Foundations Of Mental Health Counseling – Client And Counselor Wellness

Historically, the counseling field has placed emphasis on promoting wellness in clients and counselors.  The ACA stresses the promotion of wellness as the foundation of the counseling process(Tanigoshi, Kontos, & Remley, 2008) as cited in Newsome & Gladding (2014).   Myers, Sweeney & Witmer (2000) emphasized that wellness involves many aspects of life including the physical,intellectual, social, psychological, emotional, spiritual, and environmental. They stressed that helping clients move toward optimal wellness potentially involves many approaches. In this discussion assignment, you will explore strategies for promoting client wellness and your own personal wellness.

Tasks:

In a minimum of 200 words, post to the Discussion Area your response to the following:

A. Describe how you may incorporate/explore positive wellness approaches in the counseling process with clients.

B.  How do you plan to enhance your personal wellness as you move through the Clinical Mental Health Program? Review the Wheel of Wellness and the Indivisible Self models of wellness in the text book (pages 163-165).  After reviewing the models, discuss your personal wellness plan. In what areas of your life can you improve your wellness? In what ways are you already doing a good job of attending to wellness?  How will you know when you need to attend to your own self care? Please provide at least 3 examples and provide a potential time line(i.e. balancing family, work and school, preparing for comprehensive exams, and  transitioning into practicum and internship).

I need more sleep but I have so much I have to do daily. When I become stressed I know I have to attend to self care I also pray and meditate daily to calm my spirit. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed but when I pray I’m reminded to trust GOD. I enjoy drinking blueberry tea and listening to books on Audible. I love making my house feel like a spa with the smell of oils, candles, and soft lightening (lamps). I spend most of my time in the home with complete silence when I’m alone and this allows me to think. When I listen to music it helps change my vibes. I like blues and country music to laugh and allow my imagination to wonder.  I like classical and jazz music to relax. I listen to neo soul and gospel music to feel empowered.  I enjoy old school hip hop and a few of the new school hip hop to laugh, smile and sometimes hype myself. I listen to classic rock, r & b, and pop to reminisce on good times.  Once a year I enjoy renting a jeep and driving to the beach.

C. Refer to the ACA code of ethics and identify two standards that address the topic of self-care for professional counselors.

Your discussion should clearly reflect your thoughtful and logical analysis of the information.

Support your rationale and analysis by using at least two resources from professional literature in your response. Professional literature may include peer-reviewed journal articles you can access through the Argosy University online library resources; relevant textbooks; and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (websites ending in .edu or .gov).

Be sure to read all of your classmates’ original posts and respond to more than two of your classmates’ posts. Your responses should be substantive, meaning they should encourage further dialogue and discussion, encourage your classmates to think about other aspects of the topic, compare your response to your classmates’ responses, or ask a relevant question, to better assist you with your understanding. Responses such as “I like/I agree” or “I don’t like/I don’t agree” are not complete enough.

Your discussion posts and all written assignments should reflect graduate-level writing skills and appropriate use of APA style, including in-text citations and references.

Submission Details:

· By the due date assigned, post your responses to the Discussion Area.

· Through the end of the module, respond to more than two of your classmates’ posts. While responding, comment on the similarities and differences between what you and the two classmates identified as challenges. Offer an additional suggestion, maybe even from your own post, on how your classmates might overcome a challenge noted in their posts.

Grading Criteria

Maximum   Points

Quality of initial posting,   including fulfillment of assignment instructions 8

Quality of responses to classmates 6

Frequency of responses to   classmates 2

Reference to supporting readings   and other materials 2

Language and grammar 2

Total: 20

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