My professional identity is the professional group with which I will identify once I begin practice. However, choosing your professional identity has become complicated since there are many options in psychology, numerous graduate programs, licenses and professional groups to choose from. Recently, professional counselors, psychologists, and social workers have found that their jobs overlap, although their foundations and disciplines are different, but these professions have become very similar. Just within the Masters in Clinical Psychology we can find: research or counseling, private practice, organizational practice, group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy and school counselors to name a few a few. Professional identity is the professional self-concept, based on one's professional skills, beliefs and values, as well as one's own personal experiences and the idea that as a professional there are limits to what one can do. I can do to help people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayTo better understand my professional identity, I need to know where my skills as a counselor will be most useful, I need to find out the reason why I chose this profession, my expectations as an advisor, and I must absolutely be sure that I have the fundamental abilities required to be an effective helper. If I want to be effective and produce results as a counselor, I must develop a strong sense of professional identity based on the foundations of an effective counselor which are: empathy, that is, being able to truly listen to customers and inspire them. I need to make the client feel accepted, this would build a relationship and get information from the client, the client would be more open to sharing information. Acceptance is key to developing an advisor-client relationship, you must let the client know that they are accepted no matter what they have to say, the client must feel that you are there to help them without judgment and with a positive outlook. Being authentic and genuine is another skill that will project safety and trust in the client since they see you as someone who is in agreement and in tune with our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Projecting security within yourself while being authentic will help the client see you as someone who is just about capable of helping them. I must also be present and available to the client, that is, I must not be exhausted, tired or stressed when seeing clients. I also have to deal with any personal issues that will prevent me from being open-minded in listening to the client, otherwise I might find myself lacking empathy and acceptance towards the client, or even criticism. Another important skill I must possess to be an effective assistant. is to have cultural competence, that is, I must be able to help clients even if they differ in culture and race, without stereotypes. D'Andrea and Daniel's model of respectful counseling that helps bridge the gap of cultural differences between counselor and client. Many people avoid therapy because they can't find a counselor who can "understand" them, especially if they don't speak English. In chapter 1, Neukrug mentions the importance of having diversity among caregivers, which is one of the reasons I decided to become a counselor,,.