Unveiling the Path to Becoming a Professional Therapist - Research Paper

Introduction

The purpose of choosing to interview a professional therapist is to help me understand it and the functions of the job. Prior to choosing a path in becoming a therapist, it was essential to understand first what it takes to be a qualified therapist. A good understanding of the profession provides an avenue to be satisfied with the services and help that people get from my work. I learned that to be a therapist, it required me to be dedicated and complete the necessary education required to practice. Education requires that an individual practicing therapy should at least complete a four-year course in psychology or education. A master degree program is an added advantage with an internship in between. After the interview, I got a chance to understand the functions of the job. The primary function of a therapist is to assist injured and sick people to recover through the management of their pain. They further work towards ensuring that people suffering in their body and mind get a chance to get back to their stable emotional and physical states. I also get to learn that there are different types of therapists who get a chance to exercise their functions. There are physical, occupational, recreational, respiratory, massage, radiation, mental, family, and marriage therapist. Advancing in my career requires me to have a clear understanding of these different types of a therapist and their functions.

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What were three or more tasks you observed?

The shadowing process offered me a chance to observe therapists traits that I realized I did not have. The skills that stood out were listening, observing, and evaluating. During the interview, I realized that the therapist had excellent listening skills. Her body language reflected how much she listened to what I was asking. There is no time that she looked around losing focus on me and indicator that for a person to be a good therapist, then it was paramount always to take the full attention of what a person is saying, therefore, giving them an assurance that you care for them. Observation is another task I found out to be part of the profession since it offers a chance to counsel a client for the best solution. Observation skills med it possible for a therapist to take note of both verbal and non-verbal information that a patient gets to portray. Observing skills for therapists gives a chance to understand the client's world hence, genuinely understanding their painful experiences. I observed that evaluation is a skill that can boost my career in therapy. There are different trends in the field of therapy; therefore, integrating and designing them make it possible for me to advance my career. Therapist gets to collect vast information from their clients. Therefore, it would be productive to have evaluation skills in order to assess the credibility of the information. Quality evaluation of these skills assists in having quality judgment hence effective solutions for problems faced by clients.

What was the company culture like? (Team/individual/friendly/busy/etc.)

The company culture was busy, laid back yet professional. Everyone within the company was helpful and never hesitated to offer me answers for all my questions. Everyone within the company happened to be engaged without wasting precious time. Different departmental teams have developed a culture where being busy actually translate to a positive outcome and not just appearing to be busy, yet there is no actual outcome. The company top management and employees have developed a culture where they get a chance to be given leisure time, therefore, avoiding cases where the people within the firm perceive themselves to be busy and overworked. Working time is strict, and I found out that employees were not allowed to work extra time. The outcome of having equal working environment ensured that employees' job satisfaction remained intact. The company has, however, adopted a culture where employees with positive feedbacks from clients would get a chance to be rewarded. The rewarding culture, in my opinion, translates to the professional treatment that I was given. Everyone within the company was helpful, and they always ensured that I got satisfied with my request. Time management skills are considered an influential company culture to ensure that the level of busyness is proper and fruitful. The leaders within the company have set an example. I observed that it was not management that wasted time through actions such as skipping work and awarding themselves vacations. Leadership actions and behaviors translate to professional workings.

What surprised you most?

During my time in the company, I was surprised by everyone's friendliness and willingness to help. Friendliness as company culture is an integral part of my career. I further did research to find out the reason why employees happy and willing to help without hesitation. My findings are that the client's happiness is translated to happy customers. If I was a client to the company, then I would definitely come back for services, and I would be willing to pay for the company services. The company has offered its employees a chance to develop and advance in their work. A stable career path gives an option to employees to ensure that they provide quality services knowing that they have long-term goals. The willingness to help shocked me because not all people have the will to help without second-guessing. The organization has trained its employees to make it a culture to assist clients without revealing their emotions. Career development for therapist offers a chance for employees to gain new skills, therefore, using these skills to interact with customers. I also learned that the leadership of the company supported employees. The support from the leadership through feedback and praises made it possible for them to know that they were being supported; hence, they made sure that they give their client the best experiences.

What did you like most? Least?

Feeling as if I could actually make a difference in this profession of therapy is what I like most. To me, I feel like this is not a job but a calling that gives me a purpose. In as much as other profession offers a chance for problem-solving, providing therapy says about how I feel about making a difference regarding unsolved cases in this field. Being around people and being real makes me work towards changing things in life by figuring out solutions to problems facing different people. I love the fact that this profession offers a chance for me to engage in in-depth conversations with my clients while ensuring that they get the best services from me. Making a difference is part of something positive whenever a person comes for help then eventually improves even if the scenario is tight and not manageable. Realizing that not everyone will actually be helped and improved is what I did not like. Therapy profession aims at improving and solving people's problems, but it is sad to find out that there are scenarios where there are no improvements witnessed in the part of the client. It is demoralizing when a client fails to improve after therapy and often leads to a reduction in morale when executing duties as therapists.

Are you still interested in this position? Why or why not?

Yes, I still am. I have always wanted to help people in this manner. I am interested in the profession since it offers me a chance to create a healing environment where people get a chance to overcome life challenges witnessed in modern life. I am interested in working as a therapist since I will get a chance to be paid for doing what I like. It is an honor to work as a therapist. Working as a therapist means that I will get a chance to work with a team just like in the case of this company. As a team, my client and I get a chance to journey together through understanding to the point of figuring out solutions to his or her problems. Working in a busy environment offers me a chance to satisfy my desire always to be workaholic who does not shy away from solving problems. I love facing challenges that affect different clients. These challenges offer me a chance to continue helping people in different ways without tiring. I like the idea that is working as a therapist; I get a chance to extend my career even after retirement from formal employment through reviews of other peoples. I love a career that will eventually satisfy my life when I look back to different times that I got a chance to heal and transform the lives of different people.