My professional identity is the professional group with which I will identify myself once I begin practicing. However, choosing your professional identity has become complicated since in psychology there are many options, many degree programs, licenses and professional groups to choose from. Recently professional counselors, psychologists, and social workers have found that their jobs overlap, albeit with different bases and disciplines, yet these professions have become very similar. Only within the Master's in Clinical Psychology we can find: research or consultancy, private practice, organizational practice, group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy and school consultants just to name a few. Professional identity is one's professional self-concept, based on one's professional skills, beliefs and values, along with one's personal experiences and the idea that as a professional there are limits to what I can do to help people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay To better know what my professional identity is, I need to know where my skills as a consultant will be most useful, I need to find out why I choose this profession, what expectations I have as a consultant and, imperatively, I need to be sure that I possess the fundamental and required skills to be an effective helper. If I want to be effective and produce results as a consultant, I need to develop a strong sense of professional identity based on the fundamentals of an effective consultant which are: empathy, or being able to truly listen to clients and inspire. I have to make the customer feel accepted, this would build rapport and elicit information from the customer, the customer will be more open to sharing information. Acceptance is key to developing a counselor-client relationship, you must let the client know that they are accepted regardless of what they have to say, the client must feel that you are there to help them without judgment and with positive regard. Being genuine and authentic is another skill that will project confidence and trust in the client as they see you as someone who is congruent and in tune with our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Projecting self-confidence while being authentic will help the customer see you as someone who is practically capable of helping them. I also have to be present and available to the customer, i.e. I must not be exhausted, tired or stressed when I see customers. I also need to address any personal issues that prevent me from being open-minded while listening to the customer, otherwise I may find myself lacking empathy and acceptance towards the customer, perhaps even being critical. Another important attitude that I must possess to be an effective helper is to have cultural competence, that is, I must be able to help clients even if they are different in culture and race without stereotypes. D'Andrea and Daniel's respectful consulting model that helps narrow the gap of cultural differences between consultant and client. Many people avoid going to 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 helpers, this is one of the reasons I decided to become a counselor, to help my community understand and pursue mental health support. I also need to find my "it" factor, as a consultant there would be something that would connect me with clients, something special that would strengthen my relationship with the client, I don't know what that "it" factor would be yet, but I hope to have it. AND,.