It goes without saying that working with clients efficiently presupposes understanding personal knowledge and skills within a particular area of expertise. As my area is marital counseling, expertise within it includes relationship and couples counseling, individual counseling, pre-marital counseling, family therapy, child and adolescent counseling, sexual education, and divorce-related parenting planning. That is why I feel that I require additional training dedicated to the management of healthy relationships and successful preparation for marriage to use the Prepare/Enrich assessment or work as a Certified Facilitator (“About,” n.d.). Prepare/Enrich is an evidence-based program founded by family science pioneers Dr. David Olson and his wife in 1980 as a framework for clergy and marital counselors (“About,” n.d.). Applying it, competent counselors help couples prepare for both first marriage and re-engagement, enrich existing relationships, and improve relationship satisfaction. In addition, due to its continuous development and updating, this tool keeps counselors informed about the reality of relationships to provide quality and relevant service.
From a personal perspective, such areas as physical and psychological abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health or mental health illness should be included in my competencies. In other words, I should be able to define these concepts and understand their factors to provide help. For instance, re-marriage for single parents may be regarded as an extremely responsible decision as a split family should not impact children’s mental health and emotional well-being in a negative way (Deal, 2012). That is why a counselor should be able to analyze information received from clients and check the presence of indicators of abuse or disorders. Moreover, problems in relationships are frequently connected with one partner’s inappropriate behavior or addictions. It goes without saying that in the majority of such cases, psychological and medical interventions are required; however, a counselor may prompt what factors lead to these issues and direct another partner’s actions for their mitigation.
At the same time, as a counselor, I should follow the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics to ensure that my practice complies with the highest level of expertise. Thus, according to it, respect for clients’ rights, privacy, confidentiality, and diversity or cultural considerations is paramount (American Counseling Association, 2014). In addition, I have a right to practice only within my competence boundaries based on “education, training, supervised experience, state and national professional credentials, and appropriate professional experience” (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 8). However, the Code of Ethics emphasizes the significance of continuing education to reach and maintain an appropriate level of awareness (American Counseling Association, 2014). That is why I may educate myself in the areas outside my field of expertise without applying it to practice to improve its quality and remain open to new information, methods, and procedures.
Nevertheless, I feel that my competencies require improvement, and there are multiple aspects of ethics that need my particular attention. For instance, in particular cases, it is challenging to stay impartial and unbiased, especially when a client’s issue is familiar. However, a counselor acts unethically when he imposes his own attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors, “especially when the counselor’s values are inconsistent with the client’s goals or are discriminatory in nature” (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 5). Instead, quality help implies attentive listening, the analysis of the case on the basis of knowledge and skills, and relevant counseling with respect to a client’s individual and cultural peculiarities.
References
About (n.d.). Prepare-Enrich. Web.
American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA Code of Ethics [PDF document]. American Counseling Association. Web.
Deal, R. L. (2012). Dating and the single parent. Bethany House Publishers.