THE COUNSELOR: PERSON AND PROFESSIONAL
THE COUNSELOR AS A THERAPEUTIC PERSON
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE COUNSELORS
Effective therapists have an identity.
Effective therapists respect and appreciate themselves.
Effective therapists are open to change.
Effective therapists make choices that are life oriented.
Effective therapists are authentic, sincere, and honest.
Effective therapists have a sense of humor.
Effective therapists make mistakes and are willing to admit them.
Effective therapists generally live in the present.
Effective therapists appreciate the influence of culture.
Effective therapists have a sincere interest in the welfare of others.
Effective therapists possess effective interpersonal skills.
Effective therapists become deeply involved in their work and derive
meaning from it.
Effective therapists are passionate
Effective therapists are able to maintain healthy boundaries.
PERSONAL THERAPY FOR THE COUNSELOR
Orlinsky and colleagues suggest that personal therapy contributes to the therapist’s
professional work in the following three ways:
1. As part of the therapist’s training, personal therapy offers a model of therapeutic
practice in which the trainee experiences the work of a more experienced
therapist and learns experientially what is helpful or not helpful.
2. A beneficial experience in personal therapy can further enhance a therapist’s
interpersonal skills that are essential to skillfully practicing therapy
3. Successful personal therapy can contribute to a therapist’s ability to deal with the
ongoing stresses associated with clinical work.
THE COUNSELOR’S VALUES AND THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
THE ROLE OF VALUES IN COUNSELING
As counselors we need to guard against the tendency to use our power to
influence the client to accept our values because it is not our function to
persuade clients to accept or adopt our value system.
VALUE IMPOSITION: refers to counselors directly attempting to define a client’s
values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. It is possible for counselors to impose
their values either actively or passively
THE ROLE OF VALUES IN DEVELOPING THERAPEUTIC GOALS
The general goals of counselors must be congruent with the personal goals of
the client.
ISSUES FACED BY BEGINNING THERAPISTS
Dealing With Your Anxieties
Being Yourself and Self-Disclosure
Avoiding Perfectionism
Being Honest About Your Limitations
Understanding Silence
Dealing With Demands from Clients
Dealing With Clients Who Lack Commitment
Tolerating Ambiguity
Becoming Aware of Your Counter transference
Developing a Sense of Humor
Sharing Responsibility with the Client
Declining to Give Advice
Defining Your Role as a Counselor
Learning to Use Techniques Appropriately
Developing Your Own Counseling Style
Maintaining Your Vitality as a Person and as a Professional
ETHICAL ISSUES IN COUNSELING PRACTICE
Its purpose is to stimulate you to think about ethical practice so that you can form a
sound basis for making ethical decisions.
Aspirational Ethics is a higher level of ethical practice that addresses doing what is in
the best interests of clients.
Mandatory Ethics is the view of ethical practice that deals with the minimum level of
professional practice.
Positive ethics is an approach taken by practitioners who want to do their best for
clients rather than simply meet minimum standards to stay out of trouble
PUTTING CLIENTS’ NEEDS BEFORE YOUR OWN
An ethical problem exists when we meet our needs, in either obvious or subtle
ways, at the expense of our clients’ needs. It is crucial that we avoid exploiting or
harming clients. We have responsibilities to work actively toward expanding our
own self-awareness and to learn to recognize areas of prejudice and
vulnerability.
The Role of Ethics Codes as a Catalyst for Improving Practice
Ethics codes can provide a basis for reflecting on and improving your
professional practice.
Self-monitoring is a better route for professionals to take than being policed by an
outside agency.
ETHICAL DECISON MAKING
Professionals are expected to exercise prudent judgment when it comes to
interpreting and applying ethical principles to specific situations.
Some Steps in Making Ethical Decisions
Identify the problem or dilemma
Identify the potential issues
Look at the relevant ethics codes for general guidance on the
matter.
Consider the applicable laws and regulations, and determine how
they may have a bearing on an ethical dilemma.
Seek consultation from more than one source
Brainstorm various possible courses of action.
Enumerate the consequences of various decisions, and reflect on
the implications of each course of action for your client
Decide on what appears to be the best possible course of action.
THE RIGHT OF INFORMED CONSENT
Informed Consent involves the right of clients to be informed about their therapy
and to make autonomous decisions pertaining to it.
The challenge of fulfilling the spirit of informed consent is to strike a balance between
giving clients too much information and giving them too little.
DIMENSIONS OF CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality is an ethical concept, and in most states, it is the legal duty of
therapists not to disclose information about a client.
Privileged Communication is a legal concept that generally bars the disclosure
of confidential communications in a legal proceeding
In general, the counselor’s primary obligation is to protect client disclosures as a vital
part of the therapeutic relationship. Informing clients about the limits of confidentiality
does not necessarily inhibit successful counseling
ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS
As you will see when you study the various theories of counseling, some approaches
place heavy emphasis on the role of assessment as a prelude to the treatment process;
other approaches find assessment less useful in this regard.
The Role of Assessment and Diagnosis in Counseling
Assessment and diagnosis are integrally related to the practice of counseling and
psychotherapy, and both are often viewed as essential for planning treatment.
Assessment consists of evaluating the relevant factors in a client’s life to identify
themes for further exploration in the counseling process.
Diagnosis, which is sometimes part of the assessment process, consists of
identifying a specific mental disorder based on a pattern of symptoms.
CONSIDERING ETHNIC AND CULTURAL FACTORS IN ASSESSMENT AND
DIAGNOSIS
ASSESSMENT AND DIAGNOSIS FROM VARIOUS THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVES
A COMMENTARY ON ASSESSMENT AND DIAGNOSIS
ETHICAL ASPECTS OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE
Evidence-Based Practice (EBP): “the integration of the best available research with
clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences.
The central aim of evidence-based practice is to require psychotherapists to base
their practice on techniques that have empirical evidence to support their
efficacy.
Norcross, Hogan, and Koocher (2008) advocate for inclusive evidence-based
practices that incorporate the three pillars of EBP:
(1) looking for the best available research,
(2) relying on clinical expertise, and
(3) taking into consideration the client’s characteristics, culture, and
preferences.
EBP may have something to offer mental health professionals who work with individuals
with specific emotional, cognitive, and behavioral disorders, but it does not have a great
deal to offer practitioners working with individuals who want to pursue more meaning
and fulfillment in their lives. Evidence-based practices tend to emphasize only one of
these aspects—interventions based on the best available research.
MANAGING MULTIPLE RELATIONSHIPS IN COUNSELING PRACTICE
Dual or Multiple Relationships, either sexual or nonsexual, occur when counselors
assume two (or more) roles simultaneously or sequentially with a client.
Clinicians blend their professional relationship with another kind of relationship with a
client, ethical concerns must be considered.
The ACA Code of Ethics (ACA, 2005) stresses that counseling professionals must
learn how to manage multiple roles and responsibilities in an ethical way.
Perspectives on Multiple Relationships
What makes multiple relationships so problematic?
Herlihy and Corey (2006b) contend that some of the problematic aspects of engaging in
multiple relationships are:
Pervasive
Difficult to recognize
Unavoidable at times
Potentially harmful, but not necessarily always harmful
Beneficial
Subject of conflicting advice from various experts
It bears repeating that multiple relationship issues cannot be resolved with ethics codes
alone; counselors must think through all of the ethical and clinical dimensions involved
in a wide range of boundary concerns.
One key to learning how to manage multiple relationships is to think of ways to minimize
the risks involved.
Ways of Minimizing Risk
Herlihy and Corey (2006b) identify the following guidelines:
Set healthy boundaries early in the therapeutic relationship.
Involve clients in ongoing discussions and in the decision-making process, and
document your discussions.
Consult with fellow professionals as a way to maintain objectivity and identify
unanticipated difficulties.
When multiple relationships are potentially problematic, or when the risk for harm
is high, it is always wise to work under supervision.
Self-monitoring is critical throughout the process
One way of dealing with any potential problems is to adopt a policy of completely
avoiding any kind of nonprofessional interaction.
Another alternative is to deal with each dilemma as it develops, making full use of
informed consent and at the same time seeking consultation and supervision in dealing
with the situation.
Establishing Personal and Professional Boundaries
Boundary Crossing is a departure from a commonly accepted practice that could
potentially benefit a client.
Boundary Violation is a serious breach that harms the client and is therefore unethical
BECOMING AN ETHICAL COUNSELOR
As you become involved in counseling, you will find that interpreting the ethical
guidelines of your professional organization and applying them to particular situations
demand the utmost ethical sensitivity.
PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH
