SECTION I: PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION

1. SECTION I:PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION • Chapter 1: The Counselor's Identity: What, Who, and How? • Chapter 2: The Counseling Profession’s Past, Present, and Future • Chapter 3: Standards in the Profession: Ethics, Accreditation, Credentialing and Multicultural/Social Justice Competencies

2. Chapter 1 The Counselor's Identity: What, Who, and How?

3. Defining Guidance • Guidance, Counseling and Psychotherapy: Variations on Same Theme? • Definitions • Guidance • Counseling • Psychotherapy • See Figure 1.1, p. 4

4. Comparison of Mental Health Professionals • The following PowerPoint slides lists a number of professionals in the field. For each, see if you can identify the following: • Major professional organization(s) • Major roles and functions • Names and types of credentials • Names of accrediting body associated with it

5. Comparison of Mental Health Professionals • Counselors • School Counselors • Clinical Mental Health Counselors (Agency Counselors) • Marriage, Couple, and Family Counselors • Student Affairs and College Counselors • Addiction Counselors • Rehabilitation Counselors • Pastoral Counselors

6. Comparison of Mental Health Professionals • Social Workers • Psychologists • Clinical Psychologists • Counseling Psychologists • School Psychologists • Psychiatrists • Psychoanalysts • Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses • Expressive Therapists • Human Service Practitioners • Psychotherapists

7. Professional Associations in Social Services • Benefits of: • National and regional conferences • Access to malpractice insurance • Lobbyists • Newsletters and journals • Mentoring and networking • Information on cutting-edge issues in the field • Codes of ethics and standards for practice • Job banks

8. Professional Associations in Social Services • ACA American Counseling Association • 19 Divisions of ACA (see pp. 12-13) • Associations Related to ACA • ACAIT: ACA Insurance Trust • ACAF: American Counseling Association Foundation CACREP: Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs • CORE: Council on Rehabilitation Education • NBCC: National Board for Certified Counselors • CSI: Chi Sigma Iota

9. Professional Associations in Social Services • ACA American Counseling Association (Cont’d) • Branches of ACA • 56 Branches • 50 state branches • Puerto Rico and Washington D. C. • Associations in Latin America • Four Regional Associations in U. S. • Membership Benefits of ACA (see Bottom of p. 14)

10. Professional Associations in Social Services • AATA: American Art Therapy Association • AAMFT: American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists • APA: American Psychiatric Association • APNA: American Psychiatric Nurses Association • APA: American Psychological Association • NASW: National Association of Social Workers • NOHS: National Organization for Human Services

11. Characteristics of the Effective Helper • 9 Common Factors • 6 “Working Alliance” • 3 “other:

12. The Nine Characteristics • Empathy • More than any other component, most related to positive client outcomes • See Rogers’ definition, p. 18 • A personal characteristic to embrace • A skill to learn (Chapter 5 will address this)

13. The Nine Characteristics • Acceptance • Sometimes called “Positive Regard” • Foundation for a therapeutic alliance • An attitude that regardless of what the client says, he or she will be respected • Suspension of judgment • In some manner, almost all counseling approaches stress acceptance of client and client acceptance of self

14. The Nine Characteristics • Genuineness • Refers to willingness of the therapist to be authentic, open, and honest within the helping relationship • Gelso and Carter: All counseling relationships have to deal with the “real relationship” between the counselor and client • Research on genuineness shows that it may be important in client outcomes • May be related to emotional intelligence (ability to monitor one’s emotions)

15. The Nine Characteristics • Embracing a wellness perspective • Counselors can easily become stressed, burnt out, have compassion fatigue, and experience vicarious traumatization • All of above can lead to countertransference • Myers and Sweeney suggest attending to: • Creative Self; Coping Self; Social Self; Essential Self; Physical Self • See table 1.1 page 21 • Personal Therapy? (85% of helpers have done it!) • Other ways?

16. The Nine Characteristics • Cultural Competence • Clients from nondominant groups are sometimes distrustful of counselors. • They are often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, find counseling unhelpful, attend counseling less frequently, and drop out more quickly. • Since culture influences ALL relationships, throughout this text, and especially in chapters 14 and 15, cultural competence will be discussed

17. The Nine Characteristics • Cultural Competence (Cont’d) • For now, consider D’Andrea and Daniel’s RESPECTFUL model: • R – Religious/spiritual identity • E – Economic class background • S – Sexual identity • P – Psychological development • E – Ethnic/racial identity • C – Chronological disposition • T – Trauma and other threats to their personal well-being • F – Family history • U – Unique physical characteristics • L – Language and location of residence

18. The Nine Characteristics • The “It” Factor • The unique way that each therapist has of working with clients. • Using your unique personality to connect with the client and build a working relatinoship. • What is your “it” factor?

19. The Nine Characteristics • Compatibility with and Belief in a Theory • As counselors, we have to find a theory that “fits” our personality style • Helpers are usually attracted to theories that they find comfortable. • The more you feel comfortable, like, and understand your theory, the more you will believe in it. • Strong belief in a theory helps clients believe in the helper’s approach and yields better client outcomes

20. The Nine Characteristics • Competence • Counselor expertise (mastery) has been shown to be a crucial element for client success in counseling • Perceived incompetence is often sensed by clients • Demonstrated through helper’s desire to: • Join professional associations • Mentoring and supervising • Reading professional journals • Continuing education • More!

21. The Nine Characteristics • Competence (Cont’d) • Shown throughout ACA’s ethical code: • practicing within one’s boundary of competence • practicing only in one’s specialty areas • accepting employment only for qualified positions • monitoring one’s effectiveness • knowing when to consult with others • keep current by attending continuing education activities • don’t offer services if physically or emotionally impaired • assure proper transfer of cases when incapacitated or leaves a practice (ACA, 2005, Standard C.2)

22. The Nine Characteristics • Cognitive Complexity • Cognitive complexity means you are a: • Helper who believes in your theory but able to question it • Critical thinker • Helper who views the world from multiple perspectives • Likely more empathic, open, and self-aware • Better able to cure “ruptures” in the counseling relationship • Person who is not seeking “truth” • A person who does seek the best way to help your client • Hopefully, your program will support you and challenge you to view situations in new and complex ways.

23. Multicultural/Social Justice Focus • Inclusion of Multiculturalism in the Profession • Small number of person from culturally diverse groups entering counseling profession • We all need to make the helping professions attractive for people of color • To become culturally competent, all counselors must: • Learn counseling strategies that work for all clients • Work with client s from diverse backgrounds • Gain a deep appreciation for diversity • Acquire an identity as a counselor that includes a multicultural perspective

24. Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues • Knowing Who We Are and Our Relationship To Other Professionals • Professional identity gives us a sense of who we are, and who we are not. • Helps us know: • how to practice only within our areas of competence • when to consult with other, related mental health professionals • when to refer clients because of our lack of expertise • when to refer clients due to lack of cross-cultural knowledge and skills with some clients

25. Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues • Impaired Mental Health Professionals • We have a responsibility to know when an impairment will negatively affect our clients • Know to seek help for our problems • Know when to “limit, suspend, or terminate” work if our impairment negatively affects others • Impairment can lead to incompetence • Incompetence is unethical and can be illegal and lead to malpractice suits

26. The Counselor in Process • Personal Therapy and Related Growth Experiences • Can you understand your client if you have never sat in his shoes (been in counseling)? • Counseling prevents countertransference • Counseling helps you develop as a counselor • Other ways of growing: prayer, meditation, relaxation exercises, exercise, reading, other??? • We can grow personally and professionally throughout our lives