Professional Identity and Credential

INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
The purpose of the Benchmark Professional Identity and Credential Paper Assignment is to:
• Articulate your understanding of the current trends in professional counselor identity and identifying your own professional development plan.
• Teach you how to access and use the Liberty University Online Library.
• Correctly identify scholarly sources appropriate for use in professional papers.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Read the assigned required readings to date, and search the LU Library and/or professional counseling association websites (e.g., ACA and its divisions; your state’s professional counseling association) and review at least the course textbook and 2 articles that support your work in this paper. FOUR PDF’s are included for reading and referral.

Step 2: Write a 5–7 page paper following the sections below and supported by the information reviewed. Your paper must be in current APA format using professional guidelines (including running head, a title page, abstract, headings, and a reference page). The abstract must provide a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the paper in 150–250 words. Note: the title page, abstract, and reference page do not contribute toward the page requirement.

Divide your paper into the following sections:

• The Importance of Professional Identity (40 points) – in approximately 3 pages, discuss the following prompts supported by the course material and any additional research:
o The Necessary Components for Professional Identity
 Include at least 3 components that are necessary for professional counselor identity.

o Ethical Spiritual/Religious Integration as a Component of Professional Counseling Identity
 Include a brief description of what is meant by the integration model, specific ways that professional counseling can be integrated with a Biblical worldview, and specifically how ACA Code of Ethics Code A.4.b guides professional counselors in ethical spiritual/religious integration.

o The Challenges to Professional Identity
 Describe at least 2 potential challenges that the field of professional counseling is experiencing related to professional counseling identity.

• Professional Identity Development Plan (20 points) – In approximately 1 page, discuss the following prompts:
o What are your motivators to become a professional counselor?
o My comment – COUNSELING IS AN EXTENSION OF POLICEWORK AND INTERVIEWING. I INTEND ON COUNSELING VETERANS AND FIRST RESPONDER/911 PERSONNEL.

o What will you do to establish your identity as a professional counselor?

o My comment – seek out established counselors that specialize in working with veterans and first responders for the purposes of professional networking, internships, etc Rely on and promote my 30 yrs of policing and instructional experience

o Identify potential challenges that may present barriers to your success (academically, personally, or professionally) and name at least two strategies for how you will manage those barriers.

o My comment – 1) age by the time I graduate, I will be 57 yrs old. This could be combatted by seeking out counseling services that are aligned ONLY with my career objective of counseling people in similar professions. I cannot spend time counseling teenagers for example. My vast experience will be an advantage when attempting to enter a specialty area immediately.

• State Credential Plan (15 points) – Review the state counseling licensing board’s website for the state you intend to seek licensure in following graduation: FLORIDA https://www.liberty.edu/behavioral-sciences/counselor-ed/state-requirements/ . Copy and paste the table below to complete the state credential plan according to your state’s counselor requirements as stated on the state’s board of counseling website:

Credential Paper Chart Template:
State:
Website for State’s Counseling Board:
Academic Requirements: Number of total hours in Master’s program.
Academic Requirements: Specific course content requirements (e.g., human growth and development, ethics, multicultural, etc).
Academic Requirements: Supervised clinical experience (i.e., fieldwork/practicum/internship): What are the total hours needed?
Does your state require additional coursework/hours than what is required to complete the LUO CMHC program? If so, what is needed?
POST MASTER’S Requirements: What are the total hours needed before applying for independent licensure?
POST MASTER’S Requirements: What licensure exam(s) are required?

Additional Grading Criteria (25 points) – Writing mechanics (e.g., spelling, grammar, punctuation, paragraph writing) must represent graduate level abilities. The current edition of the APA manual is reflected in the formatting of the title page, abstract, headings, citations, and references. The LUO graduate student template is used for this paper. The paper is 5-7 pages in length, not including title page/abstract page/references.

Step 3: Submit your paper in the Benchmark Professional Identity and Credential Paper Assignment – Turnitin link.

Step 4: Wait until the link indicates that Turnitin has analyzed your paper and prepared a report. See resources in Canvas to support your understanding of using Turnitin.

Step 5: Open the Turnitin report. Evaluate the report. You will notice that Turnitin often flags matches to headings, titles, and references. These are outside of your control, and you do not need to make adjustments to these areas. If you see matches on entire sentences or paragraphs that are not properly cited, this is plagiarism. You will need to go back and re-write those sections in your own words and/or appropriately cite the source.

Step 6: Return to your original paper and revise as needed.

Step 7: Save your paper as a Microsoft Word document using your name and assignment title (e.g., Doe_J_assignment_1).

Step 8: Submit your final paper to the Benchmark Professional Identity and Credential Paper Assignment – Turnitin link again and CORE MS Benchmark Professional Identity and Credential Paper link.