The world of the Counselor An introduction to the counseling profession 5e chapter 1

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

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Chapter 2: The Counseling Profession’s Past, Present, and
Future

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Chapter 3: Standards in the Profession: Ethics, Accreditation,
Credentialing and Multicultural/Social Justice Competencies

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The Counselor's Identity:
What, Who, and How?

© 2007 Thomson Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning

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Guidance, Counseling and Psychotherapy: Variations on

Same Theme?
Definitions
 Guidance
 Counseling
 Psychotherapy
▪ See Figure 1.1, p. 4

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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

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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

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Social Workers

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Psychoanalysts

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Psychologists
 Clinical Psychologists
 Counseling
Psychologists
 School Psychologists

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Psychiatric-Mental Health
Nurses

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Expressive Therapists

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Human Service Practitioners

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Psychotherapists

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Psychiatrists

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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9 Common Factors
 6 “Working Alliance”
 3 “other:

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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)

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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

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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)

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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?

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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

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Cultural Competence (Cont’d)
 For now, consider D’Andrea and Daniel’s RESPECTFUL model:
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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

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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?

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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

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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!

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

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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.

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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:
1.Learn counseling strategies that work for all clients
2.Work with client s from diverse backgrounds
3.Gain a deep appreciation for diversity
4.Acquire an identity as a counselor that includes a
multicultural perspective

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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

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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

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