Professional identity and career paper

Professional identity has been defined as “the possession of a core set of values, beliefs and assumptions about the unique characteristics of one’s selected profession that differentiates it from other professions” (Weinrach, Thomas, & Chan, 2001, p. 168). Professional identity is not acquired at once it is a process of one understanding the profession as it relates to trainings, a heritage of theories and an understanding techniques. Professional identity is the results of a developmental process that facilitates individuals to reach an understanding of their profession in conjunction with their own self-concepts, enabling them to articulate their role, philosophy, and approach to others within and outside of their chosen field (Brott & Myers, 1999;Smith & Robinson, 1995). The process of building a Professional identity should include building strong relationships with colleagues and mentors who are devoted to learning and teaching one another through continuing education by attending educational conferences and joining professional organizations. The key characteristics of a counselor can be summarized as; Patience – a counselor has to provide patience when interacting with clients during sessions because everyone moves at their own pace while in therapy. The need to release negative feelings and move forward towards positive change can vary by client. Good Listener – counselors spend a large amount of time listening to their client’s stories and feelings, as counselors you have to be comfortable with providing this time while reading between the lines. Compassionate - your client should feel you care about them and have compassion for their issues. Although your life’s path may have been different compassion can result in a positive outcome. Nonjudgmental – while providing therapy a counselor will encounter many different types of people who will disclose their most intimate deep dark secrets which can include things such as criminal or