I bet not, and if you did and you read the current definition, I bet you would alienate yourself from your client. I think the last part is good. It tells what counseling is supposed to address. I think that s missing from the definition. I like hearing personal growth and development because they sound positive.
Mental health sounds like whoever is seeking services is a nut or something.
I think it s important that the definition include why people might seek counseling. If I were not in the counseling field, I would be confused about cognitive, affective, behavioral, and systemic intervention and pathology. These words seem common to counseling professionals, but to people in a crisis and seeking help, I think these words are overwhelming and hard to understand. Hearing from individuals who would potentially seek counseling, rather than those who are, it seems to me, trying to define themselves, gave me a different perspective than may have been the purpose of this exercise. However, I have gained valuable personal insight into what it means to me to be a counselor.