Write a 1,200-1,500-word essay that describes the characteristics and roles you hope to embody as a counselor and the counselor dispositions that you want to bring with you. You may write in the first person for this assignment. Include the following in your paper:
- Your role as a clinical mental health counselor or school counselor in the agency, school, and/or community you serve. Include strategies for collaborating with behavioral health care professionals. Refer to the importance of certification and licensure related to your role and professional identity.
- Strategies to develop a counselor identity that fosters leadership, advocacy and provides services as a licensed professional counselor or school counselor for persons with mental health issues.
- Depending on your program of study, refer to the GCU Professional Dispositions of Learners in the Class Resources or the attached Counselor Dispositions when completing this assignment. Consider your development regarding the dispositions related to your field of study and the ways in which you incorporated them into the counseling relationship. Provide specific evidence of your current progress.
- Counseling skills you plan to practice for building rapport with clients/students. Include verbal and nonverbal skills.
- Review how knowledge of theory is important to effective counseling strategies and alignment of these theories with counseling goals.
- Include a minimum of five scholarly sources.