Reflections on the Curiosity Conversation with Pastor or Counselor

As you know, psychology is a fascinating discipline of study. In fact, psychology is consistently one of the top majors in schools around the world. And most who designate psychology as their major have some idea of what they want to do with that degree.

Here are some of the top reasons people give for going into the broad field of psychology as a profession:

1. I want to help others. This the first reason most psychology majors give in response to the question, “Why psychology?” This is a great motive and a noble one for entering the field. With increasing concerns about large-scale decline in mental health due to broken families, modern-day stressors, and fewer local and national resources to meet these increasing mental health needs, we need people who are passionate about helping others and making a difference in the world.

2. The job outlook is good. This stems from the previous point. With increasing mental health needs, there will be an ongoing demand for people willing to step into the trenches, so to speak, to treat, support, and help others with mental health needs. The field of psychology is wide open for all positions, from entry-level jobs for people right out of school to seasoned professionals with a doctorate degree who are teaching or doing clinical work.

3. I want to better understand my own behavior. Although this reason isn’t always stated out front, it is a significant motivating factor for people going into psychology-related professions. We all want to make sense of why we do what we do. Some of us come from families that have helped us make sense of life pretty well. By the time we reach adulthood, we feel fairly well equipped to have meaningful relationships, have built a strong work ethic, and have learned to persevere amid adversity. But the mental health profession is heavily populated with people who have come from difficult backgrounds.

This isn’t surprising if you think about it. A strong desire to make a difference in other peoples’ lives often is rooted in our own struggles. Something about another person’s challenge resonates within us; it is familiar because of what we’ve experienced and it causes us to feel empathy, a cardinal trait of competent people-helpers. This is why you see many former substance abusers working in the addictions field or those who experienced early life trauma working with trauma victims.

As you are working on your degree in psychology, it is natural for you to ask the same question: What do I want to do with my degree once I complete it? For most, it’s not an easy question to answer at this point in your training. One of the best ways to get more clarity is to talk with someone already in the field doing work that attempts to understand why people do what they do.

That’s where this assignment comes into play. In Workshop Two, you were instructed to set up a curiosity conversation with someone who spends the majority of their working time doing mental health counseling. This conversation, ideally, was done with a pastor or professional counselor who has at least two years of professional experience.

The goal of the conversation is to get a better understanding of what counseling entails. This assignment is your report on the findings of that conversation.

Upon successful completion of the course material, you will be able to:

· Explore the approach of a pastor or counselor to their work as a people-helper.

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Resources

· Textbook:  Modern Psychopathologies:  A Comprehensive Christian Appraisal

· Video: Criteria in Choosing Counselors

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Background Information

You were prompted to ask four standard questions of the person you had the curiosity conversation with as a base for understanding the profession and work of counseling. You were also encouraged to ask additional questions that seemed important or relevant to you, your area of specialization, and/or your particular interests. These additional questions and responses should be reflected in your responses to this assignment.

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Instructions

1. Read Chapter 15 in your textbook.

2. Review the video,  Criteria in Choosing Counselors .

a. A transcript is available on the website.

3. Using critical thinking in your assessment, summarize your findings and reflections on the Curiosity Conversation you had with a pastor or professional counselor.

4. Respond to the following:

a. Whom did you conduct the interview with? Give their credentials, the amount of time they spend each week counseling others, the number of years of experience they have, and whether they have an area of specialty.

b. How did they choose to be a counselor? What intrigued them about this type of work?

c. What do they find most satisfying about counseling others?

d. What do they find most challenging about working through people’s problems?

e. Do they ever use a strengths-based approach in their work with people? If so, what would one example of this approach look like?

f. List other questions you asked and provide brief responses to each one.

g. Based on your interaction with this counselor, would you feel comfortable seeing this person in therapy if you needed help with a particular issue? Why or why not?

5. Your assignment should be four to five pages in length.

6. While this assignment is more of a summary of the conversation you had, you might use outside sources. If so, be sure to cite them in  APA Style  format in the text of your paper and on a reference page

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