Why you desire to become a counselor and indicate the type of counselor certification you plan to seek after graduation. -Should include emphasis on children/family therapy, volunteering as a child advocate.
• Please describe in 200-250 words why you desire to become a counselor and indicate the type of counselor certification you plan to seek after graduation.
-Should include emphasis on children/family therapy, volunteering as a child advocate.
• Describe in 200-250 words an occasion in which you have interacted with an individual or a group of individuals from another culture. Identify the cultural differences which were present and how you demonstrated respect for those differences.
• Describe in 100-250 words how you form effective interpersonal relationships with others in individual and group settings.
Do you feel like you’re staring at the clock all day just watching the minutes tick by? Are you seeking a career with more flexibility and a greater work/life balance? Whatever the reason, if you don’t feel like you’re doing work you love anymore it could be time for a career change. To help you out, we’ve gathered ten reasons why you may consider Counselling as a profession.
A career in counselling can create positive change in both the counsellors’ life and in the lives of others. This in itself is extremely rewarding.
Everyone has problems that they need to learn to overcome in their everyday lives, and counsellors provide a valuable assistance to those in emotional need. When stress occurs in life, people often elect to speak to a counsellor to give them direction, support and guidance. You will be doing meaningful work and given real tools, to help real people in a real world.
A career as a counsellor can be extremely flexible. With the average weekly hours worked by a counsellor being just over 34 hours a week, Counselling is a great option for those looking for flexibility in their career as they can schedule their clients around their existing commitments or desired work / life balance.
Employment for counsellors is expected to grow very strongly – about 25,000 counsellors are predicting to be working in 2020, up from 15,000 in 2005 (Health Times).
Counsellor age groups are split into two main categories.; 25-34 years and 45-54 years, providing a diverse mix of youth and experience on the job depending on which area of counselling you want to chase.
There are a variety of Counselling qualifications, study duration and options– The Diploma of Counselling is the entry level, and can provide the first step towards a career in counselling, or provide formal learning for professionals who use counselling skills in their current role. You may choose to diversify into a higher qualification such as an Advanced Diploma of (Holistic) Counselling or a Bachelor level or diversify into a Graduate Diploma of Arts Psychotherapy. (pre-requisites may apply, so always check with the relevant training organisation for eligibility criteria as well any credit)
One of the most common reasons people decide to enter the field of counseling is because they have a strong desire to help others and to assist people with the challenges of daily living.
You find that others often seem to feel comfortable confiding in you. You have a natural ability or desire to empathise with people and understand the importance of confidentiality. However, you are not expected to know what to say. A good counseling course will teach you what to say and when to say it, that is teach you HOW to be a Counsellor.
Some people simply feel that they were “called” to the field. They may have a desire to be a part of something larger than themselves. David Hutchinson, a counseling professor says “Many people decide to become counselors during the second parts of their lives, because they are searching for a sense of meaning that, perhaps, their previous careers were unable to offer. By connecting to others and helping them through the tough times, you might find the intrinsic sense of reward and meaning that you’ve been seeking.”
You may be currently working in a profession that requires counseling skills – such as (such as teachers, nurses, ministers of religion, corrective services officers, human resource professions, allied health professionals etc.) and a new qualification may provide you with the additional skills you need to feel supported (and open up new opportunities) in your existing career. A counseling qualification can add value to the lives of people from all sorts of backgrounds.