Topic 6: Professional Identity {by 3/14}
Based on the readings due this week consider the following discussion point: (1) When you hear the words “professional identity,” what comes to mind? Is this something you have ever thought about before? So far, who/what has most influenced your professional identity development?
Your original post should be posted by the beginning of class 3/14. Post your two replies no later than 3/16. *Please remember to click the “reply” button when posting a reply. This makes it easier for the reader to follow the blog postings.
Dr. Adam M Volungis 
Mar 03, 2024 @ 20:58:43
Initially, the term professional identity simply meant who you are and how you choose to identify within your field. In regard to mental health counseling, I thought more along the lines of your education, specializations, population chosen to work with, theoretical orientation, and the integration of personal experiences, morals, and values. Which is similar to what is discussed in the book, but I am missing some things. I think to me, it was less about the actual licensure, accreditations, laws, and ethics, and more about the personal identity you build for yourself through experience and education. I do not think about my own professional identity often. This is most likely just due to the fact that it does not seem like the most important thing right now. I have thought about it in the past when figuring out where I wanted to go to get my master’s and what I wanted to do for my career, but recently, I have been more worried about just getting through school and my internship.
I think what has influenced me the most are my overall life experiences and the classes I have taken thus far. I grew up around social workers and have always heard stories about the different things many children and families experience, both good and bad. This had most likely influenced me in picking psychology as a major in undergrad. It also had a huge influence on why I chose criminal justice as my minor and why I enjoy working specifically with both victims and perpetrators of crime. It has always been intriguing to me and has a lot of similarities to the stories and lifestyle I was exposed to growing up. Education also plays a huge role. I know what populations I do not want to work with, the different treatment modalities, I have learned all types of ethical codes and boundaries to not cross and what “rules” to follow, as well as lots of other information that has swayed me to and from different majors, concentrations, jobs, beliefs, and etc. I feel like there is so much that comes into play with building a professional identity. We obviously would not have chosen a specific profession without the influence of our own every day lives.
Mar 10, 2024 @ 08:20:52
Hey Tiana,
I don’t think I realized the importance of ethics in presenting your professional identity. Having a firm understanding of ethical boundaries students your identity as a counselor as honesty and integrity are vital to being a good therapist.
Mar 04, 2024 @ 17:45:06
When I hear “professional identity” I consider my own ‘scope of practice’ including the theoretical framework, types of disorders, and populations I work with. The chapter addressed additional components of one’s professional identity including personal values, education and involvement in professional organizations. As an intern, I feel that I have not yet formed a clear professional identity as I only have a year’s experience in the field, however, as I continue to gain exposure to different disorders and populations I may have a clearer understanding of my professional identity. Having a professional identity would help me feel ‘specialized’ in my practice, as I would have greater experience and knowledge when working with a certain disorder or population. Also, I feel as though I could relate to other counselors who share a similar scope of practice to me, which can open the doors for networking and consultations.
I believe that my clinical experiences and education have heavily influenced my professional identity development thus far. In community mental health, I see a wide variety of individuals with varying presenting problems, however, I have found myself excelling when working with my adolescent clients. While I want to work with a diverse clientele in my future career, I feel confident when working with adolescents as I have gained greater exposure to this population compared to others. In addition, my education at Assumption has helped me develop my theoretical framework in CBT but has also exposed me to other evidence-based treatments that I may incorporate into treatment.
Mar 05, 2024 @ 19:23:49
Hi Abby!
I definitely agree, there are a lot of things included within a professional identity that I did not even think were included. We are so young and so new, it makes sense that we do not have a professional identity. But I also think just with internship and graduate school we have started to really begin the process of building the identity.
It totally makes sense that the clinical experience you have gained thus far and education have played a role in developing your professional development. You have have such a good opportunity to figure out who you work best with, like you mentioned, adolescents, and you have started to form that part of your identity. I also agree that education plays a huge role. We are relying so much on our formal education to help develop the theoretical framework we will choose to identify with and while there may be some training in others, our focus at Assumption is CBT, so it would only make sense to fall into that category. I am happy to learn that you are developing your professional identity!
Mar 13, 2024 @ 14:45:03
Hi Abby, I think you make a really great point about the benefits that having a professional identity can have for networking and consultations. Especially as we are just entering the field, I think it can be so helpful to connect with others who share similar professional identities, such as counselors who share similar theoretical frameworks, in order to find jobs, gain additional skills, and continue building relationships with other effective counselors. Also, that’s great to hear that you feel confident working with your adolescent clients! I have also really enjoyed my experience working with adolescent clients.
Mar 07, 2024 @ 22:12:03
When I was first getting into the field, I was under the impression that a professional Identity was closely tied to what school you went to, what professors/professionals you learned from, and what specializations you chose. While this was a sufficient definition, I thought it was more rigid than it is; if you went to a CBT school, you did CBT, and that’s that. Having learned more, I appreciate the importance of theoretical orientation in addition to personal morals, values, boundaries, and general interpersonal style.
Thus far, my theoretical orientation has been influenced broadly by all of the general classes I have taken. However, My undergraduate abnormal behaviors class put me on the path I am on now. The visiting professor was trained In CBT and her provided theories and frameworks made a lot of sense. Since then, I have developed an interest In DBT after taking the course at Assumption. I could implement those skills in my practice, and I felt it was more intuitive to my mind and complementary to my whole therapist approach.
Mar 09, 2024 @ 18:51:33
Hi Jessie!
I agree, I had a very different idea of what a professional identity was. My idea included more of the theoretical stuff rather than the concrete things you included such as the school you go to and things like that.
For me, my undergraduate education had a big impact development of my professional identity now as well. I feel like I took a lot of impactful classes in undergrad, however, a lot of the new things we are learning now are also starting to make an impact. I love that you have been able to learn so much through the program and find a place in both CBT and DBT!
Mar 11, 2024 @ 16:58:47
Hi Jessie, you make a great point that our professional identity is highly influenced by our education, especially since we are taught the CBT framework in this program. However, our personal and professional experiences can also mold our professional identity by exposing us to different therapeutic orientations and modalities, like you mentioned with DBT. I feel that our professional identity will never be stagnant, but will continue to alter with our experiences and continued learning.
Mar 08, 2024 @ 09:36:32
When I hear the words “professional identity” the first thing that comes to mind is linkedin, which I feel like is the social media dedicated to displaying one’s professional identities and connecting with other “professionals”. There you can convey your experience, credentials, concentrations, and more to help sculpt how other people see you. I also think your professional identity can be impacted by any other online presence you have such as a website and public profiles. This reminds me to be cognizant that future employers or even clients could see my posts and so I ought to be considerate of that. While I think getting licensed is extremely important, I do not think most people outside the community understand the differences between LICSW, LMHC, etc. Therefore I think it is important to present your scope of practice and capabilities in your profile to accurately convey your professional identity to prospective clients.
Prior to this phase of schooling, I do not believe I gave much thought to my professional identity. Having nearly completed the program I now understand the importance of having an education grounded in CBT and focused so much on evidence based practices. I think this has had a large impact on my identity development as has my internship. Working at the elementary school has given me some valuable experience but also taught me that I want to pursue work with a broader population and potentially in a different setting. I want my identity to include a scope of working with all ages rather than a child therapist or school counselor.
Mar 10, 2024 @ 08:17:48
Hi Rylee,
I think you have an excellent point about linked in. It is not a tool that I use often (probably less than Facebook, which is saying something) but you reminded me of just how important an online presence is. Not only for marketing yourself but also for networking, communicating with other professionals, and putting a face onto your identity as a counselor
Mar 11, 2024 @ 14:34:01
Hi Rylee, I enjoyed reading your post! You make a good point that our professional identity may look differently to professionals in the mental health field and our clients. Our clients may not have a great understanding of our licensure or scope of practice, while those in our field will. Therefore, we should clearly state our qualifications on our professional websites so that clients can make an informed decision when seeking our services.
Also, I agree that we should be cognizant of what information we make available about ourselves on the internet as future employers may have access to this. Even if our social media platforms are ‘private’, we should maintain a level of professionality in our social media presence.
Mar 13, 2024 @ 20:34:41
Hi Rylee, I really enjoyed reading your response because I did not think about Linkedin or other professional profiles while writing my post. You made really great points and I agree that these profiles help sculpt how other people see you. They are great tools to help others understand your professional identity, especially for the ones who do not understand the differences between the variety of licensures.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 11:42:50
Hi Rylee!
I thought you had a great post this week! I absolutely agree that our professional appearance on various networking platforms such as LinkedIn and Psychology Today are a huge part of our professional identity. Networking is a great way to connect with other professionals in the field as well as share your credentials and experience. This is something that I have had a strong focus on since undergrad. I believe that continuously growing one’s network no matter the field is absolutely beneficial and a big part of professional identity.
Mar 12, 2024 @ 22:21:12
When I hear the word professional identity, I think about the factors that define me as a counselor, such as the group of people I want to work with, the theoretical frameworks I adhere to, and the interventions I use. Additionally, my strengths as a therapist and the values and ethics I uphold.
I think I started to think about my professional identity during my undergraduate studies. I was interested in determining which theoretical framework I preferred and which population I would like to work with in the future. I always liked CBT and evidence-based practices. It was not until I started my internships in undergrad that I decided I might be working with kids in the future. Later, when searching for master’s programs, I did a lot of research into different areas of counseling. I found myself particularly interested in clinical mental health counseling and the LMHC license, as it aligned with my professional interests and goals, and I went for it.
For me, professional identity is not just a simple label that one acquires overnight. Instead, it is a continually evolving process shaped by interactions with diverse populations and experiences. I believe that my professional identity development was greatly influenced by the combination of this program, my undergraduate university, and the various internships I did.
Mar 13, 2024 @ 14:36:47
Hi Patricia, I also started thinking about my professional identity before entering this master’s program because I too was drawn to CBT and an LMHC track program! I also like that you included your strengths as a therapist as part of what you think of when you consider your professional identity because I think our strengths are a big part of what makes us who we are as clinicians and who we will continue to become as we grow in the field.
Mar 13, 2024 @ 20:24:45
Hi Patricia, I also started thinking about my professional identity during undergrad and searching for a master’s program. I knew I wanted to become a counselor but, was not sure if I wanted to be a LICSW or LMHC. As I researched different counseling positions and theoretical orientations, LMHC seem to fit most with my values and interests.
Mar 13, 2024 @ 14:29:35
When I think of “professional identity,” the main things that come to mind are one’s education, licensure (or licensure track), concentrations/specializations, and experiences both in and out of the field. I thought a lot about the development of my professional identity when I first realized that I wanted to go to graduate school to become a counselor. I spent time exploring the differences in licensure tracks, such as the differences in becoming an LCSW/LICSW versus an LMHC, and the different specializations potential schools offered. I think it is highly important to implement evidence-based practices, therefore, it was important for my professional development to receive an education grounded in evidence-based practices, particularly CBT. My concentration in working with children and adolescents is a major part of my professional identity and was a primary consideration when selecting an internship and continues to be a primary consideration as I begin working as a clinician after graduation. Finally, my experiences are a major part of my professional identity because not only did they help shape my identity, but my experiences also fostered the desire to enter the counseling field which keeps me grounded in the work we do. As I alluded to, the most influential parts of my professional identity development have been my education at Assumption, including my CBT-focused coursework and child/adolescent-focused coursework, as well as my experiences, including my internship where I have gained additional skills in working with various populations and my bachelors-level job experiences in the mental health field which guided me toward pursuing a career in counseling.
Mar 15, 2024 @ 16:06:24
Hi NikkiAnn,
I totally agree with you that the education that we gain play an important role in our professional identity. That can be from another major we gained at bachelor’s degree. I have this experience at my internship where most of my topics that I work well with relate to CBT interventions. Meanwhile, I received lots of feedback on the evidence-based interventions from clients. Since then, I recognized that CBT starts to become one of my professional identities even though I have not paid attention when I was learning it. It is nice that you can integrate them in your prioritized population. Good luck with it!
Mar 13, 2024 @ 20:08:29
When mentioning professional identity, I found several factors that come to my mind. First, the personal value emphasizing guiding others in mental health well-being plays a big role in my identity. Since I have witnessed various severely negative consequences of mental illness, I found the significance of the role in other lives. Second, my professional identity comes from the program that I am pursuing, namely CBT. The more I learn about this approach, the more I get interested and see the practical outcomes of the approach. Third, I prioritize the medical model more than others since it concentrates on identifying problems in a pathological perspective. This is the obvious issues in mental health and apparent needs to deal with. Finally, the population that I am interested in working with is an important factor that determines my professional identity. Since I come from another culture, I can draw any applicable knowledge to people from my culture. It requires some filtering processes and cultural considerations when working with people from my own culture.
With all of these professional identities, I have thought of the values and the cultural factors. However, I have not thought of these specific names for them. In Particular, I have not thought of the CBT approach as important as it is in my professional identity. This approach plays an important role in my practice. On the one hand, I have a deep motivation to dig deeper in it. On the other hand, I have found more positive outcomes from this evidence-based treatment when I apply it in my internship and practice.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 15:56:12
Hi Tuyen,
You brought up an important part on the development of professional identity and it is the culture. Definitely culture impregnates every aspect in our professional practice, including laws. I believe that as long as we have a solid formation of our identity, the right clients will come to us, and they will benefit from the treatment. I’m also glad that you have been able to find the practice a good way to reinforce the theory learned.
Mar 15, 2024 @ 19:13:26
Hi Tuyen,
I completely agree with you that this program has played a major role in shaping your professional identity, as it has done the same for me. I have a strong interest in CBT, and initially, in my research for master programs, I found myself drawn to an LMHC licensure. Therefore, I chose this program as it aligned with my current professional goals.
Mar 13, 2024 @ 20:19:15
When I hear “professional identity,” I think about our strengths and preferences in the mental health field. To me, it is the identity we create for ourselves around our scope of practice and theoretical orientation. As the book describes, it includes our education and licensure. Our education program influences our identity because we are applying those skills in our internships/jobs which helps create and discover our professional identity. The book also talked about ethics and accreditations which was really interesting because I never thought of that but, I can see how it can be important as I gain more experience in the field. I believe the classes I have taken and internship have heavily influenced my identity development. For example, I always thought I was going to work with kids because I enjoyed numerous helping positions in summer camps, classrooms, preschools, and in ABA. As I learned more about CBT and searched for internships, I felt more comfortable working with adults. My experience at assumption greatly influenced me to get out of my comfort zone and I am grateful I did. I would still like to work with children or adolescents in the future but, I don’t have to limit myself to that population. My internship also influenced me because now I have grown an interest in DBT. I have done a few quick online trainings in my internship, but I am looking forward to expanding my skills in that area.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 11:37:16
Hi Ashley!
I really enjoyed reading your post this week! I completely agree that the courses at Assumption as well as experience in internship absolutely shapes professional identity. As the book describes, our education is a major factor in our professional identity. I really feel that this graduate program in particular has made me extremely excited about CBT and implementing evidenced based interventions into my professional practice!
Mar 14, 2024 @ 18:08:10
Hey Ashley, I really enjoyed reading your post and the surprise that after being sure you would like to work with children, finding out that you actually enjoyed working with your adults more. This is a great lesson that we really should get out of our comfort zones to learn where we can excel. I also think this speaks to the fact that our professional identity can continue to grow and change shape as we build skills and work with different populations.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 20:06:42
Hi Ashley,
I love how you said our internship helps us to discover our professional identity. I have noticed that through my internship I have found what I do not like which is in-home therapy. I also think that Assumption has pushed me out of my comfort zone as I have become more confident in myself as an individual & therapist.
Mar 15, 2024 @ 19:09:10
Hi Ashley,
I liked how you mentioned that initially, you were interested in working with children, but as you learned more about CBT, you became more comfortable with working with adults. I also appreciate that you are open to the possibility of working with different age groups and populations.
Mar 13, 2024 @ 21:32:35
The first thing that comes to mind when I hear “professional identity” is persona. I think a portion of a professional identity has to do with how we present ourselves, or the persona that we put on to interact with others in a professional capacity, something similar to the “customer service voice”. A part of that identity or persona is maintaining boundaries, striving and remaining ethical providers, and our training. Having these base skills allows us to best serve our clients and work with other providers or collaterals. Now that we are building these skills through internships and other jobs in the mental health field, I think our professional identities are truly starting to take shape.
I never really considered professional identity before starting graduate school. Before all of this, I thought I was so sure of where I wanted to be to achieve my career dreams. Going through this program has certainly shifted some of that for me, so I think I am still working on crafting my professional identity. So far, I would say the biggest influences are professors/graduate education, and my experiences at my internship. I have decided that being a school counselor is not for me, so that would be a part of my identity. In terms of theoretical frameworks, I think (for now) CBT makes a lot of sense to me. However, I have come to learn more about other interventions through training (like EMDR) and it sparks my interest in learning about and knowing things. I feel like there are aspects of my professional identity that have yet to be seen, and I cannot wait to see what it will look like.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 15:46:40
Hi Esther,
I agree with you in understanding how customer service plays a big role in the development of professional identity, no only to our clients, but society in general. I also enjoy reading how open and motivated you are to explore new forms of therapy, the more we know, the better we can decide what works and what doesn’t, obviously having always a strong ethical consideration.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 17:13:26
Hi Esther! I do think it is important to recognize how we present ourselves to our clients and to be professional in our interactions. It does help too when we have a level of congruence between our ‘work persona’ and our natural selves. Sometimes clients can tell if our reactions aren’t very natural or don’t match up, and this is a hard balance to strike!
Mar 15, 2024 @ 00:48:18
Hi Esther!
I really liked what you said about our “customer service voice” and how this translates to our field. I think to an extent we all adapt our personal attributes a little bit to make ourselves present more professionally, but it is interesting to think about where the line is between these two personas and how much of our personal identity carries over to our professional identities. I think it is important that we ll find the balance between the two of these so that we can bring ourselves and our own personal approaches into providing therapy but also remain professionally responsible. We must use our customer service voice to an extent, but also do what we can to incorporate the human connection that we each bring individually to our work to set us apart from one another as clinicians. Thanks for sharing!
Mar 14, 2024 @ 09:05:03
The first thing I think about when I hear “professional identity” is one’s abilities and areas of focus within the mental health field. How one identifies themselves within the mental health field depends on their educational background, licensures/certifications, areas of study, therapeutic modalities, and therapeutic settings. A huge part of one’s professional identity remains within the agencies or affiliations they have with certain institutions or workplaces. As young mental health counselors, I feel that we have not creating this sense of professional identity quite yet as most of us are still exploring the mental health field and our areas of focus. Although, some parts of our professional identity have already been established including that we are from an accredited university that focuses mainly on CBT. As I have gone into interviews recently I have noticed that my affiliation with this university has shown employers that I am already highly qualified for positions which was a surprise. I look forward to developing my professional identity as I explore the mental health field and ultimately get my license.
I have never heard the term of professional identity in relation to the mental health field before. After reading the chapter I believe that establishing this identity is important when working in this field. As we know, there are so many different options and places to work in the mental health field and finding a niche can help you be unique to employers. I also believe it is important to grow your professional identity by establishing connections with others in the field. So far, I think that my education has influenced my professional identity heavily as well as my experience working in the ABA field and my internship doing in-home therapy.
Mar 15, 2024 @ 15:56:27
Hi Amanda,
I like your idea of taking affiliations or institutions that we work for as one of the professional identities of mental health counselors. As the onset of our development, we do not have much experience in the field, so our first agency or affiliation we have play an important role in developing our identity. These can be regulations of the agency, practice of coworkers, and even supervision that we are at. I realized that I have greatly influenced by professionals who I am with now at my internship placement. Fortunately, they have positive influence on me with their ethical practice, compassion with clients, and genuine. As we continue to work in the field, there will be more factors forming our identity of profession.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 11:33:11
When I hear the words professional identity, I think of one’s education, experience, and professional appearance on various networking platforms such as LinkedIn and Psychology Today. Professional identity is absolutely something I have thought about before. From the beginning of my graduate school experience, my education and working towards my licensure have been some of my biggest priorities. Learning through education and experience to become the best possible counselor I can be has always been extremely important to me since I switched my focus to the mental health field. Furthermore, having a professional appearance and striving to grow my network on LinkedIn has been a goal of mine since the beginning of undergrad. As the book emphasizes, professional identity is an important aspect of becoming and being a mental health professional.
In terms of who/what has influenced my professional identity, I believe that my experience in multiple different fields/settings has guided me in forming my professional identity. More specifically, for the majority of my undergraduate experience, I was focused on becoming an Occupational Therapist (OT). Throughout the degree, I had the opportunity to complete fieldwork in both inpatient mental health settings as well as outpatient care for those who struggle with physical disabilities. Prior to and while obtaining my degree in OT, I also worked with children who have both special and behavioral needs in a public-school setting. My experience in multiple healthcare settings has really shaped who I want to be as a professional and has influenced my desire to go into the mental health field.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 16:44:10
Hi Bekah! I think you make a good point that our online presentations can become a large part of our professional identity and we should be mindful of this as we enter the field. I also think that keeping in touch with what inspired us to join the field in the first place can help us out as we figure out our own professional identity.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 18:11:11
Hi Bekah! Thanks for sharing about your prior experience and how that impacted your professional identity. I am sure having these different experiences enhances your perspective and honestly I would love to hear more about it. My own experiences have also shaped my professional identity but I have been in so few settings thus far. I am excited to have my perspective grow as I enter a new site.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 15:47:41
Professional identity includes who you are from multiple points of view. As described in the readings, professional identity has multiple components. In my experience, it is funny to remember how that identity has transitioned from many areas that I was interested in. I went from behaviorism, to psychodynamic, cognitive, to systemic, believing that the theory was my identity. When I faced practice, I understood that it is not only my theoretical orientation, is what works better for the client, for the company, for the law, and many other factors that play a role in the professional field.
I definitely agree with the book in considering ethics to be the pillar in our professional identity. If I have a strong ethical foundation, my identity will be defined by the benefit of the client and the profession in general. Personally, I feel a big responsibility to bring up the image of our profession, many people can give an advice, but only trained professionals can do therapy, and that can only work if we have feedback.
Even though I feel I should have a clearer professional identity at the moment. I know that it can be modified by knowledge and experience. For instance, there are some areas that I don’t feel strong or motivated to work with, such as custody battles and substance use, but I feel that with my internship in the substance use field, I will be open to work with this population. In that sense, definitely experience, knowledge and good supervision, can help to build a mature identity.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 20:00:41
Hi Yoana,
I enjoyed reading your post and think that ethics play a huge role in a mental health provider’s identity. I love that you feel a personal responsibility to bring up the image of mental health counselors as we know there are a lot of professionals out there that are not so professional. You also made a really good point that there may not always be a concrete identity for an individual practicing therapy and it is always changed and modified as we grow.
Mar 15, 2024 @ 17:29:50
Hi Yoana,
I see what you mean about ethics and the role they play. As you said, a person’s professional identity is measured by how ethical they are. Abiding by them speaks to how a person practices, but also how they treat their clients as people. Without ethics, I think we would hear more about the horror stories that some clients have already experienced. I enjoyed your lovely post!
Mar 14, 2024 @ 16:42:06
I have not thought a lot about what my professional identity might be, nor have I heard a lot about it. I would imagine things like specialties, populations you work with, intervention methods, and identifying with evidence based practices might play into what professional identity looks like. I have spent some time thinking about what kind of therapist I would like to be which I think can tie into professional identity. I think it is important to integrate as much evidence based practice into our sessions as possible while still being flexible and sensitive to what the client wants. I have qualities I have seen in others that I work with that I would like to increase in myself, people that I admire and would like to emulate. I want to be a professioal who is always developing my skills, either fine tuning my soft skills or learning new treatment modalities. I want to be able to relate to others and be the kind of person others just feel comfortable having a conversation with. I want to be professional in my interactions and punctual with my clients. Hopefully I will develop a professional identity further as time goes on.
Mar 15, 2024 @ 17:02:44
Hi Sam,
I appreciate your thoughts on what makes up professional identity. I certainly agree with you, as much as we want to be professional for ourselves, we still must remember that we need to do the same for our clients. They are the ones who depend on us to give them what is best for them. Like you said, sticking to evidence-based practices is a great way to do so!
Mar 14, 2024 @ 18:45:46
When I think of “professional identity,” I consider it to refer to the way a person sees themselves in their chosen career refers to the way a person sees themselves in their chosen career. It is shaped by their skills, values, beliefs, and experiences. This also influences how others perceive them in their professional role. While it’s a concept I’ve pondered upon intermittently, it was after I graduated in recent years that I actively understood and shaped my professional identity. Various influences have contributed to this development, including mentors who have provided guidance, colleagues who have shared insights, and experiences that have challenged and shaped my perspective. Additionally, societal expectations, cultural norms, and the evolving landscape of my field have played significant roles in molding my professional identity.
Looking back at my professional journey, I realize how important mentors have been in shaping my career at different levels and areas of expertise. I have also learned a lot from my colleagues and their diverse perspectives. Various professional experiences, whether positive or negative, have helped me refine my skills, solidify my values, and clarify my professional aspirations. Overall, my professional identity continues to evolve, influenced by my personal reflection, academic growth, external influences, and ongoing experiences within the field.
Mar 19, 2024 @ 16:37:29
Hi Sergio,
I like that you highlighted the importance and how much you have learned from your colleagues. This cannot be underestimated. Learning from mentors seems intuitive, since, that’s what a mentor does in theory. However, some of the greatest skills I have have been learned on jobs, from colleagues that have been doing the job longer than me. Although the nature of our job is fairly “isolated,” your point emphasizes how it can be helpful for us to do our best to stay connected with our colleagues.
Mar 14, 2024 @ 20:13:13
When I hear the words “professional identify,” I think of a whole “package” if you will. I feel like professional identity is dynamic and can evolve over time as we gain more experience. I feel like it’s a little bit of how we see ourselves professionally, and how we are viewed by peers and colleagues. I’ve thought about this on more of a surface level for the most part up until now. If I was to break it down, I feel like I would include expertise and skills; any extra licenses or specialization training that I could acquire. I also think that my networking and professional relationships I would want to be a part of my identity. The phrase, “it’s all about who you know” is extremely true! Especially in today’s world with so many “influencers” and people who think they are credible in something; I would find it beneficial to be affiliated with or endorsed by actual experts in the field. My own “personal brand” I think is important. Essentially, how I market myself, how I an able to inform clients of my expertise, achievements, and the value of what I can offer potential clients. That would also include the platforms that I would choose to reach people such as LinkedIn, or if I decide to create my own personal website, etc.
A large part of my professional identify thus far has been influenced by my own personal resiliency and overcoming lots of adversity throughout my childhood. This identity has given me a very humble approach as a therapist that I believe my clients can “feel” for lack of a better word. My life experiences gave me a variety of lenses and perceptions of the world that enable me to create a safe and nonjudgemental environment that my clients enjoy, I know that probably sounds like a sort-of, “lame” thing to say, but I genuinely believe I have formed a dimensional view of the world around me that enables me to provide unique insight.
Mar 17, 2024 @ 20:34:44
Hi Kristen,
I like how you propose your professional identity based on your own personal resilience, and how it has given you this sense of empathy with your clients. I consider that, this type of quality comes to a person naturally, can be hardly trained, and ends up being genuine. It is quite impressive how you can recognize that, notice how you apply it to therapy, and how your clients get to see it and benefit from it.
Mar 19, 2024 @ 16:29:31
Thanks Sergio!
Mar 15, 2024 @ 00:33:31
I think professional identity involves the way in which a person presents themselves and how they understand their role in the context of their career. I think about how I present myself at work and how that might be similar or different to how I present myself in my personal life. I think our professional identities are critical aspects of our career development and encompass how we interact with our clients, coworkers, and supervisors. I have not really thought this deeply about the concept of professional identity and, more importantly, how it applies to me. I think professional identity involves the qualities and attributes we feel as people and as workers in our respective roles. As a counselor, I would like to thin I uphold approachability, trust, clinical competence, and an eagerness to learn. These qualities align with how I want to present as a professional therapist but are also qualities I hope I can implement in my personal life. Professional identity also makes me think about engaging in treatment with clients with integrity, confidence, and the ability to understand our own clinical competence. Not only do we need to be honest with our clients about who we are as clinicians, but we need to be honest with ourselves son that we can be the most effective clinicians possible. Each clinician brings with them a unique combination of professional, educational, and personal experiences and factors that influence their own unique professional identity. I think my clinic director at my internship as well as coworkers at my internship and previous role in community based mental health has been the most influential in my professional identity development. Being able to observe and work closely with established clinicians has allowed me to take aspects from various approaches to find my own unique professional identity. I think seeing how such clinicians have carried themselves in times of stress and with busy schedules has helped me look to how I hope to approach working in the field and brining aspects of humanity and personal connection to the field.
Mar 17, 2024 @ 20:26:37
Hi Tom,
I agree with the consideration that professional identity includes how you present yourself at work, and I also think it impacts how you present yourself in your personal life. I’ve always found it interesting how, particularly with this role of “therapist or clinician,” there is a social idea that expects certain behaviors, as it will occur with other professions like teachers or social workers. Somehow you are a role model for society, and that implies professional identity.
I also like how you included the importance of the concepts of humany and personal connection to the field, it is constantly overseen, even though we work with humans and with their mental health.
Mar 15, 2024 @ 09:56:08
Professional identity is who we are at work—our values, skills, and how we carry ourselves. It is something I have thought about a lot, especially because of the people who have partly influenced and shaped me. Growing up, I always looked up to my teachers, and now, my supervisors also play a big role in how I see myself at work. I listen to their advice and try to learn from their experiences. I believe in being open-minded and listening to other people’s ideas. This helps me keep growing and improving at what I do. I also understand that different situations call for different behaviors. I try my best to be mindful of the importance of context in professional and personal environments. For example, you wouldn’t act the same way at a formal event as you would at a casual outing. As in many other personal and professional life settings situational appropriateness is crucial in establishing credibility and trust, especially when working with clients where modeling positive behaviors could be a direct or indirect influence towards them.
In addition, my professional identity is a mix of what I have learned from others, my own values, and how I adapt to different situations at work. I believe that there is always room and space for growth and self-exploration. I do like to remind myself the idea: “I know that I don’t know” without underestimating or overestimating my skills and knowledge regarding my professional skills.
Mar 19, 2024 @ 16:28:58
Hi Olgena,
“I know that I don’t know” is one of my favorite quotes! I live by this and say it fairly often to others. I like that you placed it here in this context. I think this is a healthy mindset to have and shows a lot regarding your ability to be a more self-aware provider.