Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethical Practice In the professional counseling orientation and ethical practice course in groups of two we were asked to make a pamphlet defining and promoting mental health counseling. This class was one of the first courses in my graduate career which made me feel the need to prove myself being worthy enough to be in a graduate program. Being asked to make a pamphlet defining and promoting what my future career would be was anxiety provoking for me because I had no idea if how I would define mental health counseling would be the “right” or “best” way to define it. At this time, I feel like I was very much still set on the concept of right versus wrong, instead of understanding and accepting that …show more content…
The main difference that I think can be easy to forget especially as adults is to be mindful of the child’s age and how long they can pay attention. Another thing that stood out to me is that listening to adolescents use slang terms makes me realize that I have no idea what some of the words they say mean. If I end up working with adolescents in my future I think I will be important to be honest with the client that I will not always know the slang terms they use, but also try to educate myself on the terms adolescents are likely to use. Overall, I believe most of the things that were brought up in this assignment was review for me (the content covered was very similar to my lifespan psychology …show more content…
Going over my paper everything made perfect sense and I can still relate/agree with everything I said. After reading my case conceptualization I feel like I have a solid foundation that contributes to how I view my clients and how I choose to move forward with them. While I do like Person Centered Theory I have learned to be flexible and incorporate other theories into my work with clients. Being flexible as a counselor, I think is one of the keys to success. As a counselor I must always do what is in the best interest of the client regardless if I prefer one approach over another. My client’s well-being is my responsibility as a counselor and I have to do the best I can to assure their well-being. Therefore, I have learned to apply other theories into my work as a counselor as
A common struggle for counselors can sometimes be to find the right balance between “the demands or managed mental health requirements and obligations to clients” (Braun & Cox, 2005, p.426). Often times counselors may be t...
It is essential to understand that mental health professionals should be able to uphold with the same Code of Ethics and Standards from one professional to other. Professional should have responsibility or liability for the practice that they perform and the services that they carry out to the people. If one professional does not follow the standards and ethics that they practice, other professionals will take advantage of their obligations and the Code of Ethics and Standards will not be of good use to the people that they
The field of clinical mental health is one of great reward, but also one of grave responsibility. It is the duty of the counselor to provide the client with a safe environment and an open mind, in order to foster a healthy therapeutic relationship. The majority of mental health counselors would never intentionally harm their clients; however; good intentions are not enough to ensure that wrong will not occur. The ethical expectations and boundaries are regulated by both laws and professional codes. When discussing ethics, one must realize there are two categories, mandatory and aspirational. (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 2007)
¬When considering what my own personal philosophy of counseling would be, it was eye opening to consider who I was a person and how much I have grown. The self analysis was new to me because I never thought about how I do that on a day to day basis. Reviewing the questions I found that a lot of my focus surrounded family, my significant other, and close friends. Constantly living in a diverse population and having that as my surrounding also made its mark in my answers. I also noted that both past and present influences, but primarily the present, play a large role in my own perspective. By following the prompt, I was made to understand that my thought process makes me think of what is occurring in the present and how I can alter these happenings to help shape the future that I want.
In the second part of the book Rogers speaks of his ideas of his theory of the person-centered approach to therapy. This is the part of the book that I felt really spoke to me. Person-centered theory is a lot of what I would like to do. I enjoy the ideas and concepts that Rogers presents in his theory. I think that it is extremely important to be able to take into consideration not only the diagnosis of the patient/client with whom you are working, but that it is more important to be able to take the time to sit back and to listen to them. I have realized in the year that I have been working in the psychiatric hospital how important it is for the patient/client to just sit back and listen to what it is they're saying to you. This however does not mean I am only hearing their words, but that I am listening at a much deeper level and actually he...
When a client comes in for help they are coming in as individuals that have a multifaceted perspective that includes psychological, biological, cultural, social, financial, educational, vocational, and spiritual components (Woodside & McClam, 2015). All these components encompass life experiences that they have been through with family, friends, their health, school, work, their legal status, residency, their safety and security, their finances, their well- being, and their accomplishments (Woodside & McClam, 2015). The perspective are integrated with the individual which form the whole person (Woodside & McClam, 2015). The term the whole person is important in human services because when a client comes in they are not coming in with just a single problem and as human service professionals we have to look at the issue and address it as a whole instead of a single issue (Woodside & McClam, 2015). There may be underlying issues that do not come up ...
Since 1976, The American Mental Health Counselors Association has been committed to establishing and promoting vigorous standards for education and training, professional practice, and professional ethics for Clinical Mental Health Counselors. So far, this association have 7,000 clinical mental health counselors but its organization is continuously growing (AMHCA).” “The American Mental Health Counselors Association have licensures laws in all 50 states, and the association seeks to enhance the practice of clinical mental health counseling and to promote standards for clinical education and clinical practice that anticipate the future roles of Clinical Mental Health Counselors within the broader health care system. This association was ultimately put together to define and promote professional identity of mental health counselors (AMHCA).”
To explain, the client should not be inferior to the counselor; the environment should be two people discussing an issue and ways to make a difference. A therapist should occasionally share similar experiences; therefore, sessions should make clients feel comfortable. To add, the client should feel safe due to the positive atmosphere the therapist brings to the session. The goal is to finally give the client a chance to be heard, regularly people are muted and feel like they are insignificant to society. Similarly, to Person-centered therapy where communication with the client is unconditionally positive. The therapist needs to genuinely care about the client needs for them to fully express themselves successfully. Furthermore, clients should be encouraging to make their own choices which model how to identify and use power responsibly. Hence, this will help the client feel more confident in everyday life when making a meaningful
Counselors have a tremendous responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the counseling relationship and support the client’s trust. They must seek high levels of training and education in the ethical application of counseling practices. It is these practices and professional values that empower clients and families to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals of their own. Helping professionals have an ethical obligation and professional responsibility to clients to protect their rights, warn and protect, record-keeping protection, counselor self-care, advocacy, and counselor values.
Ethical issues in a counseling practice lay the foundation of a therapist in practice. Ethics are at the center of how the counseling process functions and operates in a successful manner for the clients who seek help in such a setting. In order for the counseling profession to be ethical and hold professional recognition, there are many facets that need to be examined and outlined to make sure all counselors and practitioners are functioning at the highest level and withholding their duties required by the counseling profession. The first introduction so to speak of the area of ethics also happens to be one of the first steps in counseling, which is the informed consent. The informed consent provides the basis of what happens or will be happening in a counseling setting and serves to inform the client to their rights, responsibilities, and what to expect. Most importantly, the informed consent is in place for the client’s benefit. It also is important to understand that culture and environment play a role in the treatment of a client and how theories can positively or negatively impact this treatment. Therapists need to understand how to work within the context of a theory while being able to understand the individual in their own environment. Although theories are put into place to serve as a framework, there are also alternative ways to approach counseling, one example being evidence-based practice. Such an approach is very specific, which presents a series of solutions for counseling as a whole, but also brings forth many problems. Every approach or theory introduces ethical concerns that need to be taken into consideration by the entire counseling community and how each can positively and negatively affect clients and the pr...
Parley (2001), cited in Dowling et al (2006, p.7) states, "A person centred approach is a strong planning process that puts the person at the centre and deliberately shifts the power.” Thus, allowing them to reclaim the freedom that most people take for granted. One can argue that the incorporation of a person centred approach in the psychological approach indirectly incorporating
Person- centered and Existentialism both highlight the importance of the relationship between client and counselor, which through that process the client will have the opportunity to self heal. The aspects that appeal to me in Person -centered are the client and counselor relationship, because in all relationships trust must be built to further the process of getting to know another individual. The aspect of existentialism that appeals to me is the work around death for we all must face it someday, and developing an appropriate meaning to life. However, the main aspect of both theories that appeal to me are that they merely focus on the future and give no attention to the past for the past is forever gone. The theories will give me the opportunity to be completely empathic, congruent, and allow the technique of motivational interviewing to steer the client in the direction. I will use the techniques of open ended questions and ultimately supporting the client and responding to their resistances throughout the session which can effect change in his or her problem. This technique will ultimately have the client list the steps toward their specific outcome in which they hope to
I have learned various types of counseling models that would be beneficial for the clientele I would like to work with in my profession. I would like to incorporate person centered approach and psychoanalytic approach in my profession because I have the characteristics required of a person centered therapist and I find the psychoanalytic approach interesting for clients. I want to work with a diverse population of clients with issues from anxiety to paranoid schizophrenia. The person centered approach the client is guided through their problems where he/she will begin to notice the changes that need to occur in their lives. On the other hand, psychoanalytic approach, the therapist must engage in to help the client solve their issues at hand whether is from not accomplishing a developmental stage in their life to problems that were never dealt with.
My definition of an ethical counselor is an individual that applies standards of behavior to their work. This behavior can be human conduct and moral decision making. These standards of behaviors are set by governments, professional bodies, organizations and community groups. These standards can vary across different countries and cultures. This is because societies in some parts of the world value some types of behaviors more highly than others. Ethics in counseling is necessary because it allows counselors to be accountable. My own definition of ethics is something that you believe in and follow which influences your decision making. Ethics also means the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving
One aspect I found striking was the role of advice giving in counseling. Prior to this class, I knew that counselors did not typically give opinions or advice to lead a client in a certain direction. What I did not know was the entire reasoning behind this. A counselor might avoid giving advice so that a client learns to make his/her own decisions, does not become dependent on the counselor, and to ensure that a client will not later blame the counselor if the counselor’s advice did not turn out well. In this context, I have a better appreciation and understanding of why therapists refrain from telling the client what to do.