Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(Counselling Studies)
Ethical Issues
Power & The Disadvantage
Topic 4 – Counsellor Heal Thyself
Counsellor Heal Thyself
Competence Malpractice
CONTENT
Credentialing
Method of identifying Licensure refers to the more
individuals by occupational rigorous form of regulation
group.
in that only those who are
Types in counselling are
licensed may practice the
certification, licensure and
registration.
profession in a state.
Maintaining Competence
Continuing Education – The counsellors recognize the need for
continuing education to maintain awareness of current scientific and
professional information.
Peer Review
Peer consultation or peer supervision groups are useful for
counsellors at all levels of experience and offer many benefits to
counsellors. They include mutual support; objective feedback in
dealing with countertransference issues; information on therapeutic
techniques, new research and referral sources; and help in dealing
with difficult cases, stress and the isolation often experienced by
private practitioners.
Peer Review
Making Referrals – Ethical counsellors recognize that they will need to
refer a client when accepting or continuing to work with that client
would exceed their boundaries of competence. Clients who might be
better served by a referral are include a reluctance to disappoint a
valued source of referrals, financial pressure to increase your client load
when business has been slow, or the ego-enhancing nature of requests
from clients who hold exaggerated beliefs about your talents and
abilities to help them.
Counsellor Incompetence
Distress, Burnout and Impaired have been used somewhat
interchangeably in the counselling literature. These might
be better viewed as ranging along a continuum from the
least to most serious in relation to their impact on
competent professional performance.
Counsellor Incompetence
Counsellors be aware of warning signs of impairment.
Some of the most common symptoms are listed below :
Deterioration in personal relationships, including marital
problems and family dysfunction
Becoming isolated and withdrawn from others
Feelings of disillusionment with the profession
Emotional distancing during counselling sessions
Alcohol and drug abuse
Changes in work habits as increased tardiness and
absenteeism
Moodiness, depression and symptoms of anxiety
Procedural errors and sloppy record keeping
Malpractice
Suicidal Clients
When a client threatens to commit suicide, Confidentiality
requirements are waived when disclosure is necessary to
protect clients or others from serious and foreseeable
harm.
Clients threaten harm to others, the counsellor’s first
responsibiltiy is to determine that a particular client is in
danger of attempting suicide. A counsellor’s determination
of a client’s level of risk must be based on clinical
observations, not on test results.
Documenting the steps is essential.
Consulting with colleagues could be very helpful.
Action plan to follow if you determine that an adult client
may be risk for suicide.
Contacting and documenting your consultation with the
mental health professional who determined your client was
not at risk for suicide, or was no longer at risk, are vital.
Malpractice