Life and Career of a Mental Health Counselor

Running head: MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR
MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR
An interview was conducted with Mr. Hugh Brown who is a licensed mental health
counselor working in the city of New Jersey in the United States. This assignment would mainly
include a summary of the interview in order to highlight the different aspects of the life and
career of a mental health counselor.
The interviewee stated that mental health counselors can be explained as the licensed
professionals who have the expertise for helping people in managing and overcoming the
different mental as well as emotional disorders and problems not only with family but also with
other relationships. The professionals are seen to communicate with their clients in order to
understand the different problem faced by them and thereby develop strategies for improving
their lives (Gladding & Newsome, 2014).
When the different roles and activities of a mental health counselor was asked, he was
seen to be quite excited and stated that a wide number of roles are played by them. The
professionals are seen to work with different individuals as well as with groups and communities
for improvement of mental health. They are seen to encourage their clients for effectively
discussing emotions as well as experiences. They also work with families and help their clients
in defining their goals, planning action and even in gaining insight (Thompson, Amatea &
Thompson, 2014) . They also develop therapeutic relationship with the patients in order to make
them comfortable and pour out their hearts regarding the issues that are concerning them. They
mainly believe in taking a holistic approach for mental healthcare. The interviewee was also seen
to be stating that often clients with various cases might come to them for help and therefore they
have to be knowledgeable enough to handle all the cases successfully (Holm et al., 2015). Some
of the common problems that he faces in the state of New Jersey are issues of substance abuse,
aging issues, anger management, bullying issues, depression, LGBTQ issues and even others like

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MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR
self-image, stress and suicide. Besides guidance are also provided in the bipolar disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, grief and many other cases.
When he was asked about the future prospects of the profession, he stated that the nation
gradually understands the significance of mental health and no more neglects mental health.
They are placing the mental health issues on the same page with the physical health issues and
the demands have therefore increased (Prince, 2015). Health insurance companies are now
including mental health services and therefore, there would be a shortage of the mental health
counseling jobs in the coming years. Therefore, the field is rapidly growing and more individuals
would be getting employments in the sector.
When asked about the educational requirements, he stated that he had undertaken A
bachelors degree in counseling for about four years. Then is mainly the undergraduate degree
which is then followed by the graduate degree that comprises of the master’s degree in the
counseling. This is then followed by the earning of a doctorate degree in counseling which
continues for 7 to 8 years. Although the graduate degree is enough to start the career of the
mental health counselor but many of the centers, also prefer the counselors to be having a
doctorate degree (Trotter et al., 2014). When asked about how he keeps himself up-to-date in the
profession, he stated that he often participates in continuous professional development education
as well as different workshops where the knowledge as well as skills required to earn expertise is
ensured aligning with the recent development in the mental health. I also participate in
international seminars as well as conferences to develop ideas about the viewpoints of the
different mental health counselors and researchers all over the world. This helps him in enriching
his knowledge. He also stated that he had made it a hobby to read different evidence based
articles in his free time that also helps him to develop skills and application of his knowledge.