Question: In this module, you have learned about counseling specialties, specifically group counseling, counseling children and adolescents, and counseling adults. The number of counseling specialties continues to grow. Some of the topics addressed in the previous module, such as disaster response and crisis intervention and counseling, are specialty areas that require additional training, skills, and knowledge. To develop a specialty, counselors-in-training are encouraged to review current literature and seek opportunities to attend workshops, classes, trainings, and seminars, and to get supervision from experts in those areas. The decision to specialize requires an understanding of unique developmental concerns. For example, counseling adults requires an understanding of the unique developmental needs of adults, which are vast and occur along a continuum.
As counselors-in-training, it is important to remember that individuals change over time, from birth to well into late/older adulthood. These physical, cognitive, and social changes dictate how best to work with clients in various stages of development. For example, counseling interventions for a 14-year-old boy going through late puberty may be different from the interventions for a 35-year-old, divorced father of two and from those for a 73-year-old widower who recently retired and feels like he never accomplished much in life. As you reflect on the material covered in the module, think of how you might approach counseling yourself as a professional who specializes in counseling adults.
Tasks: In a minimum of 200 words, post to the Discussion Area your response to the following:
• Identity and describe the stage of adulthood you are in currently.
• Explain how a counselor might know your current stage of adulthood (e.g., what is your lifestyle, what is of importance to you, what physical or developmental changes have occurred, what types of crises are present in your life?). **Please note that you are not expected to disclose any personal information that you do not want to share. Use your discretion.
• When explaining the above, incorporate and describe your understanding of the developmental task(s) or crises you are facing in your current stage of adulthood.
• What counseling approaches/methods are suggested for people in your stage of adulthood, and why do you believe they would or would not be helpful if you were in counseling?
• Explain how the learning from this module will contribute to your professional growth as a new counselor-in-training.
Support your rationale and analysis by using at least two resources from professional literature in your response. Professional literature may include peer-reviewed journal articles you can access through the Argosy University online library resources; relevant textbooks; and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (websites ending in .edu or .gov).
Be sure to read all of your classmates' original posts and respond to more than two of your classmates' posts. Your responses should be substantive, meaning they should encourage further dialogue and discussion, encourage your classmates to think about other aspects of the topic, compare your response to your classmates' responses, or ask a relevant question, to better assist you with your understanding. Responses such as "I like/I agree" or "I don't like/I don't agree" are not complete enough.
Your discussion posts and all written assignments should reflect graduate-level writing skills and appropriate use of APA style, including in-text citations and references.
Submission Details: • By the due date assigned, post your responses to the Discussion Area.
• Through the end of the module, respond to more than two of your classmates' posts. Share one insight from the textbook, not in your classmates' post, to demonstrate your understanding of their current stages of adulthood. Describe one noticeable difference in the type of help suggested for someone in your stage of adulthood compared to someone in your classmates' stages of adulthood.