Essay Sample on Developing Counselor Identity

Introduction

The process of developing a counselor identity involves the incorporation of some variables. A professional counselor requires to understand various concepts that help in developing a healthy psychological condition in a patient. The basic role of a counselor is to understand a client's or patient's condition and to use his skills, knowledge and various identity therapies to solve the issue. Developing an effective counselor identity is a concept that every counseling student should understand to ensure they are fit for the counseling job. According to Halbur, and Halbur (2014), theoretical orientation is an important concept towards the development of an effective counselor identity. Theoretical orientation involves the understanding and application of theoretical approaches in the day to day counseling tasks such as biblical applications and identity inventories (Halbur & Halbur, 2014). Theoretical orientation should be used in conjunction with one's values for the development of a professional counselor identity. Consideration of which theoretical approaches should be applied is important in the counselor identity. Biblical faith beliefs as per Butman and Jones (2011) should be selectively used to ensure a flexible counselor identity is developed (Butman & Jones, 2011). The term paper will focus on how personal skills and strengths and theoretical orientation especially the counselor identity inventories can be used to develop a professional counselor identity.

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Counselor Identity and Theoretical Orientation

Counselor identity is the composition of a professional counselor in performing psychological treatment and advising of clients. It is a combination of theoretical concepts and personal strengths and skills. The organization of a talk with a client is also part of counselor identity. As to develop an effective counselor identity, understanding how to handle a client from the introduction to offering solutions should be well understood (Calley & Hawley, 2008). A client looks to the counselor for emotional and psychological support. They should feel safe and in an environment where they will benefit. A counselor, therefore, should be considerate of the client's conditions by developing a counselor identity that is professionally supported by his strengths and skills.

Developing a counselor identity largely depends on the theoretical orientation of the counselor. Handling of personal strengths and skills and techniques on how to serve a client are entailed in theoretical perspectives of a counselor. According to Calley and Hawley (2008), theoretical orientation is the understanding of theoretical concepts among a counselor. Despite education acquisition, theoretical orientation helps a counselor to quickly understand and identify the best counseling approach to apply to a given patient (Calley & Hawley, 2008). Patients have unique issues and solutions. Theoretical orientation helps the counselor to analytically and qualitatively address a client's issue in a manner that will create utmost satisfaction to the client (Butman & Jones, 2011). Determining which counselor identity inventory to apply and whether to include Christian and Biblical concepts and beliefs is an essential aspect of developing a counselor identity that is offered by the counselor's theoretical orientation.

Approaching Clients Based on Personal Strengths, Skills, Worldview and Biblical Integration Views

An effective and professional counselor identity involves understanding how personal strengths, skills, worldview, and biblical integration views are applied in offering services to clients. Each of the views is applied in a unique way to clients. Developing counselor identity largely depends on these views.

Personal Strengths

Personal strengths are the most basic approaches that determine whether you are best at helping a client. Strengths are important in making the first impression on a client. Service provision to a client should be professionally structured where a counselor should not be quick to answer and should be very alert to identify behavioral and tone changes in a client. A counselor's strengths should be identified before the counseling practice. The major strengths required have been keen to the client's condition and knowing which approach to apply (Burwell & Chen, 2006). A counselor may have different strengths to another counselor and understanding how to apply the strengths best is a view that would greatly help in improving the service delivery of the counselor to the client. The counselor should also understand their weakness to ensure that they do not apply them in the counseling profession. Personal strengths view ensures that a counselor optimizes the application of his strength and minimizes the weaknesses.

Identifying the client's strengths is another concept that would greatly help in developing the most effective counselor identity (Calley & Hawley, 2008). Clients have different strengths and weakness. Identifying the strengths and weakness would help in determining the best solution and approach to apply while solving a client's problem.

Skills

Use of personal skills views to approach a client is effective towards solving one's emotional and psychological problems. Listening and communication skills are the most basic skills that a counselor should develop. According to Burwell and Chen (2006), communication is the best approach to developing a solution center inventory to help a client. Major communication skills that a counselor is required to develop are attending, listening, empathy, questioning and summarizing (Burwell & Chen, 2006). Attending is a skill that is developed through a counselor not only being physically present but also maintaining their presence through positive responses or supportive interjections. Listening and empathy are skills that a counselor should develop through understanding the feelings of a client from his or her tone and behavior (Halbur & Halbur, 2014). Questioning and summarizing should be done professionally to avoid insulting the patient. Approaching a client using personal skills is an effective strategy towards ensuring that the interaction between the counselor and client is based on professional and beneficial levels.

Worldview

Worldview approach to a patient is the understanding of environmental and trending aspects while offering effective client solutions. A worldview approach is based on issues that affect everyone. These issues can be adjusted to be solutions in a client's case. A counselor should develop a professional identity by acknowledging the influence of worldly issues in a client's case (Burwell & Chen, 2006). Using the worldview approach to solve the client case should be professionally done to avoid misinterpretation of the solution by the client.

Biblical Integration Views

Biblical beliefs and views are considered as the best reassuring approaches to solve a client's issue. According to Butman and Jones (2011), using the Biblical approach on a client should be professionally and considerately done. Even though the biblical and Christian approach offers the best reassuring solutions, not every person is welcoming to the approach. Some people view a Christian approach to be insulting. According to Butman and Jones (2011), a counselor should only use the biblical approach when he or she is sure that a patient is welcoming to the beliefs. The beliefs should not be over-applied to a client's case. A client has a worldly problem that would be better solved using a worldly solution (Butman & Jones, 2011). The biblical approach is frequently used to offer assurance. A counselor should strategically use Christian beliefs only in areas where reassurance is highly needed. This differentiates him from a preacher. Partially leaning into Christian views is an effective approach where integrating it with other counseling theories will help in optimizing the benefits of counseling. The theoretical foundation of integrating Christian views with other theories such as behavior and Adlerian theory would help in enhancing flexibility in counseling.

The integration of personal strengths, skills, worldview and biblical beliefs while approaching a client is the most effective theoretical orientation that will achieve a reliable counselor identity. Despite the counselor identity inventory applied, the integration of the views will help a counselor to create a highly interactive, supportive and reassuring solution to a client (Calley & Hawley, 2008). Therefore, the most effectively developed counselor identity is one in which an integrative approach is applied.

Evaluation of Counselor Identity Inventories

Counselor identity inventories are important elements that are required while developing a professional counseling portfolio. The inventories provide an effective approach towards offering psychological solutions to clients. According to Burwell and Chen (2006), the application of inventories should be based on effective problem-solving principles to ensure that the therapy method chosen is solution centered (Burwell & Chen, 2006). Developing a counseling identity requires understanding each of the therapy methods and identifying when best to apply any given therapy type. Also, a counselor should understand the details of each therapy inventory and how it is applied to a client.

Adlerian Therapy

Adlerian therapy is an approach that is developed using a perspective of personalizing counseling. The therapy specializes in identifying an individual's ability to solve the issue by developing a positive solution. A counselor should understand the applicability of Adlerian therapy. According to Meany-Walen, Kottman, Bullis, and Taylor (2015), the counselor should apply the stages: engagement, assessment, insight, and reorientation to ensure that Adlerian therapy is effective. Engagement involves developing a relationship between the client and the counselor on the terms of therapy provision. Assessment involves listening to a client and studying his behavior with the aim of understanding his or her background (Meany-Walen et al., 2015). Assessment establishes the mindset of a client. On the other hand, insight involves the interpretation of a client's scenario through the application of a therapist's theoretical orientation. Reorientation involves helping a client to develop new perspectives on how to handle the issue at hand. Counselors should develop knowledge and understand Adlerian therapy to ensure that they offer the best form of therapy to a client.

Existential Therapy

Existential therapy is applied to clients when a philosophical perspective in solving an issue is needed. Deployment of existential therapy should be supported by valid reasons on why the therapy is needed. A counselor should focus on the human situation by the client on a wholesome basis (Sterner, 2012). The philosophical approach challenges clients to take responsibility for their situations. Existential therapy is effective once the counselor identifies every detail of the client's situation and it ensures that the issues are permanently solved.

Person-Centered Therapy

Most therapists apply person-centered therapy since it gives the therapist an advantage in learning better the condition of the patient. The patient leads the discussion under the guidance of the counselor. Key communication skills from the counselor are needed since person-centered therapy guides the counselor to only act as a facilitator. The counselor should not show personal reactions, judgment of the patient's situation and acknowledgment of the client's situation (Lemoire & Chen, 2005). The therapist leads a self-discovery process where the client recognizes the issue solution and resolves to work...