Professional Counseling- Origins, Roles, and Distinctions in Mental Health Care

Professional Counseling- Origins, Roles, and Distinctions in Mental Health Care

Multi-disciplinary collaboration between different health professionals is vital in addressing psychiatric conditions. These professionals include counselors, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and nurses (SAMHSA, 2023). However, among these disciplines, the counselor’s role is different from that of others, and this puts the counselors in an ideal position to develop effective interventions that are a priority for managing psychiatric conditions. This paper is aimed to clarify the distinguished scope of professional counseling and other mental health professions.

History of Professional Counseling

            The professional incorporates guidance and vocational counseling that dates back to the 19th and the 20th centuries. Along with the Industrial Revolution came subsequent social and economic changes such as urbanization, mass immigration, and technological advancements. These changes necessitated guidance to assist individuals in maneuvering through the different changes that occurred. In 1909, Frank Parsons, advocated for educational reform to provide guidance to maneuver through the new vocational pursuits that came along with the industrial revolution. This formed a foundation for vocational guidance as distinct professions (Marks, 2017).

In the 20th century, counseling evolved and expanded beyond vocational guidance, to incorporate broader issues such as mental health concerns, individual development, and interpersonal relationship. Subsequently, it was followed by further expansion and specialization within the counseling profession and the formation of professional organizations such as the American Counselling Association. Further advancements incorporated counseling in schools, mental health counseling, relationship and marriage counseling, as well as rehabilitation and career counseling (Marks, 2017).

Scope of Practice for Professional Counseling

The specialized training equips professional counselors with the expertise to provide counseling services to address mental health issues, emotional distress, and life changes. Their scope of practice includes individual counseling, group therapy, family counseling, occupational development interventions, and the provision of psychoeducation. Professional counseling integrates the use of evidence-based therapeutic approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, behavior therapy, and narrative therapy that is patient-centered (Grover et al., 2022).

Who Professional Counselors Serve

Consumers of counseling services are diversified across all demographics because mental health is universal across all the members of the population ranging from the children, all the way to the older adults. To obtain the best functionality and ideal productivity from a human being, proper mental health is a key requirement along with other health determinants. Due to this reason, there is increased demand for counseling services to mitigate depression, anxiety, grief and loss, career exploration and aid in decision making, and substance abuse rehabilitation. This makes the counselors work in different settings, among them schools, community agencies, health facilities, and other organizations (Grover et al., 2022).

Qualities of a Professional Counselor

            To provide effective counseling services, the professional counselor must possess features that reflect competency in their service delivery. To begin with the aspect of viewing the patient holistically. A professional counselor should understand that the psychological well-being of clients is affected by other humanistic factors such as emotional, social, and spiritual. Therefore, they should adopt a holistic approach to service delivery. Secondly, the professional counselor should focus on the client’s strengths to boost their optimism and confidence in the therapeutic interaction. This will help the client collaborate in finding solutions to their issues with the help of the counselor. Thirdly, the counselor should have the skills of acknowledging different human development stages and their associated psychological needs that they need to address. Finally, professional counselors should have the skills to collaborate with other disciplines to promote mental health awareness and eradicate the stigma associated with mental health problems (Nathan et al., 2023).

How Professional Counseling Differs from Other Mental Health Providers

Their scope provides expertise in counseling, psychotherapy, and occupational development across diverse settings, unlike other mental health providers such as psychologists and psychiatrists who work to provide mental health services in specialized settings. For instance, psychologists may work in clinical areas, schools, hospitals, or even organizations to provide psychological counseling. Psychiatrists work mainly in hospitals to provide medical interventions to patients with severe mental illnesses such as bipolar mood disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder (Cohen et al., 2021).  Professional counseling focuses on the holistic approaches to providing care to the client which is contrary to other mental health providers who address specific mental issues. For example, psychologists may use humanistic approaches while psychiatrists focus on medical management.

From the above discussion, it is evident that professional counselors have an important role in offering mental health services. This should trigger all health stakeholders to mount a response motivating the professional counselors and collaborate with them to obtain holistic care for the healthcare service consumers.

References

Cohen, K. A., Stiles-Shields, C., Winquist, N., & Lattie, E. G. (2021). Traditional and Nontraditional Mental Healthcare Services: Usage and Preferences Among Adolescents and Younger Adults. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 48(4), 537–553. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-020-09746-w

Grover, S., Avasthi, A., & Nischal, A. (2022). Ethical and legal issues in psychotherapy. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(7), 47–61. https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_50_21

Marks, S. (2017). Psychotherapy from a historical perspective. History of the Human Sciences, 30(2), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0952695117703243

Nathan, Lim, V. H., Isenman, L., & Yamoah, K. G. (2023). International Counseling Values: Recognizing Valued Approaches Identified by International Counseling Professionals Through Qualitative Inquiry. 45(2), 330–355. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-023-09505-4

SAMHSA. (2023, April 24). What is mental health? Www.samhsa.gov; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Professional Counseling Paper
Develop a paper that would be distributed to a group interested in understanding how professional counseling differs from other mental health providers. Give an overview of where the field came from, what professional counselors do, who they serve, and how they differ from other mental health providers. Include proper citations and references in APA format for scholarly sources to support your points.

Professional Counseling- Origins, Roles, and Distinctions in Mental Health Care

In addition to your textbook, you need to provide at least four scholarly references in APA format. Visit the South University Online Library databases for your academic references.