Reflect and Define: A Professional Counselor's Path to Success - Research Paper

Introduction

In life, it is vital for a person to reflect on the career path that they take and determine how it affects other people. Doing so helps us define who we are as individuals, what we stand for, allows other people to know our history, why we are personate about some things, and why we follow specific paths in life (Eller, 2017). I believe that a professional counselor should have these things already well laid out and established and accompanied by some other personal attributes. Some of the personal qualities that reveal positive counseling identity include: being a good listener, have high ethical standards even in their own lives, should be excellent a problem solving, be able to gather as much information as possible from a client and sensitive to timing and interventions (Park, 2013). Having these essential attributes will help a counselor establish their identity and understand the complex human condition or experiences.

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There is a nagging question that persists on what exactly is the human condition/experience? In my opinion, I believe that human condition originates from the existence of "good and evil" and the ability of humans to differentiate between the two (Kekes, n.d.). I also think that the unfortunate part of the human condition is that people have self-awareness and are conscious of this fact, and this brings about the ultimate irony. Humankind can live life on both extremes of good and evil: by this, I mean that people are both brilliant and deviant, exquisitely caring and strangely indifferent, extraordinarily creative and incredibly destructive to self and others (Eller, 2017). As human beings, we are capable of doing shocking acts such as murder, rape, torture and of worsening the matter, no one can explain the origin of this dark human nature, thus unable to understand ourselves. The condition of being unable to perceive ourselves means that the more we seek these complicated answers, the more we are confronted with the difficult question about the human behavior and why it is so imperfect at times. Perhaps it is no wonder that despite the enormous strides that have been made in the fields of science and technology, the world is sinking deeper into chaos and anarchy (Kekes, n.d.). Millions of people are without food, ethnicity is well thriving, and discrimination has become part of the society, religion has become a tool that justifies murder and war remains the number one solution to human differences. However, we must not concentrate much on the dark human condition, for there is still hope for humanity when people embrace respect, love, and concern to other people (Park, 2013). We the people must learn how painful experiences have damaged other people and later help them by gradually eliminating the human faults. Doing so will spur a better understanding of human nature and the limitations that face humans, and we will be able to influence the fate of humanity in a positive direction.

Similar, as individuals, we must strive to become better people by prioritizing on an ethical approach to life's necessities and living out of a genuinely moral existence. I firmly believe that through the power of our mind, we become what we think we are. Our thoughts shape our identity and what we perceive is what we believe (Kekes, n.d.). Our perception of reality is governed by the beliefs that we hold, whether real or imagined by our mind. Based on recent research, it has been determined that most of the emotional feelings and habitual behaviors that we portray are set when growing up by parents, teachers, and peers. The core beliefs that are developed at this early stage becomes accepted to us as facts and eventually become the standard bearer of the truth (Eller, 2017). The children are unable to have the ability to scrutinize and consciously analyze details until later in life critically, and therefore once these perceptions are wired within the subconscious mind these beliefs, behaviors, and habits become part and parcel of a person's life, and the person operates from what was instilled into him in his early life. It, therefore, means that as adults, we are responsible for our thoughts, believes, and behavior as we directly influence the young children who are looking at us to lead as examples. Also, the positions that we occupy in the society can impact another person to have a greater belief in themselves or boost the self-esteem of others. For example, when a person is used to congratulating other people and telling them they are doing a good job, they are likely to feel appreciated and believe in their capabilities and thus casting away self-doubts (Neukrug, 2010). However, these positive thoughts have to first originate from yourself by having complete control of what you think, what you believe, and how you behave. The secret to boosting your confidence is feeding your mind with positive thoughts and entertaining people who support you positively.

As a professional counselor, there are some essential values, principles, and characteristics that you must possess when helping other people. First, you must be confident and well aware of the responsibilities that you are tasked with - having confidence at work regardless of the experience that you have and clearly understanding that the client's needs are the first steps towards building confidence and gaining the trust of the client. Secondly, you must be respectful and non-judgmental (Kekes, n.d.). By this, I mean that being a professional, you should be well aware that you will meet people of various religious, cultural, and social background, and at times, their beliefs might not conform to yours. It is, therefore, necessary to respect their opinion and avoid imposing your values, attitudes, ideas, and behaviors. The third characteristic is that a professional counselor should establish the importance of communication since every client has different needs and reacts differently to counseling (Eller, 2017). The counselor must keep in mind that some clients are afraid to open up and share their life history and thus might need some time to warm up, and therefore communication needs to be personalized to each client. The fourth principle is that a counselor must incorporate ethical and professional counseling throughout their practice. The ethics that a counselor must adhere to are laid out in various guidelines such as the American counseling association code of ethics and mental health state statutes (Park, 2013). Lastly, a counselor must be willing to learn and continuously educate themselves so that they are well updated on the upcoming trends of counseling. Attending seminars and conferences is also an essential way of ensuring that you are well equipped with the needed knowledge.

I believe that counseling theories play a vital role in the counseling process as they provide a platform for the counselors and therapists to interpret a client's behavior, thoughts, and feelings and help them establish how they will handle the client from diagnosis to post-treatment. Therefore, the counseling theories are an integral part of the healing process, and as a professional counselor, one must know how to respond to the complex issue facing a person, a group or family. When the counselor is unaware of how to respond to the client's needs, then he may appear incompetent to the client (Neukrug, 2010).

Your Selected Theory (Theoretical Development)

Of the various theories that are available in counseling, I find the psychodynamic theory as the ideal approach that speaks to my perspective of the human condition. This is because the method includes all the arguments in psychology that view the humanity functioning based on the interaction of forces within a person, in particular, the unconscious part, and between the various structures of the personality (Cottone, 2017). The origin of the psychodynamic theory was from Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis approach, which changed after the inclusion of other ideas from Jung, Alder, and Erickson. For the method to be applicable, there are some basic suggestions which one should be aware of, and they include; that our behavior and emotions are affected by the unconscious motives (Park, 2013). Based on Freud's conclusion, the human behavior is controlled by the unconscious part of the mind, and that what we feel, our motivations and the choices we make are influenced by the experiences that we have had in the past. The second suggestion is that the adult emotions and behavior, including the psychological challenges that we have, are deeply rooted in our childhood experiences. The third fact is that all actions even the once we deem accidental, have a cause, and in most cases, it is the unconscious factor which we cannot control (Neukrug, 2010). Lastly, the human personality is composed of three parts: the id, ego, and super-ego. The id contains the inherited parts of the character such as life instincts. The ego meditates between the id and the real outside world, while the super-ego comprises the values and the morals of the society which are learned from the guardians, parents, and other people.

As stated earlier, this theory is in line with what I believe to be true regarding human development. In other words, most of our behavior is imparted to us by our guardians, parents, or other people whom we look upon when growing up. Through our subconscious mind, we can observe and learn what our elders are doing, and this impacts our lives at a later stage. In agreement with the theory, I believe that the superego sets the ideal standard and morals for the individual following the guidelines that are laid down by the parent or the society. When a person goes against the dictates of the community in which they have been imparted with, a guilty conscience is produced because he has ignored the rules of the superego. I also think Sigmund Freud was right when he categorized the human mind into the three sections, as this helped the psychologists to better their understanding on how a human personality function from a psychoanalytical point of view. Sigmund also highlighted the importance of childhood in mental health, and this concept has proved useful in modern days counseling.

However, at some points, my beliefs differ from the approach because most of the view is based on the assumption that human behavior is molded at childhood. I find this not to be entirely accurate as sometimes it is possible to influence the mind of an adult. In modern psychology, it has been identified that peer influence can alter someone's behavior and make them depart from the traditional perspective of how they were raised (Park, 2013). For example, an adult person who has been raised in a Christian family can be influenced by his friends and become an abusive person. When such changes occur, it does not mean that this person acquired these habits of violence when he was growing up. However, despite this minor disagreement, I find this theory to be substantial, and counseling therapy should be conducted based mainly on its interpretation.

To cater for these areas that I disagree with the psychodynamic theory, I believe incorporating the behavioral approach would necessary. Behavioral psychology explores the ideas that all behavior are acquired through conditioning. Conditioning occurs as a result of interacting with the environment. Based on this approach, all our responses to the environment shape our actions. It, therefore, explains why it is possible to alter the behavior of an adult and replace the ideals that had been instilled to him when he was a child with new sets of behavior that divert from childhood morals and ethics. Also, learning can occur through an association between the stimulus and the environment. I, therefore, think that using the two theo...