Interview with a Counselor
Required Reading
Textbook
Remley, T.P, & Herlihy, B. (2015). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling. Pearson.
Chapter 4: Client Rights and Responsibilities, pp. 79-92;
Chapter 15: Supervision and Consultation, pp. 359-370
LINK: https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780135186992/recent
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Other Readings
Bray, B. (2017, August 25). A path well chosen . Counseling Today.
LINK: https://ct.counseling.org/2017/08/path-well-chosen/
Reiner, S.M., Dobmeier, R.A. and Hernández, T.J. (2013), Perceived Impact of Professional Counselor Identity: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Counseling & Development, 91: pp. 174–183. https://doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.2013.00084.x
Instructions
Conduct an informational interview (approx. 30 minutes) with a professional counselor who is currently working in your community and who also provides supervision to other counselors. Be aware that a professional counselor is NOT a social worker or a psychologist and thus those from these professions do not qualify as appropriate interviewees. The Interview will ideally be conducted in person at the counselor’s place of employment, though a virtual interview is also allowed. This written assignment should tie the information gathered from the interview in with information from scholarly sources, such as the textbook (citations from these sources should be incorporated in each section of the paper). The interview must cover the following elements:
1. The counselor’s job responsibilities, credentials, and training,
2. pros and cons of his or her chosen counseling setting,
3. future trends in his or her area of counseling,
4. what he or she believes are the most important counselor characteristics that influence the helping process,
5. how and when he or she effectively works with others in the human services profession, and
6. any advice he or she has for you as a professional-in-training.
7. his or her experience as a counselor supervisor or in receiving supervision,
8. what model or approach he or she utilizes in supervision,
9. what characteristics he or she believes are necessary for an effective supervisor and supervisee relationship, and
10. any advice he or she may offer to a counselor in training.
Provide the name, title, degree/ certifications, and place of employment of your interviewee. Describe what you learned about your chosen profession from this activity. Also, include the content of your “Thank you note” that you have sent the interviewee.
Tips for the interview
You are NOT required to pay the counselor for an interview. If a counselor requests this, kindly decline and find another counselor to interview.
Be prepared for difficulty finding someone with free time (especially in the community/mental health track).
Be prepared for cancellations and reschedules. Plan ahead and do this early!
For a professional to take 30 minutes to speak with you is a generous gift. Please write (email is now acceptable as long as it is written in a professional and error-free manner) a formal thank you to your interviewee and let he or she know what you found valuable from the interview.
Write a summary paper of what you learned from the interview. What surprised you? What was brand new information for you? What was it like to conduct the interview? Your paper should be 3-4 pages long, written in APA 7th edition format, and will incorporate the personal communication citation (in proper APA format) for the interview, as well as cited information from the course readings and other scholarly sources.
