3.4 Counselors, Coaches, Therapists, Clergy

You are a part of a profession that has the advantage of working with people in an individualized setting, and this gives you the wonderful opportunity of being able to focus in depth on each person's unique needs. There are many reasons why someone would seek your help: problems at home, a career crisis, or stresses that result from the complications of our modern lives.

Yours is a job where you are challenged to address the reasons a person has sought your help and to facilitate insight on their part so they can grow. Learning to use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® instrument gives you a proven tool for supporting that process and helping your clients gain self-understanding and healthy psychological development.

Isabel Myers, the developer of the MBTI^® work, was once asked why results from the Indicator are so useful, and she replied, "It isn't about what's wrong with people; it is about what is right with them." We think of her as the pioneer of healthy personality development before the field of positive psychology came into its own.

When you attend an MBTI^® Certification Program you will learn more about how people can use their individual personality preferences to grow and develop. Some of the topics covered include:

Information about the theory of psychological type and the dynamic nature of how the four preferences come together to form each personality type
How to use MBTI results for individual feedback, personal development, building interpersonal skills, and more
Using MBTI results for counseling individuals, families, and students

Here are a few ways this program can enrich your work life as a counselor, career counselor, guidance counselor, therapist, or psychologist:

Improve your communication style in order to clarify your recommendations to clients
Enhance your versatility and effectiveness with clients and coworkers
Recognize individual communication preferences in order to help clients and families focus on positive steps for improvement
Resolve workplace and family conflicts

In addition, completion of an MBTI^® Certification Program is one of the requirements needed for using the MBTI^® Step III^™ assessment with clients. After a certain amount of experience in using type with clients you will be able to attend a Step III^™ Training Program where you will learn how to use the uniquely generated counseling statements for individual sessions. Information about the Step III assessment is available on the Myers & Briggs Foundation website.

Janis Hoyt
Human Resource Business Partner