Personal motivations for pursuing a counseling career

¶ … Counselor

Reasons for NOT Seeking a Counseling Degree

First, it is important to discuss reasons NOT to seek a counseling degree. Many people enter this profession because they want to help others. But combined with that, there are personal desires stated by students that indicate they want to counsel others because it offers them a sense of power and control. In addition, the strong sense of wanting to work through their own "issues" is present in those interested in this field.

Here are a some of the most common self-stated reasons given by those wanting a counseling career:

I'm kind of nosy, I guess. I like learning about other people's lives and having access to a world that is hidden from everyone else." have had my own troubles over the years. Learning to be a counselor was one way I tried to keep a lid on my own sense of powerlessness. In a way, I have a better perspective on myself when I see the problems of other people." was tired of being in the classroom, and I did not want to be a principal." (Richard Hazler, Jeffrey Kottler, 1998)

Your counseling might do more harm than good if you allow this type of thinking to enter your sessions, even though you also want sincerely to help others to a better life. In other words, if you have your own "undealt with" issues, perhaps another profession would be better for you.

So, What are the Reasons to Seek a Counseling Career?

By far, the most important reason to seek a counseling career is that you are sincerely interested in people and deeply sincere about helping them solve their problems. You probably noticed the double use of the word sincere. If it's not in your heart, your clients will detect it, and the effectiveness of your counseling will deteriorate.

If you love to listen -- really listen -- counseling may be for you. Of course, you must realize there is a huge difference between hearing and listening. Listening involves caring. Listening involves understanding. Listening involves reading between the lines and knowing what your client is really saying. if, like most people, you enjoy talking more than listening, counseling may not be for you.

You must want to work for it -- long and hard. The road to becoming a professional counselor is a difficult one, requiring licensing, a postgraduate degree, and, usually, two years or more of field work as an intern working with a licensed counselor. Most states also require an examination to obtain the license.

You're probably not going to get rich being a professional counselor. So, you have to want it because of the reasons we stated above. Salary averages for a professional counselor in the U.S. during 2007 ranged from $30,000 up to around $50,000 with some experience. Of course, if your plan is to become a psychiatrist or psychologist with a counseling goal in mind, the compensation levels jump by fifty per cent or more in most cases. However, the educational, licensure and field experience requirements usually increase as well.

Personality Characteristics of a Good Counselor

Generally agreed upon are the following: (CAP, n.d.)

Sincerity sincere counselor will make time for the counselee and schedule the session so both parties have enough time to speak/listen.

Good Listening Skills good counselor will listen attentively to what is being said and perceptively hear what the individual really means.

Integrity

The quality of being of sound moral principal, upright, and honest. A counselee is more likely to confide in a counselor of obvious integrity.

Patience

The ability to cope with waiting, provocation from a patient, or to proceed calmly when problems arise without displaying emotion or frustration to the client.

Perception

Counselors must have (or develop) the capability to discern what the client is "really" saying. Perception means the ability to notice things that others might now. A good counselor is able to do that with their clients.

Good Judgment and Common Sense

Not judging a client too soon -- or too late. A counselor must ensure most or all of the facts are known before diagnosing or beginning a path to a cure. And one shoe doesn't fit all. Consult others or professional journals if necessary. Most of all the sense you have gained from experience.

Confidentiality

Enough said. This trait is paramount.

Other Personality Characteristics - Compare and Contrast (Ledyard, 1994)

Some of the best data comes from Ledyard's 1994 study contrasting characteristics of those students interested in counseling vs. those interested in an administration/education career.

Previous studies had indicated definite personality traits specific to counseling candidates. Some of that research had also indicated the difference in characteristics of effective counseling candidates vs. ineffective candidates. Effective counselor candidates were characterized as confident, friendly, accepting, outgoing, efficient, and assertive; highly rated counselors showed more nurturing, affiliation, anxiety, and conformity tendencies. (Ledyard, 1994)

Previous studies have found counselors and educators to be more similar than different in their perceptions of students, interpersonal values, and reactions to frustrations. They also indicate that counselors, more than administrators tended to feel it was a greater compliment to be called "a person of real feeling" rather than "a consistently reasonable person."

What these studies have accomplished in general is to verify that counselors do have distinct personality traits. (Ledyard, 1994)

Ledyard's study revealed the following results:

1. Counselors are likely to be less "social." When asked if they would feel comfortable joining a large party, dance, etc., only about 57% said yes vs. 88% for the administrative students.

2. Ledyard confirmed that, by a large margin, counselors prefer to be known as "a person of real feeling" rather than "a consistently reasonable person."

3. Counselor candidates felt it more important that children develop their affections rather than their emotions. The majority of education candidates felt the opposite.

4. When asked if they talk about their feelings, 71% of counselors and only 41% of the administrators said yes, whenever they had a chance.

5. Both sides scored equally on the question of what they would do if someone got angry with them.

In another study, Counselor Education students at the University of North Texas were compared to the general population of the school.

As predicted, of the sixteen MBTI types, the most common for Counselor Education graduate students emerged as ENFP: extraversion, intuition, feeling, and perception. Additionally, this MBTI type was found to be significantly more common among the population of Counselor Education graduate students than is found among the general population." (VanPelt-Tess, 1999) Van Pelt found potential counselors more extroverted and intuitive. She also found that they dealt more with feelings and were more perceptive than the general population.

Functional Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are the skills you have learned by working with information, people, and things. These skills are very versatile and can be used in a variety of jobs and occupations.

Transferable skills are acquired through experience, can be understood using a more universal language, and function across jobs and fields.

Opportunities for counseling skills to be transferred are almost too numerous to list them all.

We'll get into specifics but just a few of the fields that utilize the many skills professional counselors have are: Education, Mental Health, Non-Profit, Law, Government, Health Care, Business, and the ever-present and popular entrepreneurial arena of starting your own business.

One thing not to do is confuse a counselor's transferable skills with the traits and characteristics we discussed before. They're different! Your traits are the style with which you do your transferable skills. Things like "has lots of energy," "gives attention to details," "shows determination," etc. are all traits, not skills. If one of your transferable skills is counseling and you do it twelve hours a day with no let up and enjoy all of it, then "has lots of energy" is the style with which you do that skill. (Bolles, 2009)

So, what are some of the transferable skills a counselor can bring to the table? (Gruen, Tramontozzi, & Schack, n.d.)

Multicultural Awareness

Team Work

Active Listening

Empathy

Establishing Rapport

Counseling & Psychology

Research

Testing & Assessment

Ethical Decision-Making

Writing

Group Therapy

Public Relations

Team Work

Budget Management

Conflict Management

Teaching

Multi-tasking

Motivating Others

And where could those skills be applied? As an example, let's say a counselor wants to move into the Healthcare industry. What jobs could he or she find with those transferable skills?

AIDS/HIV Counselor

Bereavement Support

Crisis Intervention

Health Psychology

Mental Health Worker

Occupational Therapy

Patient Advocate

Recreational Therapy to name just a few

Gruen, Tramontozzi, & Schack, n.d.)

Overall employment of counselors is expected to "grow faster than normal" through 2012, especially for: School counselors, vocational/career counselors, substance abuse counselors, marriage and family therapists and rehabilitation counselors.

Median Annual Earnings (2002):

School & vocations: $44,100

State Government:

Colleges & Universities: $37,000

Individual/Family Services: $26,910

Mental Health Counselors: $29,940

Rehabilitation Counselors: $25,840

And, with additional education, the following career fields are open as well for counselors:

Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Art Therapy, School Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychiatry

Gruen, Tramontozzi, & Schack, n.d.)

Instead of taking up more space here, I refer you to two good sources for information:

What Color Is Your Parachute? A book by Richard Bolles www.fordham.edu/cpp/gse/guidance_expoand click on the power point presentation.

Professional Duties in a Postgraduate Counseling Setting

Depending on what area of counseling a graduate seeks, the duties may vary somewhat.

The difference between a mental health counselor and a professional student guidance counselor at a university or high school would vary. However, if we take the case of the professional clinical counselor, we can focus in on the duties. (Degree Directory.com, n.d.)

Licensed professional clinical counselors (LPCCs) help clients with daily issues, such as relationships, education and career decisions and general mental health.

A licensed professional clinical counselor's primary purpose is to utilize talk therapy and apply clinical techniques and strategies to evaluate, counsel, and guide individuals. They help their patients to achieve personal wellness, career development, mental well-being and better relationships and to overcome substance abuse. A clinical counselor works with other staff to develop and plan services that assist patients and families, educating them about challenges that impact the patients' care. Licensed professional clinical counselors aren't psychiatrists and thus do not counsel patients with serious mental health disorders, particularly if medication is required. (Degree Directory.com, n.d.)

Career Outlook for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors

In 2006, there were approximately 635,000 people employed as licensed professional clinical counselors. The Bureau of Labor Statistics career outlook for clinical counselors, given at www.bls.gov, is very promising; a 21% expansion is expected between 2006 and 2016. According to Payscale.com, the median annual salary for a licensed professional clinical counselor, as of October 30, 2008, ranged from $36,999 for mental health counselors to $50,000 for a mental health program manager. Substance abuse counselors earned a median salary of $42,500 (www.payscale.com).(Degree Directory.com, n.d.)