Just One More Thing

After reading more posts, it seems to me that different professions are getting confused, which concerns me on two levels: One, that some professionals are operating outside the limits of their professions. I've seen some discussions of people working with some serious issues, and wanting to try different approaches to encourage client expression. The posts I'm talking about are from people who appear to have bachelor's level degrees, and are attempting to what seems to be psychotherapy. This can be explosive if you don't know what to do with the information you receive. I realize that art, music and drama therapy have their psychotherapeutic properties, but my understanding is that they are designed to address needs on the functional and recreational level, and not principally to address issues of mental health, although I'm sure this does enter into the picture.

Mental Health professionals (counselors, psychologists, and the like) are required to take courses in theory and technique, crisis intervention, ethics, research, statistics, as well as other areas required by state or to specialize. One of the biggest caveats in our school is, "Don't practice in areas in which you are not qualified."
My other concern with these kinds of posts is that while mental health professionals need to have a repertoire of hands-on therapies, I'm afraid unless there is clear distinction that counselors will be called upon to do things within the realm of music art and drama therapists, rather than the practice we were trained to do. For example, I have an interest in geriatric counseling. I used to be a recreation therapist. As such, I indirectly did a lot of psychotherapy. It was not my primary intent, but it was intrinsic in the work I did. However, as a counselor, I don't want to go back into the nursing home, do creative therapy, and be mistaken for a recreational therapist. Knowing how nursing home administration works, this is a real possibility. I'm not looking for status, but to make sure I end up in a position that allows me to do what I was trained to do.

Replies:

Re: Just One More Thing, by Elissa Bromberg, 3/20/00 Re: Just One More Thing, by Monica, 3/20/00 Re: Just One More Thing, by Elissa Bromberg, 3/21/00 Re: Just One More Thing, by Monica, 3/21/00

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