Essay Issues and Ethics in The "Helping" Professions

How does one develop a professional identity? What characteristics are need to be considered to professional? The world is full of individual who aspire to reach a certain level of professional identity and counselors are no different. As a professional counselor, we are called to help clients to deal with various issues that include stress management, addictions, marital problems, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, self-esteem problems, etc. The insights and information that we provide to our clients during their sessions will have enabled them to make positive choices and bring about changes that are crucial in assisting them to realize their future goals. At the end of the counseling sessions, we anticipate that the client would have been helped to rectify or prevent conflicts. In an environment where an infinite number of problems are presented and solutions developed, counselors face countless ethical dilemmas. This paper briefly describes how I plan to create my professional identity as a professional counselor.

Once upon a time being a therapist was considered a calling. The images of a counselor sitting back in their comfy cushioned chairs listening to hours and hours of patient's dilemmas, heartaches and mental health issues have been replaced with the hard cold facts that therapists today are

Corey G., Corey, M. S., Corey, C., & Callanan, P. (2014). Issues and ethics in the helping

As a counselor, being aware of the theoretical approaches and which ones best suit your perspective on human nature, complications, and change for an individual is vital. Not only is understanding the approaches important, but the counselor’s own values and personal philosophy are equally fundamental for the counselor to do their job efficiently.

It is the responsibility of a human service professional to guide the client through the entire process which will prove to be easier due to the relationship that was initially established. Kilpatrick and Holland writes about the importance of building a positive relationship within the family during the initial. This will allow the human service provider to introduce alliance not only with the therapist, but with the family system as well. The text note during the first visit the counselors’ task is to ensure the client is counseling include being educated in regards to the expectation, responsibilities and role of all parties involved and regarding the confidentiality of shared information (2009, p. 106).

The Self-Inventory test for chapter one is a series of questions that ask about how one views Counselors as a person and a professional. Some of these questions were simple to answer because there is already a strong opinion towards the context. Others, however, were much trickier to answer. Mainly because I have not thought about the certain circumstance that was presented before.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ethics as the rules of behavior based on ideas of what is morally good and bad. According to Webster ethics is also defined as the principles of conduct governing an individual or group. Almost every profession abides by certain rules and regulations that protects not only the professional but the client or patient that the profession serves. These rules and regulations guide the professional and try and prevent decisions that might be detrimental to both parties. These rules and regulations are designed to protect the interests of the clients and avoid malpractice lawsuits of certain degrees. This research paper will concentrate on ethical issues in the field of the counseling profession. Even though Licensed Professional Counselors go through rigorous training courses and ethics training occurs at almost every counseling subject’s introduction, there are still counseling malpractice incidents. Most of the literature explains that most challenges professional counselors face occur when their professional code of ethics conflict with their own personal values. Most recently, legal cases such as Keeton vs. Anderson-Wiley, 2010 and Ward vs. Willbanks, 2010 have brought the counseling profession into the limelight. Most LPC do not view the ACA code of ethics as simple

I got the opportunity to interview two distinct professional counselors. I will be discussing their similarities and differences in their professional careers; Based on their professional identity, approach to therapy orientation, work setting as well as discussing unique experiences they have encountered. The interview experience was very insightful in understanding the work environment for counselors across the board is very diverse. Moreover, it was a great incredulity to my ignorance of the daily duties of a counselor on a daily basis. I had the privilege to interview two very distinct therapists with different licensure and outlook in their field.

Mental health counseling as distinct helping profession is relatively new when compared to other mental health disciplines Carmichael and Erford, (2014). In addition, the general public as well as professional counselors is often perplexed by and has difficulty ascertaining the true meaning, purpose and intentions of what counseling is, what it is not and how it differs from other closely related helping professions. I had the opportunity to interview a clinical mental health counselor who based on his experience, and what I’ve learned throughout my course this semester will help me to gain a better understanding of what this profession actually stands for. Throughout this paper I will reflect on the legal; and ethical issues professional counselors

Examine how the values, beliefs, and assumptions of the helping professional and client influence therapeutic work. a. Self-assessment

Counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals (Carmichael and Erford, 2014).I had to learn what it meant to be a counselor in order to decide if it was a path that I was willing to go down. I have learned a lot over the last 10 weeks from wellness strategies, writing clear and concisely and making ethical decisions. I also learned how essential is was to participate in supervision, seek a consult and make sure that my treatment is evidenced based as well effective for the client. I also conducted an interview with a mental health counselor. This paper will take you through

The American Counseling Association defines professional counseling as “a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals” (ACA, 2015). Professional counselors work jointly with clients to help them identify goals and create a plan to reach those goals. Through sessions with a client, a counselor will help the individual(s) to work through solutions to problems that are causing disorder, learn effective communication skills to cope with those problems, and to increase self-esteem that will foster a healthier lifestyle. Counselors provide their clients with support and encouragement through an approachable and

Values play an integral role when it comes to matters concerning therapy. Corey, Corey, Corey, and Callanan (2015) noted that values permeates every facet of therapy since therapists’ values can affect the clients, clients’ values can impact the therapist, and a conflict of values may arise between the two parties. Values are simply items of worth. Individuals define themselves by the values that they attach to different things such as family, relationships, love, and so forth. Since values help individuals to find worth in their pursuits, they play a central role in marriage and family therapy as they can help the therapist to chart

Licensed professional counselors have a unique occupation in that not only do they interact with their clients on a highly personal level, but they also momentarily share their client’s burdens, worries, and concerns. This vicarious aspect of counseling creates the possibility for a counselor to continue sharing the client’s troubles long after the session has ended. According to Norcross and Guy (2007), “The person of the psychotherapist is inextricably intertwined with treatment success” (p. 2) meaning that if we desire more positive outcomes than negative ones we must figuratively become one with our clients. Due to this fact, “self-care is not simply a personal matter but also an ethical necessity, a moral imperative” (p. 6). If we fail to leave work at work at the day’s end, then other facets of our lives are in jeopardy of becoming tainted.

Clear definitions also help to prevent conflict due to misunderstanding. Many clients come into therapy with the same expectations with which they walk into the physician’s office: they relay their problems, and the expert will prescribe a fix to make the pain disappear. While anything is possible through the power of the Spirit, as the American Counseling Association (2017) defines counseling as, “…a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals” (paragraph 2). The power in counseling is in the process of relationship building that empowers clients to process and grow out of their