critical role in assisting people in coping and overcoming hardships. Often in life, people encounter situations that threaten peace, wellbeing, and health. Such situations, if not handled properly, can result in worse problems and the possibility of death. From history, it is evident that counseling used to play an essential role in correcting errant members of the society for peaceful coexistence in the family and communal setup. In the modern-day, there has been a lot of research done on approaches that can increase the effectiveness of counseling to assist people in coping with the increasing hardships. The advancement of digital technology has revolutionized guidance and counseling, with many people increasing looking for counseling information from the internet. Also, technology can facilitate a client to engage a counselor online, pay electronically, and receive reading materials using the internet. As digital technology continues to advance, more changes are expected, with the use of artificial intelligence expected to play a central role in counseling.

References

Cohen, S., & JanickiDeverts, D. E. N. I. S. E. (2012). Who's stressed? Distributions of psychological stress in the United States in probability samples from 1983, 2006, and 2009 1. Journal of applied social psychology, 42(6), 1320-1334. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2012.00900.x

Erford, B. T., & Bardhoshi, G. (2018). Becoming a professional counselor: Philosophical, historical, and future considerations. In B. T. Erford (Ed.), Orientation to the counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations (3rd ed., pp. 3-34). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351110679

Morgen, K., Miller, G., & Stretch, L. S. (2012). Addiction counseling licensure issues for licensed professional counselors. The Professional Counselor, 2(1), 58-65. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/293c/6f673db40d162bdba5f09860fcaba1646e8e.pdf

Sue, D. W., Sue, D., Neville, H. A., & Smith, L. (2019). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons.