Academic Artifacts

Item 1: The Soloist Review

• Description: A 7-page analysis of The Soloist character Nathaniel Ayers, including a diagnostic case study and literature review, an analysis of the subject’s social supports and the helping methods of such supports, and an explanation of a viable treatment intervention to be used with Nathaniel Ayers.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This review demonstrates my ability to effectively diagnose and treat mental disorders, holistically evaluate elements of a client’s life circumstances for their effect on the client, and review the literature for clinical and academic purposes.

​

Item 2: Consultation Literature Review

• Description: An 8-page literature review examining articles focused on consultation as a counselor, the therapeutic alliance, and multicultural competency.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This review demonstrates my ability to synthesize and convey information from professional literature, discuss the limitations of professional literature, and apply information from articles to clinical practice in counseling and consultation with special focus on multicultural considerations and the therapeutic alliance.

 

Item 3: Case Conceptualization

• Description: A 6-page case conceptualization and treatment plan for a fictional client, including client strengths, limitations, and concerns, as well as suggested treatment modalities with corresponding goals and tasks.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This project demonstrates my ability to construct an in-depth case conceptualization and treatment plan in order to assess and mitigate specific client concerns and treatment needs. Likewise, this project demonstrates my ability to apply knowledge from counseling literature to clinical practice.

Item 1: Interview with Dr. Megan Clapton, LPC

• Description: This is a write-up of an interview with an experienced and exemplary professional counselor, including a reflection of my takeaways from this interview and how I plan to apply this knowledge to my own practice and career pursuits.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This interview and reflection demonstrates my steadfastness in choosing quality role models and mentors in the counseling profession in order to further my understanding of the use of theoretical principles and interventions, the steps it takes to maintain and expand competency throughout one’s career, and how one can develop a successful private practice.

​

Item 2: Masculinity and Major Depressive Disorder

• Description: An 8-page literature review examining articles focused on consultation as a counselor, the therapeutic alliance, and multicultural competency.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This review demonstrates my ability to synthesize and convey information from professional literature, discuss the limitations of professional literature, and apply information from articles to clinical practice in counseling and consultation with special focus on multicultural considerations and the therapeutic alliance.

​

Item 3: Consultation Case Study

• Description: An 8-page demonstration of the application of consultee-centered case consultation.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This project demonstrates my willingness to adapt to novel counseling situations, learn from fellow clinicians, and learn from client observations in order to better treat clients, aid in the development of fellow counselors, and continue my own professional development.

Item 1: Distress Tolerance and Goal-Oriented Skills Workshop for Undergraduates

• Description: An 8-page plan for psychoeducation group for college undergraduates. This plan includes goals, objectives, goal attainment methods, activities for four group sessions, and external resources for group members.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This project demonstrates my commitment to serving at-risk groups, such as college freshman, using effective treatment modalities and community resources.

​

Item 2: Rationale for Counseling Group for Adolescent Offenders

• Description: A 7-page plan for a counseling group for adolescents exiting the criminal justice system, utilizing relevant professional literature to establish an effective treatment strategy involving community support.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This project demonstrates my interest in effectively treating an under-served population with empirically backed methods and community engagement, helping to improve the lives of youths who have encountered our criminal justice system, as well as the communities in which these clients live.

​

Item 3: Cultural Immersion Journal

• Description: An 8-page journal of my efforts to better understand other cultures beyond my own through observation of and participation in their cultural practices, as well as through interviews of cultural representatives.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This journal demonstrates my dedication to multicultural awareness and the development of my own multicultural counseling competency through extensive reflection on my experiences outside of my own cultural background.

Item 1: Racial/Cultural Identity Development

• Description: A 12-page analysis of the development of my own racial/cultural identity, including an explanation of how my cultural identity affects my counseling approach.

• Rationale for Inclusion: In this project, I convey my knowledge of my cultural beginnings, how that has shaped me into the counselor and person that I am, and how my identity impacts the clients with whom I work.

​

Item 2: My Genogram Journey (Genogram Graphic)

• Description: A genogram of my familial relationships accompanied by a 4-page reflection on creating my genogram and my feelings and insights on the results of the genogram.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This project demonstrates my own awareness of my role within a system (my family), how I impact that system, how that system impacts me, and how my family system influences my counseling identity.

​

Item 3: Internship II Self Reflection

• Description: A 4-page reflection on my progress and goal attainment as a counselor in my second internship semester.

• Rationale for Inclusion: This reflection conveys my awareness of my strengths and limitations as a counselor, the goals I have attained and still need to attain, the experience I drew from supervision and working with my clients, and how my work affected my clients.

Item 1: Lifespan Reflection

• Description: A reflection on how theories of human development affected my perspective on clients’ presentations and my own self-concept.

• Rationale for Inclusion: In this reflection, I demonstrate knowledge of developmental theories and a desire to use systems-oriented developmental theories in the treatment of individuals, as well as in advocacy efforts. I also demonstrate an understanding of how systemic elements affect individuals and communities at numerous levels.

​

Item 2: Confidentiality and Duty to Report in Texas

• Description: A 7-page review of professional literature, Texas state law, and case law related to the limits of confidentiality and clinicians’ duty to report in Texas.

• Rationale for Inclusion: In this review, I advocate for the protection of victims and potential victims at the state and national levels through the adoption of duty to warn laws in Texas. Likewise, I demonstrate knowledge of relevant case law and legal statutes, as well as their impact on individuals and their communities.

​

Item 3: Antisocial Personality Disorder: A Review of the Literature.

• Description: A 12-page review of the professional literature covering the diagnosis and treatment of ASPD, as well as common comorbidities associated with ASPD.

• Rationale for Inclusion: In this review, I call for a revision of diagnostic and treatment norms surrounding ASPD, citing traditional clinical viewpoints and diagnostic ambiguity that impede the proper diagnosis and treatment of ASPD and lead to client stigmatization and abandonment, as well as a systemic refusal to promote preventative measures and effective remediation regarding ASPD. Likewise, I note how the shortcomings affect clients with ASPD, community members of those with ASPD, and those who have been misdiagnosed with ASPD.