Personal Development in Counselling Training - Essay Example

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IN COUNSELOR TRAINING SCHOOL This report aims to present the significance of personal development in Counselors training. I am currently training to be a Counselor in Cognitive behavior. The book by Hazel Johns called Personal development in training counselors has inspired me so much in knowing the importance of personal development. It is very essential in counselor training since it allows you to know yourself, understand yourself and become aware of yourself. I believe that personal development is a very basic component in Counselors training to be able to work efficiently and professionally. Here you find the details of the study. Personal development is believed to be essential in Counselor training. Although it is noted in the book by Hazel Johns that personal development is the least acknowledge and most intangible. We will find out why as we go along with the discussion. I believed there are numerous benefits to support its importance. In the training group of counselors, the following are just few of the many reasons on the importance of personal development such as, understanding myself better, finding my hang-ups, building skills with people, learning about my weaknesses, developing my strengths, growing up, finding out what blocks my learning and my counseling, liking myself more, reaching my potential as a person and as a counselor, becoming aware. These are just few questions of knowing oneself. Counselor training is the process to attain self-knowledge, self-understanding and self-awareness. Carl Rogers believed that this process of personal development is essential element of the individual efforts to be come himself. I completely agree with the importance of personal development in counselors training. First, we have to consider that Personal development is the basic component in Counselor training. To be a Counselor is like a Teacher. Before you can effectively teach your students, you must be well equipped with knowledge on the subject you are going to teach. Another skill a teacher or a counselor should have is people management. To be able to handle or manage your students very well, you must know the techniques in psychology and that is how to deal various personalities as well as dealing various situations. In becoming a Teacher, One must evaluate him/her self, am I capable of being such Just like in counseling, a counselor should be emotionally stable and has the capacity to listen to his/ her clients without any hesitation, and also a counselor can effectively lead the client to a solution of the problem. The key question of a Counselor is, 'who am I and who can I be for others' the counselor should realize that her/his 'self' is her/his principal tool/ instrument. In counseling, most of the time our approach is client-centered and it's a must for a Counselor to have the listening skills because you don't do the talking all the time unless necessary. Like the teacher, a counselor must have the skill to evaluate oneself as to who, what and why am I (When teachers face themselves, Jersild 1955) In counseling, one must have self-knowledge, self-awareness, self-understanding and most especially self-acceptance. These are crucial tools when helping others in counseling and be able to manage it efficiently. In Counselor training, it is more on self-understanding or knowing thyself first before knowing others and that results to personal growth and awareness. If personal growth and awareness are so significant in education, so is in counseling. Let us also define personal development. It is basically improving oneself. If a person is unhappy with his/ her lives for whatever reason, there must be a way to change it. Oftentimes it requires change. It may be a change in career, a situation, or simply a change of the way people think. Change only happens when a person has the willingness to do it. It is also believed that a person has the capacity to repair oneself as studied in developmental psychology. In this world, a person is always in search for fulfillment, and consequently find ways to improve oneself to better their opportunities, social relationships, spirituality, and other aspects of a person's life. And that will somehow improve satisfaction to a person or at least contentment. To be able to better the different aspects of a person's life is to take personal development to be competent in your daily tasks at work, in your dealings with people or your approach to life. There are numerous ways to personal development in counselor training. We have discussed the importance of personal development in counselor training on the first paragraph. I believe that personal development in counselor training is more on the benefits of both parties. It aims to improve the relationship between Counselor and client and maintain professionalism. Personal development in counselor training is one way of educating oneself to be professional. This helps maintain a high level-helping relationship. As noted by Hazel Johns that we must notice the predictable interaction between our personal and professional selves. The two should go along and balance well. One of the biggest steps to personal development is change of mindset. If you want to be successful in everything you do, be optimistic. It's one way to improve oneself. Set your mind to be positive in how you react to situations, in making conscious decisions, and the way you think. Once you make conscious decisions, you take control of your own actions and emotions and staying motivated no matter what situation or environment you're in. Personal development can help you achieve your goal. It's just a matter of mind setting to be able to attain the person you want to be. It is very important in counselor training because you attract and influence positivism to your client. To be positive is to have better results and that makes you a competent Counselor in the future. Another important step to personal development is to set realistic and obtainable goals. When you set a goal, it has to be reachable. Change doesn't happen overnight, it's a process and you really have to work hard for it. There may be obstacles along the way but never give up. Continue the journey because it doesn't end. Learning is a process and an endless experience. Once you challenge yourself in attaining goal, you gain self-confidence and can work effectively as Counselor and become productive in any task. Once you develop that skill, you will be able to help your client in obtaining their goal. It's like sharing your skill to others. Isn't it great to be a Counselor Your responsibility is enormous yet noble. The acquired personal development in Counseling training corresponds to Carl Rogers' theory in self-actualizing tendency. It can be defined as the built-in motivation present in every life-form to develop its potentials to the fullest extent possible. We're not just talking about survival: Rogers believes that all creatures strive to make the very best of their existence. If they fail to do so, it is not for a lack of desire. Humanistic Psychologists like Carl Rogers have great contributions in the importance of personal development in becoming a counselor. For him, with the acquisition of the relevant skills and insights, it enables the trainee (counselor) to make the most of all those connections and apply them purposefully to her development as a person who is becoming a counselor (Personal development in counselor training, Hazel Johns). The relationship between Counselor and client is one of a kind. It involves a lot of human effort to better the lives of one another. Counselors are trying to enhance the imperfect world into somehow almost perfect. I believe I have shared insights on Personal development in counselors training. The book by Hazel Johns is relevant to Counselors, Trainers, supervisors, Psychotherapy trainer and trainees, also to students on counselor training program. REFERENCE Personal Development in Counselor Training, Hazel Johns, 1996 edition by SAGE publications Issues in Professional Counselor Training, Windy Dryden, 1995 Read More