This has required reflection on how I embody being a counselor educator. One important aspect has been modeling setting boundaries, competency, and confidence in my professional identity. There is a parallel process between how I can interact with my students and how I interact with clients. There is a responsibility that I feel to be an ethical, informed, and competent counselor and counselor educator.
One strength that I have is my ability to maintain professional boundaries and have self-awareness. I manage my emotions, use self-disclosure appropriately, and I can separate my personal beliefs. I can demonstrate that being ethical and managing different perspectives respectfully can be navigated. Clinicians need to be self-aware about how they come across in the clinical space and how their presence impacts their clients.
An ongoing area of growth is supporting students with varying perspectives and lived experiences. Clinicians are going to have clients who have perspectives different from their own, but they need to learn how to hold space for them. I need to spend time continuing to educate myself about multicultural perspectives and different lived experiences. I have a solid foundation of education, but this area will need to continue growing throughout my career. I plan to engage in more routine multicultural training to stay informed about varying multicultural issues.
My faith in Christ leads me to view counseling as a ministry and to view each counseling session as a divine appointment. Christ models honesty and compassion while he holds space for others. I also believe that each person has significant worth since we are all children of God. As a counselor educator who will be training future counselors, I desire to serve others and foster collaboration and growth.
