Reflection on Counselor Ethical Boundaries and Practices
A Counselor-in-Training (CIT) may demonstrate self-reflection and self-care in a variety of ways. CITs should have a supervisor and peers with whom they can confer to maintain self-awareness in the counseling room, maintain their own therapist to help them work through issues of counter-transference and vicarious trauma, and have consistent regimen of practices which help them maintain their self care. These practices should consist of physical activities, hobbies, and meditation/somatic practices to promote healthy psychological and emotional fitness.
Counselors-in-Training honor and embrace cultural diversity, responsiveness, and sensitivity by working in every therapeutic interaction to ensure that the dignity and worth of each individual is upheld and valued within the framework of their own background and contexts. Additionally, CITs will work to obtain training for competency in this area at every opportunity and will, to the best of their ability, attempt to understand each individual’s culture, spirituality, and values.
Counselors-in-Training acknowledge how their cultural identity impacts their relationships with others by using their self-awareness to avoid pushing their own culture, spirituality, and values onto others, by ensuring that they understand the impact of power and privilege on cultural identity and opportunity, and working at every opportunity to do their part in supporting the eradication of oppression, discrimination, and prejudice.
Counselors-in-Training demonstrated open mindedness in their words and deeds through ensuring that they engage in ambiguity in these various contexts, that they are able to problem solve with innovative solutions in contexts that are challenging, that they take initiative to to bring opportunities into their lives that help them to engage regularly in culturally diverse contexts, that when they engage in these culturally diverse contexts they are able to maintain the ability to change their perspectives and are able to recognize the simultaneous existence of multiple valid perspectives.
Reflection on Growth in Self-Awareness
As a counselor-in-training, I demonstrate authenticity in relation to myself and others by constantly evaluating my personal psychological, mental, spiritual, and emotional health through journaling, my personal thought processes, and consultation with supervisors and peers.
As a counselor-in-training, I bracket my personal beliefs and values off in the counseling room and in relationship with clients whenever I encounter beliefs/belief systems/lifestyles that are not congruent with my own. My first priority is to understand, listen, and demonstrate empathy towards these clients and then once understood, to provide a safe space for the client to hold these things in safety.
Counselors-in-Training demonstrate respect for autonomy in themselves and others by engaging in body language that communicates their flexibility and active listening skills with each individual, and by ensuring that they always honor the boundaries which they themselves or others have put into place.
Counselors-in-Training practice acceptance in multiple contexts by being faithful to engage in the practices of supervision and consultation on a regular basis, ensuring they respect the decisions made by others and how those decisions were arrived at, working to gather clinical data to inform their treatment plans, ensuring they seek out further understanding whenever necessary, and working to make sure they have clarification regarding their role and its limitations in relation to others.
Counselors-in-Training demonstrate amiability in multiple contexts through a process of ensuring that they care for themselves with regular self-care methods, that they are able to honor and comprehend the valuable process of using a treatment plan in the clinical setting, that they demonstrate the ability to make sure they comprehend their own self and they they engage in their own therapeutic process with another therapist when necessary, and that they see opportunities to attend regular trainings which can help them to grow in their cultural competencies.
Counselors-in-Training practice acceptance in multiple contexts by being faithful to engage in the practices of supervision and consultation on a regular basis, ensuring they respect the decisions made by others and how those decisions were arrived at, working to gather clinical data to inform their treatment plans, ensuring they seek out further understanding whenever necessary, and working to make sure they have clarification regarding their role and its limitations in relation to others.
Counselors-in-Training demonstrate that they are continuously seeing mentorship and supervision by consistently practice the ability to use wise and ethical behavior that conforms to the ACA Code of Ethics at such times that they are faced with dilemmas of an ethical nature and that they are able to participate in the practice of self reflection after this process. CITs also demonstrate that they are continuously seeking mentorship and supervision in a wise manner by ensuring they only disclose confidential information if or when there is a compelling professional or legal reason for doing so. CITs who engage in mentorship and supervision ensure that they seek out advice and criticism from other professionals for their growth process and then modify their therapy process based on this advice and/or criticism.
Furthermore, CITs demonstrate engagement in continuing education regarding current trends and professional practices by attending trainings at every opportunity, that they are keeping up their membership in valid professional organizations, and they they are continuously working to ensure their understanding and ability to uphold all the pertinent procedures, laws, and regulations which pertain to their clinical and professional practice.
Steve Schmidt 