Professional Identity
Professional identity is the perception that an individual has on self concerning a profession or membership to it. In most cases, it is obtained through believes, values, attitudes, motives, and experiences which enables individuals to define themselves. This can be in a current profession or anticipation of a future career that one is to pursue. It assembles esteem, status master and breeds a sense of attachment and belonging (Tsakissiris, 2016). This is mostly very important for counselors as it requires a lot of social understanding and emotional empathy for victims, depending on the field of professionalism. The American Psychology Association has several divisions under which counseling professionals can work, depending on their expertise. In all these divisions, professional identity is very fundamental. This paper aims to discuss the American College Counselling Association.
American College Counselling Association
The American College Counselling Association is a division of the American Counselling Association. The association was found in the year 1991 to handle mental issues primarily through counseling. It is made up of professionals from diverse fields such as psychology, counseling, and social health. The association works correctly with institutions of higher education. The members are mainly professionals and students who work in the counseling field in college counseling settings.
American College Counselling Association Mission Statement
The primary mission for American College Counselling Association is to foster the counseling development of students studying counseling in colleges, communities, and universities among other institutions of higher learning. It aims at enhancing the practice of counseling; promote responsible and ethical professional practice (Bakshi, & Goss, 2019). It also encourages communication across service and institutional settings among counselors in the colleges and the universities. It also coordinates cooperation with various related organizations and stakeholders who help in the counseling field for the development of the students. This ensures competent professionals who can deliver quality for the wellbeing of society.
Some programs are set under this association that helps achieve the mission statement above. This includes earning experiences geared towards community development, social justice, stewardship, and civility. This is because the association recognizes the multidimensional diversity that the community is set is. Therefore, the aim is to nature the college counseling students to be trained early on how to accommodate these diversities, thus honoring and respecting the believes and values of each individual. This way, the counselors will be able to know how to approach things in a better way and thus to improve the efficiency and productivity of the profession.
The rationale for Choosing American College Counselling Association
The American College Counselling Association is one of the most active divisions among the American Counselling Associations. This is because it takes up the responsibility of nurturing young counseling professionals. The programmers that are set enable the student to take into practice what they learn in class. The fact that they are put together with professionals, especially those who have done masters and doctorate in psychology, counseling, and social wealth. The students are exposed to their profession early enough. Thus, they can understand the course of their future career.
The association also creates continuity in the counseling profession through the supply of expertise. The students do not only benefit in their careers, but they also got an opportunity of developing their professional identity while they still study. This can be through the experience they get, or they can follow the professionals who are guiding them in the association. As discussed earlier, professional identity comes through experience and practice at the knowledge we have. The association exposes the student in an environment where they can develop and realize their identities at an early age. This will aid them in what to specialize in their future career rather than waiting to finish school and start the journey of character as they practice their profession.
Enhancing Professional Identity
The building of professional Identity is through experience and practice of knowledge gained. In most cases, people obtain it after studies when they secure jobs. The career will lead this that an individual wants to pursue, for example, if they’re going to be social workers, counselors, or psychologists. The American College Counselling Association offers an opportunity for developing this self-identity at an earlier stage. This is because the student works alongside professional who is already in the line of their careers.
The programs that are offered under the association like community development, civility, and stewardship offer opportunities for practicing knowledge learned. Therefore would expose an individual to a setting where they can identify their identity. The programs also provide opportunities for interacting with the community around the colleges. Thus, the individual can identify with the people early and know the best professionals they can fit in.
Conclusion
In conclusion, professional identity requires that individuals recognize it early. This is because it will enable the individual to be efficient in their area of expertise. The American college counseling association allows individuals to realize this identity first by offering avenues of practice and exercise.
References
Bakshi, A. J., & Goss, S. (2019). Trends related to ethics, technology, counseling, and careers. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 47(3), 265-273.
Tsakissiris, J. (2016). The Role Of Professional Identity & Self-Interest In Career Choices In The Emerging ICT Workforce (Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology).