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M2 Discussion: Personal Conflicts and Values In human service practice, the therapist-client relationship is influenced by many different factors. It is essentially a two-way street, in which both parties - the therapist and the client - play equally important but different roles. Each brings their own experiences, beliefs, and attitudes to the counseling relationship, even when doing so is unintentional. Main Response For this discussion, we will focus on the ways in which the therapist's personal values and conflicts can affect the counseling relationship. Develop a main response in which you: · Identify the possible ways in which a counselor's unresolved personal conflicts may affect his/her work with clients. · Summarize what the ethical codes suggest about a counselor's personal values and the he/she does related to values in the therapeutic process. · Explain how personal values regarding sexuality might help or hinder a counselor from making effective contact with clients. · Discuss the relationship between self-compassion and the ability to take care of others. This reading below can help for the first bullet. · Chapter 2: The Counselor as a Person and as a Professional: 2-2b Personal Problems and Conflicts Book Title: Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions Printed By: Alexandra Rios (
[email protected]) © 2019 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning · 2-2b Personal Problems and Conflicts · Mental health professionals can and should be aware of their unresolved problems and conflicts. Personal therapy may reduce the intensity connected with these problems, yet it is not realistic to believe that such problems are ever fully resolved. Clearly, then, we are not implying that therapists should have resolved all their personal difficulties before they begin to counsel others. Indeed, such a requirement would eliminate most of us from the field. In fact, a counselor who rarely struggles may have real difficulty relating to a client who feels desperate or is caught in a hopeless conflict. The critical point is not whether you happen to be struggling with personal problems but how you are dealing with problems you face. · Reflect on the following questions: Do you recognize and try to deal with your problems, or do you invest a lot of energy in denying that you have problems? Do you find yourself blaming others for your problems? Are you willing to consult with a therapist, or do you tell yourself that you can handle it, even when it becomes obvious that you are not doing so? · When you are in denial of your own problems, you will most likely be unable to pay attention to the concerns of your clients, especially if their problem areas are similar to yours. Suppose a client is trying to deal with feelings of hopelessness and despair. How can you explore these feelings if in your own life you are denying them? Or consider a client who wants to explore her feelings about her sexual orientation. Can you facilitate this exploration if you feel uncomfortable talking about sexual identity issues and do not want to deal with your discomfort? Sometimes it can be difficult to identify strengths and weaknesses. We encourage you to ask colleagues, peers, and your personal counselor for honest feedback as to how they perceive you and what they see as your strengths and areas needing further work for you as a person and a professional. Asking for this type of feedback requires courage, yet doing so can be an illuminating experience and well worth the effort. When engaged in this discussion, willingly suspend any tendency to be defensive. Reflect on the information shared and create a plan to learn from it, integrate it, make changes, and move forward. · You will have difficulty helping a client in an area that you are reluctant to look at in your own life. It is important to recognize the topics that make you uncomfortable, not just with clients, but in your personal life as well. Knowing that your discomfort will most probably impede your work with a client can supply the motivation for you to change and to realize that you also have an ethical responsibility to be present with your clients. One of the gifts of being a counselor is that it is a career choice that can lead us to becoming better versions of ourselves. This reading can help with the fourth bullet: Chapter 2: The Counselor as a Person and as a Professional: 2-8 Maintaining Vitality Through Self-Care Book Title: Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions Printed By: Alexandra Rios (
[email protected]) © 2019 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning 2-8 Maintaining Vitality Through Self-Care LO7Develop a personal strategy for ongoing self-care Self-care refers to positive actions that promote wellness and effective coping. Stated broadly, “self-care includes routine positive practices and mindful attention to one’s physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual selves in the context of one’s personal and professional lives” (Wise & Barnett, 2016, p. 210). Professional work suffers when self-care is neglected, which makes self-care a basic tenet of ethical practice. Competence is an ethical obligation and provides a major link between ethics and self-care (Wise et al., 2012). To work in a competent and ethical manner, clinicians need to acquire and regularly practice self-care and wellness strategies. Ongoing self-care is an essential part of a therapist’s professional competence and personal wellness program (Barnett et al., 2006; Wise & Barnett, 2016; Wise et al., 2012). Awareness of our current wellness state is a fundamental component in maintaining personal wellness and promoting wellness in others. Our ability to serve others as counselors is connected to our ability to promote wellness in our own life (Blount, Lambie, & Kissinger, 2016). People who take care of themselves and maintain social and personal networks are more likely to demonstrate concern for others. Good self-care is associated with improved ethical behavior (Knapp et al., 2015). If we take care of ourselves, we are more able to take care of our clients (Barnett, 2017a). If we do not practice self-care, eventually we will not have the stamina required to be present with our clients. “Becoming and being a resilient practitioner is about wellness. Our own wellness is necessary so we can marshal the enormous energy necessary for the work with our clients” (Skovholt, 2012, p. 140). A proliferation of recent literature emphasizes that it is critical for mental health professionals to incorporate proactive self-care strategies in their life. In a key article in the American Psychologist, Walsh (2011) outlined a comprehensive review of therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLCs) to promote wellness for clients. Walsh’s self-care strategies are an extremely useful wellness approach for mental health practitioners as well. Considerable research and clinical evidence supports these therapeutic lifestyle changesSelf-care strategies to promote wellness such as exercise, nutrition and diet, time in nature, relationships, recreation, relaxation, stress management, religious or spiritual involvement, and service to others: exercise, nutrition and diet, time in nature, relationships, recreation, relaxation, stress management, religious or spiritual involvement, and service to others. Walsh states that TLCs are sometimes as effective as either psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy, and they offer significant therapeutic advantages such as enhancing health and well-being. Although there is evidence for the efficacy of therapeutic lifestyle changes, Walsh contends that TLCs are insufficiently appreciated, taught, or used. This model specifically incorporates elements of mindfulness, spirituality, and positive psychology as ways to promote physical and psychological health. Mindfulness, acceptance and commitment therapy, and positive psychology all stress positive principles and practices for self-care (Wise et al., 2012). Mindfulness refers to a way of being aware of our thoughts, emotions, and sensations as they arise in us. A nonstriving attitude, which is accessible through various mindfulness techniques, reduces reactivity to distressing emotions and thoughts, leading to a more adaptive mode of consciousness (Brown, Marquis, & Guiffrida, 2013). Mindfulness practices helped counselor trainees relate to themselves and others with increased authenticity, acceptance, and empathy, and these practices fostered compassion for self and empathy for others (Campbell & Christopher, 2012). Clients can benefit from a counselor’s mindfulness practices even though clients are not practicing mindfulness themselves and are unaware that the counselor is practicing mindfulness (Brown et al., 2013). Through the practice of mindfulness, counselors learn the pathway to compassion, which embodies the personal characteristics associated with therapeutic presence. Patsiopoulos and Buchanan (2011) point out that little research addresses self-compassionInvolves developing attitudes of caring, being nonjudgmental, being accepting, and being kind to ourselves. Self-compassion can enhance counselor well-being, counselor effectiveness in the workplace, and therapeutic relationships with clients, which involves developing attitudes of caring, being nonjudgmental, being accepting, and being kind to ourselves. Self-compassion can enhance counselor well-being, counselor effectiveness in the workplace, and therapeutic relationships with clients. Patsiopoulos and Buchanan conclude: “Our hope is that the practice of self-compassion by counselors will facilitate compassionate and healing workplace environments, in which counselors care for themselves and each other, while providing quality client care” (p. 306). Neff’s (2011) work on self-compassion strongly suggests that people who are more self-compassionate lead healthier, more productive lives than those who are self-critical. Neff’s research shows that self-compassion enables us to see ourselves clearly and to make changes that lead to fulfillment. If we are able to create a compassionate way of being for ourselves, we stand a good chance of demonstrating compassion toward our clients. If you are interested in reading more on self-compassion, we recommend Self-Compassion: Stop Beating Up on Yourself and Leave Insecurity Behind by Kristin Neff (2011). Chapter 2: The Counselor as a Person and as a Professional: 2-8 Maintaining Vitality Through Self-Care Book Title: Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions Printed By: Alexandra Rios (
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