Mental Health Counseling as the Clinical Psychology - Essay Example

Mental Health Counseling Write 2 paragraphs with references: Please write a comparison between mental health counseling and one other helping profession. (In the first line of your posting, name the profession you have chosen to compare with mental health counseling.) Mental Health Counseling according to The American Mental Health Counselors Association or AMHCA (2009) is a recognized profession with national standards for training, education, and clinical practice. A licensed mental health counselor is expected to meet or exceed professional qualifications such as: Full pledge masters degree holder in counseling or its related mental health discipline; have completed at least two (2) years post masters clinical work with certification; and has passed the national licensure or certification examination. Mental health counselors apply their knowledge and skills in a variety of settings such as independent practice, managed behavioral health care organizations, community agencies, integrated delivery systems, employee assistance programs, hospitals, and substance abuse treatment centers. They also extend full range services in specific areas of Assessment and Diagnosis, Psychotherapy, Brief and solution-focused therapy, Treatment planning and utilization review, Psycho educational and prevention programs, Alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and Crisis management. Another helping profession other than Mental Health Counseling is the Clinical Psychology. Clinical Psychology is a specialize area and constitute the largest specialty in the field of Psychology whereby, experts or Clinical psychologists work most often in certain independent or group practices, counseling centers, hospitals, or clinics. Furthermore, they help emotionally and mentally distressed clients who adjust to life as well as may assist medical or surgical clients in dealing with injuries or illnesses. Some clinical psychologists also work in treating patients who suffer from spinal cord injuries, physical rehabilitation settings, chronic pain or illness, arthritis, stroke, or neurological conditions. There are also other clinical psychologists who help people in dealing with personal crisis, like divorce or death of a loved one (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational Employment Statistics, 2009). The difference in the two aforementioned professions (Mental health counseling and Clinical psychology) is that (AMHCA, 2009) Mental health counseling basically provide more broad and flexible roles as far as mental health service is concerned. It combines traditional psychotherapy together with a practical problem solving approach which creates an ever-changing and efficient results for change and problem resolution. A mental health counselor can effectively perform the roles of a clinical psychologist but a clinical psychologist cannot meet or satisfy the competencies of being a mental health counselor. Explain why mental health counseling resonates as a profession for you. Discuss two or more of its distinguishing characteristics in your response. Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources. I have been interested in studying Mental Health Counseling since I have come to know that based on the data shown by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational Employment Statistics, there is a well compensated career waiting in the future, therefore, I felt that this field will give me a much stronger edge and make me much more qualified to work with families that are suffering and dealing with raising young adults in today’s world. Also, I think that there are enough competent practicing mental health professionals to do justice to those who need them. Far too many people are turned away because of glitches in the system. Think about how the mental health counseling profession compares to at least one other helping profession (e.g., social work, psychology, marriage and family therapy, and psychotherapy), noting both similarities and differences. Mental Health Counseling is more focused on the prevention programs for the clients. The counselors focused to enhance the optimum level of mental health. MHC (Spruill & Fong, 1990, pp. 20-21) can be perceived as a cluster of the specific, scientific, educational, and professional contributions of the disciplines in areas of education, counseling and psychology. From early on, mental health counselors have defined their work as "an interdisciplinary multifaceted, holistic process of (1) the promotion of healthy life-styles, (2) identification of individual stressors and personal levels of functioning, and (3) preservation or restoration of mental health" (Seiler & Messina, 1979, p. 6). This profession is identified in conceptualizing a person both developmentally and holistically. Along with this, it pays attention to the social and multicultural influences (Hershenson & Power, 1987) on persons lives. In comparison to other professions, social work is also a service oriented career. Social workers support people to cope with crucial issues in life, deal with their relationships, settle some personal and family problems, assist people with disability or a social problem like unemployment, or substance abuse and inadequate housing, and families with serious domestic conflicts. They also conduct research, engage in systems design, advocate for improved services, and engaged in planning or policy development. Out of ten (10) jobs, five (5) were in health care as well as social assistance industries. At the same time, three (3) in ten (10) work for the State and local government agencies. Social workers median annual earnings were $43,580 during May 2006 while the middle 50% receive wages between $32,530 and $56,420 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational Employment Statistics, 2009). Similarly, a Marriage and Family Therapists (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational Employment Statistics, 2009) diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether it is cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage as well as family systems. This profession apply the theories and techniques in psychotherapeutic and family systems as far as delivery of professional services to persons, couples, and families for the purpose of treating such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders. Mental health counselors can also be an effective social worker and a family and marriage counselor, since the roles of both (the social worker and a family and marriage chancellor) are within the scope of mental health counseling functions. Write 2 paragraphs with reference: on Historical Perspectives on Counseling, noting especially the historical/sociocultural influences on the counseling profession. MHC has a short but bold historical background. Following World War II, the non-medical, behavioral and cognitive techniques to psychotherapy flourished, with certain growth being initiated by by the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963. Many of the MHC masters level practitioners conducted their trainings in colleges of education, then secured employment under several professional and paraprofessional titles in the society like hospitals, community mental health centers, private practice (Beck, 1999; Weikel & Stickle, 1989). Consequently, the new group of professionals began a grass roots movement on July, 1978 which were formed by the American Mental Health Counselors Association or AMHCA in order to provide themselves with necessary professional organization as well as identity (Beck, 1999). The Euro-American cultural values have defined the implicit however culturally-biased assumptions often apparent in counseling. Few these dominant culture include the fixed definition of normal, the universal relevance of individualism, the required encapsulation of professional boundaries, significant abstract jargon, universal pathology of dependency, the relative insignificance of support systems, primacy of linear thinking, requisite that persons adjust to the status quo, insignificance of historical tradition and absence of racism in oneself (Pedersen, 1994). • Select two historical/sociocultural influences on the counseling profession mentioned in the chapter and/or video program, and consider their significance. One of the sociocultural influences on the counseling profession is the consideration of mental health counselors to their clients socio-cultural background – the age, gender, residence, economic, and educational background and also their affiliations. Culture is very important and offers several advantages. It distinguishes the importance of within-group differences, recognizes the complexity of every individuals multiple interacting cultural identities, institutionalizes the potential for common ground, share similarities of age, clients gender or affiliation and expands the utilization of culture to the total practice of mental health counseling. One cultural bias is present it will not promote good practices in mental health counseling practice (Gilbert Wrenn , 1985). Aside from the cultural considerations, traditional practice of collaboration with other health professionals is regarded by mental health counselor who works in a community setting such rehabilitation centers and community mental health center. The mental health counselors recognize the contextual and holistic health framework to the wide-range professional environment. MHC has showed flexibility within stability; able to retain core identity elements of strength, development and mental health in sphere of holistic interdisciplinary perspective. The multicultural perspective will probably remain, along with the increasingly complicated life style. Finally, new competent mental health counselors will be more knowledgeable and comfortable dealing with clients and their colleagues even to unfamiliar cultural backgrounds. REFERENCES Beck, E. S. (1999). Mental health counseling: A stakeholders manifesto. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 21, 203-214. Pedersen, P. (1994). A handbook for developing multicultural awareness. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Ponterotto, J.G., Casas, J.M., Suzuki, L.A., & Alexander, C.M. (1995). Handbook of multicultural counseling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Seiler, G., & Messina, J. J. (1979). Toward professional identity: The dimension of mental health counseling in perspective. American Mental Health Counselors Journal, 1, 3-8. Spruill, D. A., & Fong, M. L. (1990). Defining the domain of mental health counseling: From identity confusion to consensus. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 12, 12-23. The American Mental Health Counselors Association (2009) About AMCHA. Retrieved June 8, 2009 from http://www.amhca.org/about/ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational Employment Statistics. (2009) Occupational employment statistics. Retrieved June 02, 2009 from http://www.bls.gov/oes/2008/may/oes211014.htm#ind U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational Employment Statistics. (2009) Occupational employment statistics. Retrieved June 02, 2009 from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational Employment Statistics 2009 Marriage and Family Therapists http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes211013.htm Read More