https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2022/ c COUNSELORS’ PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY \ COUNSELING AS A PROFESSION  New profession compared to others in the mental health field  Professional identity Is important for counseling to succeed as a profession  Professional identity is the result of a process  Counselors with strong professional identities: Can explain philosophy behind professional activities Can describe services counselors provide Can describe educational requirements for counselors Can explain qualifications and credentials in counseling Can explain similarities and differences among counseling and other professions such as social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. COUNSELING PHILOSOPHY 4 core beliefs: Best perspective to help others with emotional issues is the wellness model of health (as opposed to the medical model) Most emotional and personal issues and problems are developmental (natural and normal for a stage in life) Prevention and early intervention are preferable to remediation Goal of counseling is empowerment of the individual or system (family, group) to solve problems independently WELLNESS ORIENTATION TO MENTAL HEALTH AREAS OF OVERALL FUNCTIONING Relationships Career Leisure Sexuality Spirituality Physical health Financial status Living environment DYSFUNCTIONAL SELF-ACTUALIZING WELLNESS MODEL  Opposed to the medical model. Physicians, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses, clinical social workers training is rooted in the medical model  First step in medical model is to diagnose or identify an illness or psychological pathology, then return the client to level of functioning pre-illness by using scientific procedures, and discharge client once illness is cured.  Wellness perspective Sees mental health as a continuum, not a dichotomy, goal is to achieve highest possible degree of positive mental health Clients have the potential and desire for autonomy and successful living Assessment of client functioning in several areas (holistic): family relationships, friendships, work/community relationships, career/job, recreation, spirituality, physical health, living environment, sexuality, financial status Client advocacy (diminish or remove social or institutional barriers to growth and access)  Considerable overlap of both models in practice: preventive medicine, patients’ rights, DSM system DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE  What stage in the life span is the client at? What are the tasks he/she faces?  Frequent personal and emotional issues are better understood from a developmental perspective – natural and normal challenges  More “severe” problems may be seen as transitory issues and put in the context of modern society (e.g., substance abuse, anxiety attacks, etc.)  That’s why Human Lifespan and Development is a required course and one of the main areas of the National Counselor Certification exam PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION FOCUS  “If it can be prevented, it should be” applies to mental health problems, “If it cannot be prevented, try to reduce its impact”  Education is a primary prevention tool (psychoeducation): parenting education, premarital counseling, career exploration, assertiveness training  Counseling is beneficial for everybody because we all face developmental challenges, potentially distressing events THREE LEVELS OF PREVENTION Examples for eating disorders Tertiary prevention: symptomatic population Focus on reducing complications, limiting impact on functioning/ disability, longevity, quality of life. Ex.: intervention to develop healthy eating patterns, reduce body comparison behaviors, for females ages 14-18 with a diagnosed eating disorder Secondary prevention: asymptomatic population Focus on screening and early intervention to reduce number of symptomatic cases Ex.: screen teenagers for body comparison (extent to which a person compares his or her own body with the bodies of others) and focus on those who have a risk factor. Primary prevention: general poulation Focus on promoting safer or healthier behaviors, usually through education, exercise programs, etc. Goal: reduce risk and promote health Example: peer group to raise awareness of the unrealistic, manipulative nature of media images (ideal of thinness) skip From: https://www.med.uottawa.ca/sim/data/Prevention_e.htm CLIENT EMPOWERMENT  Goal of counseling is to train clients to help themselves, i.e., problem solve independently  Counselor puts faith in the client to develop skills necessary for independent living and wellness – client is not at mercy of experts – “yes, you can” attitude  Teach problem solving strategies  Create opportunities for self-understanding (remember Kung-Fu series with D. Carradine? Grasshopper without marked asymmetry)  Teach clients to ask for and receive help as a normal response to challenges (no man is an island)  Help should be transitory, or as short as possible to avoid dependence  Autonomy and independence are interpreted differently in different cultures COUNSELING SERVICES  Primary professional service for counselors is mental health counseling services  Secondary services include: assessment, teaching, diagnosing, case management, advocacy….  Counselors fulfill different roles and duties in their professional practices  Different job titles under which they may be hired: mental health counselor, career counselor, etc. COUNSELOR PREPARATION PROGRAMS To become a professional counselor you need a masters’ degree Developing counseling skills are primary focus of training Programs traditionally in College of Education Creation of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) sets national standards for masters and doctoral counseling training programs – 1960’s 1600 master’s and doctoral counseling programs, but only 1/3 are CACREP accredited 2016 Standards are the latest CACREP standards: 60 semester hours programs; 100-hours practicum + 600-hours internship; 8 content areas: professional orientation, human growth and development, social and cultural foundations, helping relationships, group work, career and lifestyle development, appraisal, research/program evaluation CREDENTIALING IN COUNSELING Refers to indicators of professional legitimacy (that you are competent in the scope of practice of your profession)  There are many different types: Degree State licensure State certification National voluntary certification Program accreditation PROGRAM ACCREDITATION ➢Refers to minimal standards which counseling training programs must meet to become accredited ➢As of July 2017, there is only one accrediting organization for counseling studies: ➢CACREP – accredits master’s in school counseling, CMHC, marriage, couple and family counseling, community counseling, career counseling, addiction counseling, college counseling and student affairs, clinical rehabilitation counseling programs, and doctoral programs in counselor education ➢Graduates from non-accredited programs run the risk of not having their degrees recognized for licensure or certification CACREP AND APA LINKS TO ACCREDITED PROGRAMS CACREP http://www.cacrep.org/directory/ APA http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/programs/using-database.aspx Explain difference between Ph.D. and Psy.D. Public schools graduate assistantships NATIONAL VOLUNTARY CERTIFICATION Certification is voluntary but may be required for a job or help to obtain state licensure National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) – 80,000 National Certified Counselor (NCC) NBCC: National Certified Counselor (NCC): 2 years of post master’s experience (waived for CACREP accredited programs), master’s degree in counseling, pass the NCE Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRC) - 35,000 Certified Rehabilitation Counselors There are also several specialty certifications for counselors working with clients with substance abuse issues*, clinical mental health and school counseling; but first need to be NCC ACA National Career Development Association (NCDA): Certified Career Counselor STATE AGENCY CERTIFICATION State agency certification: official agencies require individuals to go through a process to certify that they are qualified to perform certain state jobs (in some states agency certification is called licensure) School counselors have to follow a process determined by each state’s Department of Education Substance abuse counselors – see National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Rehabilitation counseling (state rehab agencies don’t certify but have minimum requirements, such as passing the CRC) DEGREE AND STATE LICENSURE ➢Degrees: Very varied: M.S., M.A., M.Ed., MS.Ed., M.Div., specialist, doctoral degrees (Ph.D., EdD, DA, DDiv.) ➢State licensing is required for independent private practice. In many states, counselors in public organizations (schools, government) and not-for-profit organizations are exempt from licensure ➢Each State Board has different processes and requirements for obtaining a counseling license ➢States may call a credentialed counselor licensed, certified or registered. License titles may be: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), among others ➢Portability of licensure: ➢reciprocity laws: states that recognize their licenses as equivalent, AL and GA ➢Interstate endorsement: abbreviated licensure application process DEGREE AND STATE LICENSURE ➢For counselors, state licensure entails: ➢ Educational requirements (graduate education requirements, most states recognize CACREP as the standard) ➢ Experiential requirements (post-graduate supervised hours with board-approved supervisor) ➢ State’s licensure exam (usually NBCC exams: NCE, NMHCE; also CRCE) ➢ Sometimes state jurisprudence exam, oral exam, are needed ➢You need to find out what the license title allows you to do – this is called the scope of practice ➢ACA licensure information link: http://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/licensure-requirements/state-professional-counselorlicensure-boards LICENSURE IN ALABAMA ➢Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling: http://www.abec.state.al.us/ ➢Code of Alabama and administrative rules: http://www.abec.state.al.us/law.aspx ➢Alabama Code of Ethics: http://www.abec.state.al.us/PDFs/Code_Ethics_Nov09.pdf Look for educational and experiential requirements for licensure in Alabama LICENSURE IN FLORIDA ➢The Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling: http://floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov/ ➢Florida Statutes & Administrative Codes: http://floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov/resources/ ➢Florida Code of Ethics: http://flcertificationboard.org/assets/uploads/Code-of-Ethics-April2014.pdf FL Counseling Licenses: Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) Provisional Mental Health Counselor Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern Marriage and Family Therapist Dual Licensure as LMHC & Marriage and Family Therapist LICENSURE IN GEORGIA Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage and Family Therapists: http://sos.ga.gov/index.php/licensing/plb/43 What are the requirements for Licensure? Master Degree in Counseling or Psychology (must have course work to match application); four years of Supervision and Direction, supervision under an LPC for two years, and take the National Counselors Exam (NCE) GA Counseling Licenses: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) Associate Licensed Professional Counselor (LAPC) - See more at: Licensure application consultation by the Licensed Professional Counselors of GA: http://lpcaga.org/index.php?customernumber=660485979954684&pr=Licensure_Consult AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION SPECIALTY AREAS ACA is the main professional association for counselors, 20 divisions http://www.counseling.org/about-us/divisions-regions-and-branches Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW) International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC) ESSAY 1: ETHICAL PRINCIPLES ➢Check Forrester and Miller decision making model in Ethics Resources ➢Kitchener (1984) decision making model Ethics Resources ➢“Preamble scramble” interview – in Ethics resources or at www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/ethics/ethics_august_2014.pdf?sfvrsn=2 ➢ACA Ethical standards casebook, pages 12-15 NEXT CLASS ASSIGNMENT Review the scope of practice and Code of Ethics for counselors in Alabama…WORK SMARTER: start on your essay 2 (laws and rules in state licensure and/or certification, and public policy) You need to visit the counseling association’s websites of AL (see below), as well as states licensing boards (see previous slides) – if you are curious, you can check FL and GA AL: Alabama Counseling Association http://www.alabamacounseling.org/ FL: Florida Mental Health Counselors Association http://www.flmhca.org/ Florida Counseling Association http://www.flacounseling.org/ GA: Licensed Professional Counselors of Georgia http://www.lpcaga.org/ 
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