summary
12 front
new times roman
double space
Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions
Tenth Edition
Chapter 2
The Counselor as a Person and as a Professional
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
1
Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
2-1 Appreciate the role of counselor self-awareness in ethical practice
2-2 Provide a rationale for the importance of personal therapy for counselors
2-3 Clarify how countertransference can be an ethical concern
2-4 View client dependence as a potential ethical problem
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
2
Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
2-5 Describe the main sources of stress that counselors must address
2-6 Understand how stress can lead to therapist impairment
2-7 Develop a personal strategy for ongoing self-care
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
3
The Counselor as a Person and Professional
Counselors must be aware of the influence of their own personality and needs.
Examples of personal needs of counselors based on unresolved personal conflicts:
Need to tell people what to do
Strong desire to relieve all pain from clients
Need to have all answers and be perfect
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
4
Personal Therapy for Counselors
Beneficial to both trainees and experienced practitioners
It is a necessary form of ongoing self-care
Reasons for participating:
To explore your values and motivations for becoming a helper
How your needs influence your actions and how you use power in your life
To identify and explore your blind spots and potential areas of countertransference
For remediation purposes
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
5
Transference
The process whereby clients project onto their therapists past feelings or attitudes they had toward significant people in their lives
The “unreal” relationship in therapy:
Counselors need to be aware of their personal reactions to a client’s transference.
All reactions of clients to a therapist are not to be considered as transference.
Dealing appropriately with transference is an ethical issue.
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
6
Countertransference
The therapist’s total emotional response to a client including feelings, associations, fantasies, and fleeting images
Occurs when clinicians:
demonstrate inappropriate affect.
respond in highly defensive ways.
lose their objectivity because their own conflicts are triggered.
Can be either a constructive or a destructive element in the therapeutic relationship
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
7
Examples of Countertransference
Being overprotective with a client
Treating clients in benign ways
Rejecting a client
Needing constant reinforcement and approval
Seeing yourself in your clients
Developing sexual or romantic feelings for a client
Giving advice compulsively
Desiring a social relationship with clients
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
8
Client Dependence
A temporary dependence is not necessarily problematic.
An ethical issue occurs when counselors encourage and promote dependence.
It can manifest in subtle ways:
Counselors may keep clients dependent.
Termination can be delayed.
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
9
Stress in the Counseling Profession
Counseling can be a hazardous profession and lead to empathy fatigue.
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
10
Sources of Stress
Some sources of stress for counselors:
Feeling they are not helping their clients
Accept full responsibility for clients’ progress
Feeling pressure to quickly solve clients’ problems
Extremely high personal goals and perfectionistic strivings
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
11
Counselor Burnout and Impairment
Burnout:
A state of physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual depletion characterized by feelings of helplessness and hopelessness
Impairment:
The presence of a chronic illness or severe psychological depletion that is likely to prevent a professional from delivering effective services
Results in consistently functioning below acceptable practice standards
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
12
Maintaining Vitality as a Counselor (1 of 3)
Sustaining the personal self is an ethical obligation
Personal vitality is a prerequisite to functioning in a professional role
Ongoing self-care is an essential part of professional competence and personal wellness
Self-Care: Positive actions that promote wellness and effective coping
Includes routine positive practices and mindful attention to one’s physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual selves
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
13
Maintaining Vitality as a Counselor (2 of 3)
Therapeutic lifestyle changes
Exercise, nutrition, and diet
Recreation and time in nature
Relationships
Relaxation and stress management
Religious or spiritual involvement
Service to others
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
14
Maintaining Vitality as a Counselor (3 of 3)
Clients can benefit from a counselor’s mindfulness practices even if clients are not practicing mindfulness themselves.
Self-compassion can enhance counselor well-being, counselor effectiveness in the workplace, and therapeutic relationships with clients.
Copyright © 2019 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.
15