While I was a student, I liked giving advice to my fellow students who were depressed, stressed, and emotionally disturbed about given experiences. With time, I identified that I can develop my passion by pursuing a guiding and counseling course specifically from students’ affairs and college counseling. During my experience in counseling students, I realized that most students were affected by family and relationship problems, which needed a counselor with the experience and skill of marriage, couple, and family counseling. I knew that these two professional specializations would work together for effective results and that it was the high time I was to look for a co-counselor from this other field (Feltham and Ian Horton 555).
In Ashley’s case, I would use my profession as Student affairs and college counselor to give the patient therapeutic advice related to school matters and her relationship with students and teachers. On the other hand, a marriage couple and family counselor would take the initiative of involving her stepfather and mother in the issue. In this case, their awareness and indeed steps taken to alleviate her situation may come from parents. A combination of these two counseling professions would help in mitigating the emotional problem experienced by Ashley.
As a student affairs and college counselor, is mandated to guide and support students emotionally and ensure that they are mentally fit. Apart from that, this counselor helps students in growing and achieving their intellectual goals because he understands the developmental and academic needs of students (Neukrug 7). This counselor plays a role of creating a secure and natural environment for learning; he advises the school administration about an ideal physical learning environment for students. In line with this, he should advise the school with regard to programs, developing working structures, and help in ensuring that there is a good relationship among the teaching staff and students.
The marriage, couple and family counselor gives therapeutic advice to couples and family members about any emotional and psychological problem, he helps in advising parents on good ways of tendering their children, collects information from clients, treat mental and psychological problems, and help clients in developing strong communication and interpersonal skills.
In his role, the marriage, couple, and family counselor concentrates on issue affecting the family as a basic units of the society; he deals with treating any mental problem, advise them accordingly and help in solving conflicts, which might have arose because of misunderstandings or poor communication. On the other hand, a student’s affairs, and college counselor plays a unique role of providing guiding and counseling services to students and the school administration (Lago 23). He is well experienced in academic matters, problem affecting the communities in learning institution. He also understands how family relationships affect students and other persons in the school community; therefore, can devise ways through which these problems can be alleviated.
In order to ensure collaboration and communication among the multidisciplinary team members, counselors should share experiences especially on their professional relationships and their working to ensure effective results. Categorically, they should learn how to be resilient and adopt strategies that would help them work towards the prevention of mental and psychological problems among clients that they serve. As team members, they should learn how to administer therapy jointly or in sessions to allow every counselor to play his role. For instance, one counselor may attend the children, while the other should deal with their parents, or one should solve problems affecting students as the other one solves family problems.
Works cited
Feltham, Colin, and Ian Horton. The SAGE handbook of counselling and psychotherapy. 2nd ed. London: SAGE, 2006. Print.
Graham, Davidson. "Teaching ideas forgenerating criticaland constructive insights into well-functioning multidisciplinary mental health teams." Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice 6.3 (2011): 117-127. Print.
Lago, Colin. The handbook of transcultural counselling and psychotherapy. Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2011. Print.
Neukrug, Ed.. The World of the counselor: an introduction to the counseling profession. 4th ed. Australia: Brooks/Cole, 2012. Print.
