Counselors' Legal and Ethical Viewpoints
NOTE FOR THE WRITER: Please read full instructions
As a future counselor, it is important to have a plan for continued professional growth as well as an understanding of the required counseling dispositions. Additionally, it is considered good practice for professional counselors to join a professional counseling organization. Research a professional organization that you might join, such as the American Counseling Association (ACA), your state’s counseling association, or another relevant professional organization.
Write a 1,200-1,750-word paper in the third person about the ethical and legal considerations of the developing counselor to include professional organizations and a plan for continued professional growth. Save this assignment for your e-portfolio that will be submitted later in the program. Include the following in your paper:
Ethical and Legal Viewpoint
• Volunteerism: What standards do counselors need to uphold in a voluntary position or providing free/pro bono work?
• Self-Disclosure: Should counselors disclose personal information to a client? If so, when and how is it appropriate?
• Objectivity: Why is it important for counselors to remain objective with clients?
• Self-Care: How can counselors prevent professional burnout?
• Spirituality: How can counselors maintain spirituality in and out of practice?
• Counseling Dispositions: A review of three counseling dispositions as well as an analysis in regard to personal strengths and challenges in regard to the selected dispositions.
Professional Organization Review
A professional organization overview that includes the following:
• Membership benefits, available activities, and/or services to members.
• Current issues addressed by the organization that is relevant to the counseling profession. Note: These items are usually listed on the association’s website, but you may research elsewhere for one or two current issues in the field. Examples of current issues could include lobbying efforts for particular populations or specialties in the field, proposed or changing laws/regulations, high-profile court cases involving ethical violations, or the like.
When writing the paper, consider the following level-one APA headings to help organize the content:
• Ethical and Legal Viewpoint
• Professional Organization Review
A comprehensive reference page that lists the sources used should be included at the end of the document. The paper should be written in the third person.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
This performance assessment assesses the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for Professional Counseling Orientation & Ethical Practice.
This assignment is informed by the following CACREP Standards:
1.M. Before or at the beginning of the first term of enrollment in the academic unit, the program provides a new student orientation during which a student handbook is disseminated and discussed, students’ ethical and professional obligations and personal growth expectations as counselors-in-training are explained, and eligibility for licensure/certification is reviewed.
1.N. The student handbook includes (2) information about professional counseling organizations.
2.F.1.f. Professional counseling organizations, including membership benefits, activities, services to members, and current issues.
Topic 4 Participation
GO TO DISCUSSION
Mental Health Counseling
Student Name
University
Course
Professor Name
Date
Mental Health Counseling
Future counselors must plan for continued professional growth and understand the required counseling dispositions. Additionally, they need to join relevant professional counseling organizations. This paper outlines a counselor's various legal and ethical viewpoints, which cover volunteerism, self-disclosure, objectivity, spirituality, self-care, and counseling dispositions. Second, the paper will review a professional organization, including membership benefits and current issues addressed by the organization.
Ethical and Legal Viewpoint
Ethical and legal issues are common across all professions and disciplines. As such, future counselors are mandated to study the ethical and legal issues that they will be facing in the future. In many cases, these legal and ethical provisions are contained in professional bodies, including the American Counseling Association (ACA), which defines counselors' expectations and best practices.
Volunteerism
Volunteerism can be described as giving back to the community while developing social skills. It is a selfless sacrifice that allows counselors to offer free work or pro bono. The standards counselors must uphold during volunteerism are outlined in the 2014 ACA code of ethics, which expresses that counselors should contribute to society by devoting a part of their professional practice to unpaid services or those with little financial return (Bray, 2021). These standards fall under several broad categories, including counseling relationships, confidentiality and privacy, professional responsibility, resolving ethical issues, distance counseling and technology, and relationship with colleges. Regarding counseling relationships, counselors must create and sustain counselor-client relationships built on trust. Counselors must also obtain informed consent and respect the patient’s privacy and confidentiality, which comprises Section B of the ACA code of ethics. This section addresses issues such as information sharing and storage of records, and standards are set for counselors.
Self-Disclosure
Self-disclosure entails passing on information about oneself to someone else. In this case, it entails a counselor revealing personal information to a client. Scientific studies have explored whether or not to disclose personal information to clients and the extent to which self-disclosure should be done. Empirical findings indicate that immediate self-disclosure at the within-client and between-clients levels produce better counseling outcomes (Alfi-Yogev et al., 2020). These findings express the need for self-disclosure, especially in high pre-session client distress. Self-disclosure before sessions can help foster a positive relationship with a patient and lead to a successful counseling session. Deeper intimate relationships may lead to more self-disclosure, which means that there are appropriate levels of disclosure that counselors should observe. The rationale is that sometimes self-disclosure does not go as planned, and counselors should not become too personal with clients.
Spirituality
Spiritual can be defined as searching for transcendent meaning or believing in greater existence outside humankind. Even though it is linked with religion, spirituality tends to go beyond religion as it connects individuals with something larger, including the universe. Counselors can use several techniques to maintain spirituality in and out of practice. Examples include prayers during sessions and directing clients to pray. In this case, both the counselor and the client engage their spirituality. Counselors can also undertake such practices as reading scriptures to help reinforce emotional and mental habits. Forgiveness protocols and spiritual journaling can help counselors remain engaged with their spirituality. Other practices include meditation, spiritual reading, spending time in nature, and mindful breathing. It is important to acknowledge that there are no standard measures, and most of these practices are only recommendations.
Objectivity
Counselors should remain objective with their clients since it facilitates building relationships between the client and the counselor. The rationale is that counselors who inflict their beliefs and value systems risk damaging the counseling relationship. In essence, a client who is not happy with being pushed to adopt different values may develop diminished self-confidence and lose the desire for further treatment. Objectivity means eliminating biases and accommodating the clients' views and perspectives. Objectivity gives clients freedom and space to communicate challenging subjects without fear of the counselor’s judgment. A self-aware counselor remains open to other people’s values and understands that the main purpose of the counseling practice is to achieve clients’ well-being and not to propagate one’s values and beliefs.
Self-Care
Self-care is critical...