Overview
Counseling professionals from different specializations frequently need to work together to provide effective services to students, families, and individual clients. This assignment asks you to address this need in two parts, using what you have learned in this course so far. In Part 1, focus on theory and concepts, creating your own description and evaluation of your specialization, based on the historical and philosophical development of the counseling profession. In Part 2, apply these ideas to a particular case situation, focusing on how a professional in your specialization might collaborate with professionals in other specializations to help meet the needs of the client.
Directions
Use the assignment template provided in Resources to write your paper.
Part 1
Evaluate the role of your specialization within the field of counseling. Begin with your own description of the field itself, including both the history and the philosophies involved. Then explain where your specialization fits and describe how your specialization might collaborate with one other specialization that you describe. Cite the articles or other sources you used for the basis of your ideas.
In this part, specifically address the following questions:
How would you describe the key philosophies of the counseling profession: wellness, resilience, and prevention? Choose a wellness model and explain how that model impacts the way in which counselors view clients and the concerns brought to counseling, including the kinds of information counselors need to have about their clients.
How have those key philosophies developed? Provide a brief historical perspective of the counseling profession focused on the key philosophies of wellness, resilience, and prevention. Include the beliefs and assumptions that support those philosophies.
How did your specialization develop? Identify your preferred counseling specialization and describe how the specialization emerged or the profession developed, including the key ideas on which it is based.
What other counseling specialization works well in collaboration with your specialization? Briefly explain how this other specialization developed, highlighting the ways in which it complements yours.
Part 2
Now, select one of the following two cases as a foundation for illustrating what you have learned about counseling and how professionals in different specializations might work together to meet the needs of a client:
Ashley, a 12-year-old girl, admits to one of her teachers that she feels very depressed. Her mother has recently remarried, and Ashley is having difficulty adjusting to life with her stepfather and his two children. She is not able to concentrate in class or do her homework.
Paul, a 25-year-old man, seeks counseling at a community mental health center. He has recently returned from his second deployment to a combat zone. He reports drinking frequently and feeling anxious. Paul’s wife has tried to reassure him that everything is fine, but he is reluctant to leave the house and has missed more than a week of work.
After selecting a client, either Ashley or Paul, complete the following for Part 2:
Analyze how professionals from your specialization and from the other specialization you examined in Part 1 might collaborate to benefit the person and family in the case study you chose.
Describe the role and function of each of the professionals involved.
Identify the characteristics that make each role unique and effective counselors for this case.
Assess how to ensure good collaboration and communication between the professionals representing the two specializations.
Identify the type of outside agency that could assist this client to promote optimal wellness, providing two examples.
Explain the standards or criteria that you would use to evaluate the collaboration.
Review the assignment scoring guide to ensure that you understand all criteria.
Other Requirements
Your paper must meet the following requirements:
Resources: Cite and reference at least three resources from the professional literature that you used as the basis of your ideas for Part 1.
APA formatting: Format citations and references according to current APA style.
Font and Font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Length of Paper: Doing a thorough job on this assignment is likely to require 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages.
