Footsteps of a Mental Health Counselors

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Footsteps of a Mental Health Counselor: Week Eleven Application “I believe that the route people take in life depends strongly on the relationships they have with others, the obstacles they may go through, and how they find themselves in the mist of it all.” With this belief, I desire to someday focus my counseling on relationship issues and substance abuse counseling. However, I’ve found myself questioning what the life of a counselor looks like on a daily basis. Therefore this paper will unfold what life is like for a counselor, through the eyes of Marie Francis, an LPC and LCAS. Along with the information gathered, I will also incorporate the material learned throughout this course in order to provide a true reflection of what happens day-to-day for a counselor. Spending the day with Marie Francis really gave me a true insight on what the day-to-day life is like for a mental health counselor. Before knowing anything about the day of a counselor, I first wanted to know the difference between a counselor and a social work. From what I’ve learned through the course, counseling is an “interpersonal process involving a professional counselor who incorporates a holistic, proactive, preventive, and rehabilitative viewpoint, focusing on facilitating health growth, redirecting unhealthy development, and improving the current quality of life. “ (Erford, 2010) Social workers on the other hand allows the professional to find out the problems the clients are facing and then provide resources that will assist the client in achieving their goals. However Marie sees “counseling to be more a helping position rather than a social worker who enforces rules.” (Francis, 2012)This however seem to be very true because the two share similar skills and training, yet people tend to be confused by their differences. Maries notes that “an LPC discovers the person (s) strengths and
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