Career Self-Assessment & Exploration: Mental Health Counselor (Reaction Paper Sample)

Career Self-Assessment & Exploration: Mental Health Counselor Name Institutional Affiliation Course Name and Number Instructor Date Career Self-Assessment & Exploration: Mental Health Counselor Part I: Career Self-Assessment Career Instrument Results O*NET Interest Profiler After completing the O*NET Interest Profiler, my scores were impressive and satisfying. I scored 0 for conventional, 12 for enterprising, 35 for social, 25 for artistic, 16 for investigative, and 0 for realistic (Mynextmove.org, n.d.). My results are summarized in the figure below (see Fig. 1). Source: (Mynextmove.org, n.d.). Based on John Holland’s book, my top 3 Holland vocational personality types are investigative, artistic, and social (Holland, 1985). Individuals with social personality types like providing services to people by helping and giving them advice. People with social interests aim to help the individuals they interact with grow and learn (O*NET OnLine, 2023). On the other hand, artistic personality types are often associated with creativity, particularly in handling tasks bound to no set of rules. Ideally, folks exhibiting this kind of personality like working with arts, design, and music. Finally, individuals of investigative types like figuring out problems and searching for facts (O*NET OnLine, 2023). Thus, they like thinking and expressing ideas instead of leading people and engaging in physical activities. Based on the search of my primary interest areas, the top two occupations that emerged included mental health counselor and marriage & family therapist. Value Sort Activity My three essential values from the Value Sort Activity include friendship, helping others, and affection. Friendship is critical in working with individuals to help them with their problems. Notably, without being friendly, it would be almost impossible for the clients to open up about their problems. Helping others is the foundational value here in that it is the basis upon which discussions are initiated, and solutions are reached. Affection, on the other hand, is all about love and caring. Based on my principal value search, marriage & family therapist and mental health counselor were among the top two occupations that appeared. Spiritual Discernment Decision-Making Factors Survey As per Horton’s decision-making factors survey, some very important factors when making decisions include “using common sense,” “considering the circumstances, and considering personal desires & interests” (Horton, 2009). Additionally, other very important factors are “considering personal strengths, talents, gifts & abilities,” “recognizing & responding to the needs of others,” and “judging the decision’s consistency with the character/ethics of Jesus” (Horton, 2009). I ascribe to the relationship-formation approach. While I value the wisdom factors (including bearing in mind personal strengths, abilities, gifts & talents and utilizing common sense), I often create significant room for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and intervention (Horton, 2009). For instance, when making decisions, I often prioritize the significance of judging the ethics of Jesus. In other words, I would say that I always seek to strike a balance between the heart and the head when making decisions. Personal Reactions Completing each instrument was an enjoyable experience filled with lots of lessons. It was a learning opportunity to discover career paths I was unaware of before I took the various surveys. I feel that the O*NET Interest Profiler opened my eyes to interests I never thought I had prior to completing the instrument. However, after analyzing the accompanying descriptions, I feel that the result truly depicts who I am. As a social person, I prioritize helping people and providing them with service/advice, and assistance. While helping and assisting people, especially concerning their health, I often focus on studying and researching their impairment and behavior. Similarly, I feel that the Value Sort Activity perfectly describes my values. For instance, when helping others, I usually do it with much love and care. Besides, I always smile and emphasize the importance of friendship when socializing with individuals who need my help. Notably, this was particularly interesting. Imagine looking at the results of an instrument and seeing precisely what you value most. Interesting! Finally, seeing the results of the Spiritual Discernment Decision-Making Factors Survey was equally fulfilling. It makes me feel that it accurately depicts what my decision-making approach entails. For instance, I value the wisdom factor, like I appreciate God’s intervention and guidance when making decisions. This is precisely what the survey results portrayed about me. My self-assessment results fit my self-perception because they portray exactly what I do with and think of myself. Regarding Holland code descriptors, I possess various traits of agreement. For instance, based on my test results, my Holland code is SIA, which stands for Social, Investigative, and Artistic (Career Center, 2023). For instance, I am skilled with words; I like helping and curing people. In other words, I am sociable, lively, and talkative. Besides, as an artistic individual, I love working with my creativity and imagination, which agrees with my thoughtful trait. Finally, my love for exploring ideas and my inquisitive, analytical, and observant traits agree with the Holland code descriptor associated with investigative. My past religious background as a moderate Baptist could have influenced my approach to spiritual discernment. Ideally, this explains why I often prioritize the significance of judging the ethics of Jesus (Horton, 2009). Additionally, family must have been another key influencing factor. Having been raised in a family that values wisdom equally as spiritual guidance and intervention, I always strive to balance the heart and the head when making decisions. Evaluation of Instruments The results of the O*NET Interest Profiler were valid and reliable as far as race, gender, and disability conditions are concerned because either of these factors does not dictate the various career options listed. In other words, they are primarily based on interest and nothing else. However, regarding reading level and purpose, the assessment instrument’s reliability may be questionable as it ignores one’s educational level and career line. Regardless, this should not be an issue because participants are made aware of all the assumptions made before completing the interest profile. This is displayed across other assessment instruments as well. Notably, intrinsic factors, including disability condition, gender, age, and race, may influence assessment results as those factors impact admission/success in some careers. How the assessment instruments were completed did not allow external factors to shape the results. Notably, I started with the assessments, eliminating any chances of feeling tired or rushed, affecting the results. Additionally, throughout the assessment, I did not experience any technological issues or other forms of interruptions. Conceptualization The results of the first two assessments were related to each other as the same interests that emerged as the top three under the O*NET Interest Profiler (Mynextmove.org, n.d.) were descriptions of the values from the Value Sort Activity. Notably, being social is all about friendship, helping others, and affection (love and care). Additionally, helping others is all about spotting & and reacting to their needs, and “judging the decision’s consistency with the character/ethics of Jesus” (Horton, 2009). This shows that each assessment’s result relates to one another. According to Psychology (2016), consistency connotes the notion that neighboring “pairs of types on the hexagon are most related and accordingly most consistent.” Based on this definition, the three highest codes, namely Social, Artistic, and Investigative, being close to one another and on the same side of the hexagon, are more consistent. On the other hand, “differentiation addresses a person’s purity of type or whether that person clearly resembles one or perhaps two types, yet clearly does not resemble the other types” (Psychology, 2016). However, I measure high on three (i.e., more than two) types, which shows that I am not highly differentiated. Based on my top three Holland scores, I would be most congruent in environments integrating artistic, care, investigative, counseling, and teaching activities. These may include organizations such as hospitals, law enforcement, the military, rehabilitation centers, publishers, and other entities, with units incorporating the abovementioned activities (Psychology, 2016). Some of the career themes/patterns that emerged include interests and skill assessment. Notably, the careers I suggested were primarily based on my interests and skill assessment, as highlighted by each assessment instrument. My approach to spiritual discernment – the relationship-formation approach – has influenced my career development and/or decisions by ensuring that I always balance my heart and head. My test results will come in handy in enhancing my level of satisfaction with my present occupation. Based on my assessment results, I would recommend that I emphasize my interests and skills when choosing a future career; this will ensure that I am part of a career to which I am congruent. Occupational Exploration Unless otherwise cited, the career information presented in this paper was obtained from O*NET On-Line (National Center for O*NET Development, 2023). Career Field and Occupation of Choice Introduction After identifying with Holland’s Investigative, Artistic, and Social personality types, I am convinced that I can thrive better in an environment requiring delicate treatment...