Clinical Mental Health Counseling Goals Essay

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program has allowed me to grow in knowledge and ability to fulfill my goals as a future counselor. I have learned what is expected of me in learning and continuing to learn about the CACREP common core curricular areas. I have found that I will need to continue on working in group settings for I struggle in this area. I believe that with more experience I will become not only more comfortable in the setting but be able to help others in a supportive group of people instead of individually. I plan to continue my growth knowledge both by classes and through different trainings, and conferences. I know that to meet my goals I would need to work hard to complete my education. To do this I plan on taking two courses over summer 2016 (assessment and diagnosis; and counseling adolescence). For the upcoming semesters I plan on taking three courses during each. I plan on taking practicum during fall 2016 so I can take internship during the spring of 2017 and summer 2017. By doing all of these things I will be able to not only accomplish my goals but to gain my licensure/certification and be employable in human service professions.

However, it has allowed me to see though my Interviewing Skills class that I am able to have a professional relationship with a client and conduct a full counseling session. These counseling sessions consist of welcoming, trust building with client, paraphrasing and summarizing skills, active listening skills, closing strategies and also termination of the counseling process. Even through I have learned that I am better in practice then technical skills I have room for improvement in both areas. I can improve on the practice part of counseling because the more I counsel the easier it is to put skills into the session without have to consciously do