If there is one thing I have learned in my life, it is that struggle, pain, and misery are eventually overcome. Life, though full of turmoil and strife, is beautiful! There is so much to learn, give, and take from every person, situation, and surrounding. No matter the outcome there is always light and positivity to be found in every situation. As a victim of abuse and neglect, I have often felt the need to use my experiences and expertise to advocate for those enduring trauma. I know how trying it can be to become a well-adjusted and productive member of society when one has experienced trauma.
Overcoming trauma is very tasking accomplishment in the lives of many. However, when one adds trauma to the everyday trials faced life can become impossible to manage. They often experience issues and conditions even more serious because of their experiences with trauma. My goal in this paper is to describe in detail my reasons for seeking a degree in counseling, why my personality characteristics are comparable to common characteristics of counselors, and the affect my personality characteristics can have on counseling.
I intend to discuss the strengths and challenges I may face in pursuing a career in counseling, why I will be successful in a graduate program, and I will offer research throughout the paper to support my ideas. Reasons for Seeking a Counseling Degree My Experiences Personal Life. My life began in a very tumultuous manner. I always have had the strength not only to push through and overcome obstacles placed in my path but also I have found a sense of enlightenment, compassion, and empathy for others through my struggles.
As a child, my parents divorced and selfishly created unnecessary anguish. My mother and stepfather were excellent at inflicting emotional, mental, and physical pain on me. I spent much of my youth in court-ordered psychology because of my mother's habitual lying about my biological father. When she remarried, things became significantly worse and abuse, neglect, and negativity became the norm in my home. I often missed many normal childhood experiences because of the selfish displays, drug use, neglect, and abuse perpetuated in my childhood home.
My compassion led me to put myself directly in the line of fire to protect siblings that I was raising while my mother was high and keeping my biological father away from us out of spite. I will admit that at first it was very difficult to overcome missing important educational and childhood milestones. However, through learning to see these deficits in a more positive light, I have turned my life into a more positive, inspiration provoking, and productive one. As a youth, I only completed the ninth grade.
Currently I have my GED, an associate’s degree, the equivalency of two more two-year degrees, and a bachelor’s degree. I spent my youth raising seven siblings, and experiencing atrocious crimes against children firsthand. I have turned my negative childhood experiences into success by striking out on my own 1600 miles away from a support system and using these experiences of neglect and abuse to change the world around me. I worked to build a successful career in education and childcare.
I found that I could no longer learn and grow there and am in pursuit of working for a master’s degree. Overcoming these obstacles with help from my professional background was also pivotal in my professional experiences and ability to help my clients. Professional Life. In my professional experiences, I have used my background in working with children from similar backgrounds. In the start of my career, I worked with children facing issues with poverty and homelessness. These children also faced issues with abuse, drugs, neglect, and much more because of their circumstances.
Initially this was a difficult task because I had to learn to separate my personal emotions and connections with their experiences and maintain professionalism. However, I overcame this through healing myself. I took a short hiatus from my career in education and took the time to reconnect with and confront those who had hurt me. I found that I could overcome my own personal obstacles. This helped me return to working with children in childcare at a management level. In my pursuit of a career in childcare, I gained valuable tools and resources through trainings with Childcare Resource and Referral Center- Metro (CCR&R).
Trainings with CCR&R proved pivotal in aiding families in not only pursuing the best for their children but also in overcoming personal and family challenges. I often found myself aiding children and parents in overcoming obstacles. In fact, parents and children became so comfortable approaching me with issues that I found myself in a position in which I lacked the tools necessary to aid them any further. I found that parents were so comfortable approaching me, as I listened and comforted them I came to realize that my skillset was such that I could not give them what they needed.
I felt as if I needed to pursue a new career path, and aid families and children in a different manner. I realized a deeper knowledge in behavioral sciences was the best way to aid these families experiencing life in such a negative manner. I knew I had excellent listening skills and I knew how to ask the right thought provoking questions that did not imply any emotions or personal biases. It was these skills allowing me to discover what created cognitive and emotional issues. However, I lacked the tools to understand fully the behaviors and the motivation.
This is how I decided to pursue an education in behavioral sciences. This realization aided me in pursuing my Bachelor’s in psychology, and from there discussions with advisors helped me choose counseling as a specialty. These experiences and my background fostered an interest in the behavioral sciences, building a nonprofit foundation for victims of trauma, providing counseling and resources for these individuals, and have become an integral part of why I want to pay it forward.
I believe these experiences hold significance because counseling is “professional assistance in coping with personal problems, including emotional, behavioral, vocational, marital, educational, rehabilitation, and life-stage (e. g. , retirement) problems…” (American Psychological Association, 2009, p. 88). By the standards provided in this definition, many of my trials and experiences overcoming these obstacles can be pivotal in assisting others finding the process or approach that will aid them in overcoming obstacles in their lives.
I possess the background knowledge and tools necessary to ask the right questions that will aid others in finding their own paths to successfully overcoming adversity. It is through my personal and professional experiences that I have developed the tools necessary to support others in coping with personal problems. There is much involved in understanding behaviors, and often there are religious and cultural ties to these behaviors. I know that these religious and cultural influences played a pivotal role in my experiences and many times, there are conflicts between society and these cultural and religious influences.
Critical thinking skills that I developed through my experiences have helped me in processing information and reasoning skills in resolving conflicts between students, peers, coworkers, and family members. Life is often difficult for many. Through witnessing and experiencing so many atrocities, and working with so many who have had fairly negative experiences and faced many obstacles and challenges, I have an edge on offering the support and empathy that so many desire and are not experiencing.
I want to help people find courage to break the cycle, rise up out of their personal darkness, find self-worth again, and make their lives what their hearts so desire. Most of all I hope to help them find the strength to forgive because without forgiveness they will never be capable of releasing the bad that has happened in their lives and move forward to become healed and whole again. Seeking a degree in counseling will aid me in my pursuit of helping others and will strengthen my professional identity.
Counseling as a Professional Identity
According to the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related educational programs (CACREP), in 2009 standards were developed to aid in the accreditation of counseling programs and distinguishing counselors and their programs from psychologists and psychological programs (Bobby & Urofsky, 2011). By participating in the University of Phoenix, Master’s of Science in Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MSC-CCMH) program I believe that I can develop a strong professional identity in counseling and become an asset. Evidence of this is in the following discussion of my personality characteristics.
Not only will the following discussion show this but also my personal successes and history with overcoming obstacles show that I will be an asset to anyone seeking help in overcoming personal problems. Comparison and Contrast of Common Personality Characteristics Personalities are unique patterns of characteristics and traits that help create a persona. Personality traits and characteristics themselves are not unique to one individual. However, the pattern and frequency with which traits and characteristics appear is unique to an individual.
In the book The Color Code: A New Way to See Yourself, Your Relationships, and Life personalities are classified into colors red, blue, white, and yellow (Hartman, 1998). According to Hartman, 1998, each individual has a core color and that core color never changes. An individual can acquire traits from another color or multiple other colors to reach some semblance of balance. However, one could never change that core color, my personality waivers slightly but remains consistent. My Personality Mixture. According to the Hartman Personality Profile, I am a red-blue personality mixture.
Some characteristics and traits that I possess as a red-blue personality are assertiveness, action/detail-oriented, productive, strong leadership skills, tenacity, decisiveness, and determination (Hartman, 1998, p. 59-84). Others include disciplined, independent, logical, proactive, pragmatic, committed, loyal, perfectionist, self-disciplined, and stable. More characteristics I possess include nurturing, sincere, dedicated, and responsible (Hartman, 1998, p. 59-84). I also have a little white in my personality mixture, which adds the ability to possess attributes often associated with a white personality.
White attributes I possess include peacefulness, diplomacy, patience, kindness, an accepting and gentile nature, and an even-temper (Hartman, 1998, p. 95-103). Many of these traits are comparable to the traits commonly seen in counselors. Comparison of Characteristics. Common personality characteristics associated with counseling careers include “self-control, concern for others, dependability, stress tolerance, social orientation, adaptability/flexibility, integrity, cooperation, attention to detail, achievement/effort” (National Center for O*NET Development, n. d., Work Styles).
I am an individual who can exhibit exemplary self-control, stress tolerance, and integrity. I am cooperative and work well with others, sensitive to the needs of others, dependable, tolerant, and give everything my best effort always striving to learn and improve. I am very detail-oriented, fair, sensitive, nurturing, stable, loyal, and dedicated. It is through participation in a counseling program that I can strengthen these skills. The skills I have acquired will have a significant affect on those with whom I work.
Analysis of the Impact of Characteristics
The personality characteristics I possess can have a significant affect on those with whom I will work. For instance, my tenacity, strong sense of commitment and loyalty, decisiveness, determination, discipline, orientation to details, nurturing abilities, sincerity, dedication, patience, and kindness will aid in my success. These skills will help me become successful because they make it easy for others to trust in me and be receptive of my techniques. These skills also will aid in ensuring that I meet or exceed the requirements established by the supplemental standards.
My personality traits will make me an excellent critical thinker, strengthen my writing skills, improve my oral and written communication skills, aid me in displaying professionalism, and essentially improve my skills and individuality as a practicing counselor. My personality, experiences, education, and other elements of who I am as a person (and a professional) will make my counseling style unique. I will be able to meet consistently the goals of each session, maintain objectivity, remain neutral, and maintain an excellent repertoire with my clients.
Counselors are to facilitate progress and “promote client welfare,” through my personality characteristics I will be successful in not only promoting the welfare of my clientele but also advocating for them (The American Mental Health Counselors Association, 2010, p. 1). This will occur through remaining committed to clientele and a commitment to the highest ethical standards, continued education, and keeping abreast of advancements. There will be challenges faced in maintaining these tasks and strengthening my skillset.
Dedication and determination to facing the challenges and overcoming them will make them strengths. Strengths and Challenges to Becoming a Counselor The challenges I will face will likely come from my personality mixture and my desire to attain perfection. According to Hartman (1998), “[t]he most difficult color combination within one individual is the mixture of Red and Blue” (p. 39). With this color combination, I can find myself in discord and inner conflict if I do not maintain a balanced perspective and use critical thinking skills. I could face endless challenges in other areas as well given my history.
I have learned focusing on what could go wrong will make it impossible to maintain a positive attitude and ultimately will result in my failure. I have trained myself to focus on learning what is important from life’s challenges and move forward making things more positive. I believe my desire to achieve perfection and be successful will make it easier to overcome any challenges that I face. I also know that my strengths will far outweigh the challenges I will face. These perceptions may be my greatest strengths and will likely see me through any challenges I will face.
Other strengths that will contribute to my success will be the personality characteristics I possess, my experiences, my vast educational background, and a sincere desire to help others. These attributes will also contribute to my success in pursuit of a graduate degree. Why I Will Be Successful in a Graduate School I will be an asset to the MSC-CCMH program at the University of Phoenix. The reasons include my personality, my desire to continue learning, my determination and tenacity, my desire to help others, my experiences in my personal and professional lives, and my alignment with the ideas in the supplemental standards.
The supplemental standards include contributing to positivity, mastery of written and spoken language, becoming a thoughtful and responsive listener, commitment to reflection assessment and learning, a willingness to give and receive assistance. Also included is sensitivity to norms, appreciating diversity and displaying respect, valuing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, commitment to keeping up with advancements (University of Phoenix, 2011). Positivity is paramount and through my challenges I have found a way to see the good in every experience, this can prove challenging at times but is something I have mastered successfully.
My mastery of maintaining a positive attitude has helped me to see that comprehension of culture can prove useful in understanding behaviors. Culture is something that enriches society, and it is a pertinent part of counseling, working with, and learning from others. I learned this through team assignments in my pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. Throughout the pursuit of my bachelor’s degree, I sharpened my written and verbal communication skills by working with my peers on personal and team assignments to further my knowledge and theirs.
I know that the pursuit of a master’s degree will also allow me the opportunity to polish these skills, providing me with an opportunity for continued growth. Counseling is a very extensive field with vast opportunities for growth and advancement, which is particularly appealing to me because I have a desire for growth and change. Because I have such an affinity for learning, participating in a graduate program will ensure that I can continue growing and improving by providing me with endless opportunities for advancement.
This will aid me in keeping abreast of advancements in the field. The prospect of finding a career path that affords me an opportunity to learn and evolve continually not only excites me but also ensures that I will be able to continue to work hard and practice my self-discipline. The field is ever evolving as am I, and I know that through adversity counseling has found a way to rise to new heights. I am familiar with overcoming adversity, and this will make me an asset to this program.
Despite the adversity I have faced and my lack of a secondary education, I am very intelligent and dedicated to learning and growing. In fact, it is this lack of a secondary education that drives me to work hard. I am consistent in my efforts to absorb the material provided. I have found a renewed sense of self in attaining more knowledge. I have practice in perfecting the skills necessary to keep my grade point average (GPA) at the required levels to continue in this program. I also possess the skills necessary to work successfully with others and learn in a collaborative manner.
Although I know that my drive, personality, and thirst for knowledge are often intimidating, they are also very helpful to others with whom I will have the privilege to work. These same attributes will make it easy for me to receive feedback and help from others, taking from their strengths and challenges more knowledge than the curricula provide. These perceptions, traits, and characteristics keep me humble and allow me to continue learning. If one stops learning, he or she may as well be dead. There is something to learn from every experience.
I have a thirst for knowledge that I may never quench and am constantly in pursuit of finding more opportunities for growth. I do not believe a master’s degree is the end of my education. I know that the tools provided in the pursuit of another degree will afford me the opportunity to continue my pursuit of knowledge. It will do this through sharpening my critical thinking skills and strengthening personality characteristics that can lead to my success. This program will also improve my abilities to fulfill the roles and duties of a counselor and strengthen my ability to associate with the field.
