For this assignment, you will explore an area of counseling that you find interesting and that you may want to pursue as a career. It is a chance for you to become familiar with the type of job listings and titles associated with the specialization and its educational and skill requirements.
Begin with a search of job posts for a current counseling job of interest to you. In can be in any area of counseling, such as mental health, social work, marriage and family therapy, addictions, school counseling, career counseling, et cetera.
Note: If you have taken PSYC2300, please choose a specialization other than addictions. You may not repeat your addictions career from PSYC2300. Challenge yourself to explore another career that could be paired with addictions, such as mental health counseling.
Based on your interest, you may choose to use your Introduction to Counseling: Voices From the Field text to read one or more of the following in order to complete your assignment:
Chapter 10, “Family, Couples, and Sex Counseling,” pages 271–300 (for those interested in marriage, couples, and family counseling).
Chapter 11, “Career Counseling,” pages 301–329 (for those interested in incorporating career counseling into a specialization of interest).
Chapter 12, “Neuroscience, Addictions, and Psychopharmacology,” pages 330–367 (for those interested in addictions counseling).
The Occupational Outlook Handbook Links to an external site. from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics may also be helpful. Other resources may be found in the Capella University Library or on the Internet under organizations that support the specialization.
Assignment Instructions
At the beginning of your paper, identify the employer, the job title, and the date of the job posting. You may use any search engine that lists counseling jobs, such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and CareerBuilder. If you have another search engine you prefer, you can use that for your search. Just be sure to find a recent job posting. It is a good idea to check for jobs in your geographic area so that you can see what types of opportunities there might be for you in the future. If you cannot find one of interest to you in your area, you can use another geographic area.
In your paper complete the following:
Summarize the key aspects of the counseling specialization you have chosen. Think about how it is different from other specializations.
Describe the job requirements, including the skills and credentials needed (for example, the type of bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree). If licensure is required, provide a brief overview of your state’s requirements (such as clinical hours, supervision required, licensure exam, etc.).
Describe the settings in which the professional in this specialization might work, and the populations they might serve. For example, does this type of professional work in clinics, hospitals, schools, universities, private practice, social service agencies, et cetera, or a combination of settings? Who are their clientele? Do they serve a specific population or a variety of populations? Explain in your paper.
Describe how your personal as well as professional goals are aligned with this career choice. Be sure to provide examples. Note: This portion can be written in first person since you are discussing your own personal and professional goals.
Use professional or scholarly sources to support your work. The sources can help you develop your explanation of what specialists in the chosen area of counseling do, what types of settings they may work in, and what populations they may serve.
Assignment Requirements
Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: References and in-text citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting. See Evidence and APA Links to an external site. for more information.
Length: 3–4 double-spaced pages of content, in addition to a title page and references page.
References: Use professional sources, such as your textbook or and peer-reviewed, scholarly articles to support your paper. A minimum of two sources published within the past 10 years is required.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point font.
In addition, look through the Counseling Career rubric to ensure you have met all of the criteria for the assignment. Work toward the distinguished level wording on the rubric for each criterion.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 1: Apply psychotherapeutic methods.
Describe the settings of a specific counseling specialization and the populations they may serve.
Competency 2: Explore counseling career options.
Summarize key aspects of a counseling specialization.
Describe job requirements, skills, and credentials required for a specific counseling career job listing.
Explain how personal or professional goals align with a specific counseling career choice.
Competency 3: Write with clear purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure.
Cite sources using author and year, and provide some reference information required in APA style.
[u02a1] Week 2 Assignment: Counseling Career
[u02a1] Week 2 Assignment: Counseling Career
Criteria Ratings Pts
Summarize key aspects of a counseling specialization.
view longer description
60 to >51 pts
DISTINGUISHED
Details key aspects of a counseling specialization and includes examples of the work that the professional may conduct.
51 to >42 pts
PROFICIENT
Summarizes key aspects of a counseling specialization.
42 to >0 pts
BASIC
Lists but does not summarize key aspects of a counseling specialization.
0 pts
NON_PERFORMANCE
Does not list key aspects of a counseling specialization.
/ 60 pts
Describe job requirements, skills, and credentials required for a specific counseling career job listing.
view longer description
60 to >51 pts
DISTINGUISHED
Details job requirements, skills, and credentials required for a specific counseling career job listing and provides the link to the job posting.
51 to >42 pts
PROFICIENT
Describes job requirements, skills, and credentials required for a specific counseling career job listing.
42 to >0 pts
BASIC
Lists either the job requirements, skills, or credentials for a specific job listing in a counseling career, but does not include all three.
0 pts
NON_PERFORMANCE
Does not list the job requirements for a specific counseling career job listing.
/ 60 pts
Describe the settings of a specific counseling specialization and the populations they may serve.
view longer description
60 to >51 pts
DISTINGUISHED
Details the settings of a specific counseling specialization and provides examples of the variety of populations they may serve.
51 to >42 pts
PROFICIENT
Describes the settings of a specific counseling specialization and the populations they may serve.
42 to >0 pts
BASIC
Lists either the settings of a specific counseling specialization or the populations they may serve, but does not include both settings and populations.
0 pts
NON_PERFORMANCE
Does not list the settings of a specific counseling specialization and the populations they may serve.
/ 60 pts
Explain how personal or professional goals align with a specific counseling career choice.
view longer description
60 to >51 pts
DISTINGUISHED
Explains how both personal and professional goals align with a specific counseling career choice.
51 to >42 pts
PROFICIENT
Explains how personal or professional goals align with a specific counseling career choice.
42 to >0 pts
BASIC
Lists how personal or professional goals align with a specific counseling career choice.
0 pts
NON_PERFORMANCE
Does not list how personal or professional goals align with a specific counseling career choice.
/ 60 pts
Communicate clearly with appropriate purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure.
view longer description
30 to >25.5 pts
DISTINGUISHED
Communicates clearly with focused purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure with few errors.
25.5 to >21 pts
PROFICIENT
Communicates clearly with appropriate purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure with some errors.
21 to >0 pts
BASIC
Communicates but writing is unclear as a result of poor purpose, organization, tone, or sentence structure.
0 pts
NON_PERFORMANCE
Does not communicate clearly with appropriate purpose, organization, tone, and sentence structure.
/ 30 pts
Cite sources using author and year, and provide some reference information required in APA style.
view longer description
30 to >25.5 pts
DISTINGUISHED
Cites sources using author and year with correct punctuation, and provides most of the reference information required in APA style.
25.5 to >21 pts
PROFICIENT
Cites sources using author and year, and provides some reference information required in APA style.
21 to >0 pts
BASIC
Cites sources but is missing either the author or the year, or includes minimal reference information.
0 pts
NON_PERFORMANCE
Does not cite sources and does not provide reference information.
/ 30 pts
Total Points: 0