Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Want to Be a Guidance Counsellor

Good Essays
958 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Want to Be a Guidance Counsellor
Why am I interested in an Adult Guidance Course

Perhaps, to gain an insight on why? I should look at what has led me to this career path in the first place. Having worked in a Pharmacy setting for 18yrs, my latter role in a methadone community day treatment pharmacy programme, I returned to Adult Education in 2002 and studied Addiction, enjoyed the experience in its entirety and enjoyed working with people. It challenged my value system and beliefs, and gave me knowledge of myself as a person, which was insightful in working with others. My return to education has been a positive experience, has opened up new ways of working with people, and is a “work in progress”. I have worked in a variety of addiction settings in the greater Dublin area (including male day and residential treatment programmes) and the premise of “where a client is at” and “where they want to be” is similar in different work remits including Addiction, Counsellors, and Adult Guidance.

Presently, I work in an Adult Guidance capacity in my role as Training & Employment Officer in the Midlands Complex. The clients that are referred to the service, for advice and support on pre-post release options. Some of the initial contact is in a Prison setting, and a goal setting contract is undertaken by both parties on this co-journey. The guidance process of “where one is at” and “where they want to be” is an immense personal journey for the client, and a privledged one for the practitioner. There are a variety of issues both personal and professional that need to be addressed and overcome, and a strong commitment to continue the process. My core belief in working with people has remained the same in my own learning journey, that in working with individuals that if a good working , trusting relationship is established , the person will “buy into” whatever service you have to offer, e.g. Teacher, Training & Employment Officer , or Key Worker, however, I have learned how to develop a practice structure, awareness of myself and the individual in the relationship, and continue to grow and learn more about myself in the process and “WHO AM I”.
My three day “inititiation”on the Adult Guidance & Counselling course has reinforced that I am where I should be at this stage in my educational development and voyage of self discovery. The Group Work session in particular, and how our group” formed” in the early stages , was interesting to study and to be part of . So many questions and “self talk” on the first introduction. Where? Who will I fit in with? Will I make it easier for myself and fit in where I am most comfortable? I had a sense of belonging, shared identity, and a common goal. I am a part of this unique group for 8 months, what am I going to do to make our group feel , and operate like a functioning group, embrace the tasks that are set, and fulfil our sense of identity. Oh! I am going to love this, and intend to participate in all tasks as positively as possible. Will my tutor assess how I participate? E.G. what roles have I adopted in the group? Problems that occurred and were resolved, and how did I contribute to this. Another advantage I believe in group work is that it offers social support (I have already identified possible friendships and exchanged contact numbers) that can sometimes be isolating when working on one’s own.
My personality lends itself to taking on a leadership role, I am an extrovert, and can ( if my awareness levels are lowered) drive the group dynamic. I consciously (and for my own learning) adopted a quieter role, disclosing little in the first few days, and allowing others to lead. How was this for me? What have I learned about myself from adopting this stance? What did it tell me about hoe I should approach group work in general? Was I happy in this role? There are a lot of questions to reflect on, however I learned I can be SILENT, and I did not find it uncomfortable , and it fine tuned my listening skills , I perhaps would not have learned as much about my fellow students. Perhaps, I need to experiment more with different roles, that will develop different aspects of my personality, this is a good learning. I am sure that this is going to be a positive, supportive, and interactive learning experience, especially if I am open to that learning

My hope is that with participating on this course , will give me an increased confidence in my professional ability, and I look forward to getting to know “Babs” and who she is on a deeper level, and therefore a deeper understanding of people and their own unique “stories”, what that means for them from a career guidance perspective. If I am successful in attaining this qualification, I hope it provides me with better insight, awareness, and structure in my client work. I have enjoyed the “ Group Work “ module particularly , and am I hope it will allow me to appreciate “Group Dynamics “and be more sensitive and open to others ! I loved the first session, and growing in excitement for October and the next one. My passion for learning has not waned after my initiation to the course in October (although it was a daunting few days), indeed it has grown. This will be an interesting year, and the challenge of a new venture, to gain insight as a worker, forging new friendships with the other students, and the experience and knowledge of the facilitators! BRING IT ON!

There are no sources in the current document.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Unit 502

    • 2480 Words
    • 8 Pages

    There are many barriers I face when dealing with professional development. Though I have a small staff team, a lot of them are from an older generation, where they didn’t do that well at school, some of them hated school, and they couldn’t wait to leave education and go out to work. This now makes it difficult for them to learn, as they have a fear of learning – due to lack of confidence & understanding of the learning material given to them. Most of them came into the care industry purely because they had a love to care for those who needed it. This was to…

    • 2480 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Standards for managers new in post in adult social care, including those managing their own support workers 2012 ‘Refreshed’ web edition, with guidance and certificate…

    • 9595 Words
    • 39 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Introduction: There are many jobs in society, particularly within health and social care, where a practitioner’s main job role is working with adults. It is therefore, important for learners, hoping to work in these areas to develop knowledge and understanding of safeguarding work. Multi-agency partnerships work at local level to develop policies and procedures which safeguard adults by promoting good practice. Whilst the rights of all individuals should be protected, adults who use health and social care services are amongst those most at risk of abuse or neglect. Learners must recognise situations which may lead to abuse and neglect, and the need for a person-centred approach which provides supportive and trusting relationships. Learners will investigate the signs and symptoms of different types of abuse, enabling them to recognise when abuse may be happening. They will go on to examine predisposing factors which may lead to abusive situations.…

    • 4112 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    health and social

    • 716 Words
    • 5 Pages

    2. Understand how to implement a person centred approach in an adult social care setting…

    • 716 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When I start work with a young person I use a person centred approach, they are involved from the first stage of the referral the social worker must get written agreement from the young person so that they are willing for me to be a part of their case. They have an in put into the intake meeting on the form there is a specific area where they identify any work they would like to engage in and are given examples , at all time the young person is at the centre, it is made very clear that the…

    • 1415 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    explore the importance of partnership working and how this is achieved in adult social care.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Unit 11 P1

    • 4138 Words
    • 17 Pages

    There are many jobs in society, particularly within health and social care, where a practitioner’s main job role is working with adults. It is therefore, important for learners, hoping to work in these areas to develop knowledge and understanding of safeguarding work. Multi-agency partnerships work at local level to develop policies and procedures which safeguard adults by promoting good practice. Whilst the rights of all individuals should be protected, adults who use health and social care services are amongst those most at risk of abuse or neglect. Learners must recognise situations which may lead to abuse and neglect, and the need for a person-centred approach which provides supportive and trusting relationships. Learners will investigate the signs and symptoms of different types of abuse, enabling them to recognise when abuse may be happening. They will go on to examine predisposing factors which may lead to abusive situations. Learners will explore a range of strategies and procedures organisations use to reduce the risks to individuals, and know the key legislation and regulations which govern safeguarding work in the health and social care sectors. The final part of the unit can be delivered in conjunction to Unit 6: Personal and Professional Development in Health and Social Care. Learners will examine working practices which minimise the risk of abuse. There will be an opportunity for learners to investigate how supportive relationships are…

    • 4138 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Working in partnership with adults using services, families and informal carers encourages more trust and empowerment of people using the service as they are likely to feel more confident talking about their worries fear and abuse. The equality should encourage the growth of self esteem, self confidence and the strength to stop accepting abusive situations or behaviour as normal. Working in partnership with adults using services, families and informal carers also ensures an agreed approach that all involved are aware and so it can be monitored from more than one person which allows more than one point of view. This prevents abuse as it is allowing several agencies to work together closely so it is all of their responsibility to pick up on if the individuals needs are not being met or if abuse is happening, also it…

    • 3429 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    I want to work with one patient or work with a group counseling sessions depending on the treatment needed. My goal is to help patients pinpoint their situations and behaviors that block the road to relapse and lead them to recovery. Without a master’s degree in human services, I feel like I could not benefit being a drug and alcohol counselor because I would keep empty. By getting a master’s degree, I will have more knowledge on efficiently and effectively integrate insights to help these patients. Without a master’s degree in human services, I feel like I could not benefit being a drug and alcohol counselor because I would keep empty.…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ilm Level 3 Assignment

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Multi-agency working is of utmost importance as to ensure that the young person is able to gain access to numerous agencies that are in place to provide them with help, information and support to manage their lives. The agencies I have regular integration with in my job role include social workers, probation officers, LAC nurses and other health professionals, members of the YOT team, CAHMS workers, teachers, advocates and the…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Being a single mother and having an inner dream of becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor has always seemed to be at war with one another. Having to financially support my family, I tucked away my college dream. On March 15th, I was laid off of my job after being employed for 5 years. Instead of seeing it as a loss, I viewed it as a potential gain. With a positive mindset I set off to apply for FAFSA not wasting anytime, but soon after was told I did not qualify.…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Gysbers (2003) proposes that the value of career theories comes from providing practitioners with a framework to examine client behaviour, help understand the possible meanings of or explanations for the behaviour and subsequently, enables them to identify and respond to clients’ goals or problems. Significantly then, such theories may help explain an individual’s vocational behaviour, such as their initial career choice or later aspects of career development. This essay attempts to identify the theoretical framework that will underpin my guidance practice in the future.…

    • 3229 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2. Understand how to implement a person centred approach in an adult social care setting…

    • 716 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    WSPS Meeting Reflection

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages

    We heard from a pharmacist that overcame an addiction to opioids. It surprised me of how many resources there are for health professionals struggling with addiction. For example, there is a program that will help pharmacists drug free while in the work environment. In addition to this, I was surprising to see that pharmacists have the possibility to keep their license to practice after an addiction. I feel that pharmacists should keep the right to practice as long as they have demonstrated that they have received help or therapy. This way, people can have a second chance to make things…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    PTTLS UNIT 5

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages

    My current role is very similar. As Case Manager, I am based in 2 HMP prisons and deliver a voluntary Education, training and employment support package to support the learner in prison as a starting point and continue the support through the gate. Due to the nature of my role as probation employee the service delivery and role and responsibilities within the lifelong learning sector are considerable. Legislation and codes of practice impact on my role. Key aspects are public protection, promoting equality and diversity.…

    • 1272 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays