Explore Counseling Dispositions with Dionna Burton
Dive into thoughtful reflections and core values shaping Dionna Burton’s journey in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, highlighting key dispositions and insights gained through her studies.
Empathy
Empathy is essential in providing counseling as this is the core concept in every theory. It is impossible to progress forward in the treatment process without building a connection with the client and empathy creates the foundation for understanding. Coincidently, unconditional positive regard has been my favorite concept, and it integrates well with empathy. Essentially, I understand that everyone is trying their best and self-limiting beliefs and subsequent behaviors will hinder one’s development. However, people develop overtime and the most helpful behavior I can do towards another person is to provide empathy rather than judgment. As an intern, I am becoming proficient in utilizing theory, but empathy has been my saving grace in helping my clients to self-actualize.
Genuineness
I am grateful for my life experiences because I apply this to my professional functioning. I am genuine with my clients because I understand their hardships. On another note, it seems that some of the theorists have had similar experiences, which caused them to engage in the mental health field. Furthermore, learning to individuate, growth personally and professionally, and interpersonal relationships are common threads of the human experience, so I relate to their experiences. As a result, expressing genuineness comes automatically and enjoy connecting with my clients and helping them to navigate their experiences.
Flexibility
Flexibility and empathy work in tandem with one another. Allowing flexibility ensures that I have an empathetic approach to assist clients in achieving their treatment goals. For example, flexibility is a core aspect of motivational interviewing to gain the client’s buy in for the treatment process because I take the client’s lead. Moreover, supporting my clients to be the orchestrator of change affords them the opportunity to build self-esteem and work towards individualization. Helping my clients to self-actualize is the most fulfilling aspect of my work, and the way that we contribute to the world at large.
Patience
One of my first clients taught me about patience. This client was struggling to make progress because the client was struggling with accepting the past. I became frustrated because I saw that the client had so much potential, the conflict caused the client to remain stagnant, and the conversation was circular. Then, I staffed this case with my supervisor, and she recognized that I was experiencing countertransference. Through self-reflection, I acknowledged that I related to the pain that the client was experiencing and I desired her progression as much as my own and released the expectation for immediate progress. During the next session with the client, I was patient with the client, remained present with the client’s experience, and the client made the most significant progress towards the treatment goals during that session. I learned a valuable lesson that trusting the client supports his or her autonomy and encourages non-maleficence. Since then, I have been intentional about allowing the client to grow at his or her own pace.
Amiability
Amiability is a characteristic that I embody due to personal life experiences. I appreciate that I can embody and utilize the intrinsic values that I hold in high esteem at work. In my previous career, I was not aligned with my values, this caused significant discomfort and eventually I changed directions. There are several ways that my mistakes or opportunities for change have allowed me to look “failure” in the face and make a decision about who I want to be moving forward. As a result, I am unable to judge anyone for their behaviors and I tend to take a humanistic approach to providing counseling as I understand that people are the captains of their journey, and it is important to trust and believe that they will make it. Oftentimes, the road to becoming looks scary because things are uncertain but the characteristics that we gain from turmoil are essential for long-term success.
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Professional Identity
Developing a professional identity has been the most challenging disposition for me to gain. There are so many ways in which we can cause harm to the client, if we are not being self-aware about our behaviors. I have learned that it is essential that I prioritize the needs of my clients above my own despite personal events. This aspect is extremely important to learn because becoming a counselor means that I am making an oath about how I will navigate my life moving forward. Essentially, self-care is important to ensure that I consistently meet the needs of my clients. If there are extenuating circumstances, I must act in my client’s best interests by referring my clients to another provider. Moreover, I understand that owning my own practice one day will be a huge responsibility. Overall, there are very minimal mistakes that can be made to ensure that I maintain my professional identity and the impact of making mistakes can negatively impact my clients and potentially cause me to lose licensure.