COUN311 Introduction to Counseling PDF

COUN311 – INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING WEEK 1: COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY AS A WORKING DEFINITION OF A HELPING PROFESSION COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY...

COUN311 – INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING WEEK 1: COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY AS A WORKING DEFINITION OF A HELPING PROFESSION COUNSELING & PSYCHOTHERAPY A process that involves a trained A helping profession is one in which the professional who abides by accepted members are specially trained and licensed ethical guidelines and has skills and or certified to perform a unique and needed competencies for working with diverse service for fellow human beings. individual who are in distress or have life Helping professionals serve; they are problems that led them to seek help recognized by the society as the sole (possibly at that insistence of others) or they professional providers of the unique and may be choosing to seek personal growth, needed services they offer but either way, these parties establish an o COUNSELORS > Helping profession explicit agreement to work together toward > Assist in facing different life mutually agreed on or acceptable goals difficulties using theoretically – based or evidence – o Improve mental health and emotional based procedures. being o Experience is better than theory Psychotherapy and Counseling are both o Build Mutual Agreement types of mental health o Do not force them to tell any information Psychotherapy focuses more on long – they are uncomfortable about term issues and growth, while counseling o Also, politely inform them that you’ll refer aims to help people resolve current issues them to higher form of help (Geng, 2023) Both counselors and psychotherapists THE COUNSELOR: PERSON & engage in the same behaviors – listening, PROFESSIONAL questioning, interpreting, explaining, advising, and so on, but may do so in One of the most important instruments you different proportions (Flanagan & Flanagan, have to work with as a counselor is yourself 2015) as a person. Knowledge and skills in counseling are Psychotherapist Counselor essential, but they are not sufficient by - Long – term - Short – term - Recurring issues - Specific themselves in establishing an effective issue/Current therapeutic relationship issue Abundant research indicates that the centrality of the therapist as a person is a primary factor for a successful therapy o Both deals with emotional distress & o Need full commitment to your duty as other mental health issues you can make or break your clients o Knowledge – Good communication skills (acceptable feedback) o Help them find solutions for themselves (problem solving – suggestions) o Help them identify their problems (there’s no one treatment/approach applicable to all pg. 1  COUN311 – INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING Clients place more value on the personality - They are deeply involved in their work and of the therapist than on the specific derive meaning from it techniques used (Lambert, 2011, as cited by - They are passionate Corey, 2013) - They are able to maintain healthy boundaries o Empathy o Listening skills PERSONAL THERAPY OF THE o Respect o Warm COUNSELOR o Sense of Humor Orlimsky and colleagues (2005) suggest o Conscious that personal therapy helps the therapists professional work in 3 ways: There is considerable evidence that shows (1) As part of the therapists training, that the person of the psychotherapist personal therapy offers a model of inevitably intertwined with the outcome of therapeutic practice in which the trainee psychotherapy (Nocross & Lambert, 2011) experiences the work of a more The personal and interpersonal components experienced therapist and learns are essential to effective psychotherapy experientially whereas techniques have little effect on (2) A beneficial experience in personal therapeutic outcome (Wampold, 2001) therapy can further enhance a therapist’s interpersonal skills → NOTE!!! (3) Successful personal therapy can o Both the therapy relationship and the contribute to a therapist’s ability to deal therapy methods used influence the with the on-going stresses associated outcomes of treatment with work o However, it is essential that the methods used support the therapeutic relationship → NOTE!!! being formed with the client o This doesn’t mean that we need to be free of conflicts before we can counsel PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF others, but we should be aware of what EFFECTIVE COUNSELORS these conflicts are and how they are likely to affect us as persons and as counselors - They have an identity - They respect and appreciate themselves THE COUNSELORS’ VALUES & - They are open to change THERAPEUTIC - They make choices that are life – oriented - They are authentic, sincere, and honest THE ROLES OF VALUES IN COUNSELING - They have sense of humor - They make mistakes and are willing to Our values are core beliefs that influence admit them how we act, both in our personal and our professional lives - They are generally live in the present o It inevitably influences how we view - They appreciate the influence of culture counseling and the manner in which we - They have a sincere in the welfare of interact with clients. However,,, others o As counselors, we need to guard - They possess effective interpersonal against the tendency to use our power skills to influence the client to accept our personal values pg. 2  COUN311 – INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING - Maintaining your vitality as a person and as a professional VALUE IMPOSITION - Understanding Silence Refer to whom counselors directly attempt to - Dealing with demands from clients define a client’s values, attitudes, beliefs, and - Dealing with clients who lack commitment behaviors - Tolerating Ambiguity Phenomena wherein the counselor tries to - Becoming aware of your influence to client to adapt their countertransference values/beliefs/attitudes - Defining your role as a counselor - Developing your own counseling style BEING AN EFFECTIVE - Avoiding losing ourselves in our clients MULTICULTURAL COUNSELOR - Sharing responsibility with your clients It is an ethical obligation for counselors to develop sensitivity to cultural differences if they hope to make interventions that are consistent with the values of their clients → Culture o The values and behaviors shared by a group of individuals o It is important to realize that culture refers to more than ethnic or racial heritage, but also includes factors such as age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, physical, and mental ability, and socioeconomic status According to Arredondo et al. (1996) the competencies in multicultural counseling involved in three areas: o Beliefs and Attitudes o Knowledge o Skills & Intervention Strategies Counseling is by its very nature diverse in multicultural society. ISSUES FACES BY BEGINNER COUNSELORS/THERAPISTS \ - Dealing with your anxieties - Being yourself and self – disclosure - Avoiding perfectionism - Being honest about your limitations - Developing sense of humor - Declining your role as a counselor - Learning to use techniques appropriately pg. 3  COUN311 – INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING WEEK 2: ETHICAL ISSUES IN COUNSELING PRACTICE ETHICS o Most counseling professionals work within the context of their institutions The rules of conduct recognized in respect to ▪ Proper setting (conducive) a particular class of human actions or a o Counselors are likely to encounter particular group, cultural etc., situations where their ethical obligations overlap or conflict MANDATORY ETHICS The view of ethical practice that deals with the THE RIGHT OF INFORMED CONSENT minimum level of professional practice o APA ethics for psych (general) like for clinical and experiment This involves the right of clients to be informed o No one is above it (debriefing, about their therapy and make autonomous confidentiality) decisions pertaining to it o Respect, Dignity, Confidentiality Providing clients with information they need to make informed choices tend to promote active ASPIRATIONAL ETHICS cooperation of clients in their counseling plan A higher level of ethical practice that DIMENSIONS OF CONFIDENTIALITY addresses doing what is in the best interests of clients → Confidentiality o An ethical concept which states that what POSITIVE ETHICS ever is said between two persons will remain secret and will not be shared An approach taken by practitioners who want without consent to do their best for clients rather than simply meet minimum standards to stay out of The ethical standards state that the trouble. counselors should keep information o Combination of Mandatory and Applied confidential unless disclosure is required to Ethics prevent clear and imminent danger to the o Example: For extremely aggressive client and others. clients, you should put a standard or There are also instances when legal guidelines for them first before referring requirements demand that confidential them to higher ups or authorities. information be revealed The ethical standards also states that while → NOTE!!! the counselor’s primary obligation with an understanding of the legal inherent rights of o Specific ethical codes provide adequate the client guidelines for the ethical behavior in various situations encountered in Counselors are advised to explain the limits of counseling relationships confidentiality to clients so that they do not ▪ There is a standout ethics we will feel betrayed if confidentiality is broken follow while the mandatory ethics Here are some circumstances in which are guiding us information must legally be reported by counselors pg. 4  COUN311 – INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING o When the therapist believes a client under REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9258 the age of 16 is victim of incest, rape, child abuse, or some other crime “The Guidance and Counseling Law” o When the therapist determined that the An act professionalizing the practice of client needs hospitalization Guidance and Counseling and creating for o When information is made an issue in a this purpose a professional regulatory board court session of Guidance and Counseling o When clients request that their records be REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11036 released to them or to a third party “Mental Health Law” → The protective privilege of therapy ends An act establishing a National Mental Health when public peril begins – Dr. Todd Grande Policy for the purpose of enhancing the delivery of integrated mental health services. ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE PHILIPPINE GUIDANCE AND MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE COUNSELING ASSOCIATION (PGCA) Ethical practice requires that we take the The Accredited Professional Organization of clients’ cultural context into account in the Professional Regulation Commission counseling practice (PRC) for guidance and counseling. Consider ethnic and cultural factors in assessment and diagnosis MANAGING MULTIPLE RELATIONSHIPS Dual or multiple relationships, either sexual or nonsexual, occur when counselors assume two or more roles simultaneously or sequentially with a client. STEPS IN MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS - Identify the problem or dilemma - Identify the potential issues - Look for the relevant ethics codes for general guidance - Consider the applicable laws and regulations - Seek consultation from more than one source (supervisors etc.) - Brainstorm various possible courses of action - Choose the best possible course of action pg. 5