Week five class one

Assignment one

Discussion – Week 5 Due June 26

COLLAPSE

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Ethical Responsibility

The American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) are two organizations with ethical guidelines for counseling practices and ones you most likely will adhere to throughout your career as a counselor, counselor educator, and supervisor. The ethical guidelines stipulate how counselors must conduct themselves in counseling sessions to avoid legal and ethical violations. They also include information regarding the ethical responsibility of addressing counselor impairment. For example, a duty to warn refers to notifying a person or authorities if a client or student is a danger to themselves or to someone else. A duty to warn also means that if an impaired counselor is unable to counsel effectively and places a client or student at risk for harm, appropriate persons or authorities must be notified.

For this Discussion, select one of the counseling scenarios provided and analyze the counselor impairment as it relates to vicarious trauma. In addition, think about your ethical responsibility in addressing the impairment as a counselor, counselor educator, and supervisor.

With these thoughts in mind:

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Master’s Students

Post by Day 3 your brief description of the scenario you selected. Then explain at least one possible impairment exhibited by the counselor due to vicarious trauma and the impact it may have on the counseling process. Then, as a counselor, explain how you might address the impairment. Be specific and provide examples referencing at least one sub-section of the ACA code of ethics or one sub-section of the ASCA code of ethics. Respond to a colleague who selected a different impairment or the same impairment referencing a different section of the code of ethics. Identify yourself as a master’s student at the beginning of your post.

Assignment 2

Due June 30

Application: Supervision

Counselor Educators and supervisors train future supervisees on their risks and possible symptoms of vicarious trauma while promoting counselor self-care. Often it is difficult for new counselors to accept that their clients or students may affect them. As their supervisor, it is your responsibility to help bridge the gap between good therapeutic behavior and human emotions. While there is no substitute for effective therapeutic behavior, it is important to remember counselors are not invincible and the more awareness new counselors have about the risks of developing vicarious trauma, the more apt they will be to prevent it.

For this Assignment, you review an example of a triadic supervision session. Think about the evidence-based strategies you would use to address the issues presented by the supervisees as well as promoting counselor self-care.

Triadic Supervision Session:

Julie and David are graduate students completing an internship in a MS in Mental Health Counseling training program. They are working as interns for an outpatient counseling center that specializes in the treatment of children. Julie has been shadowing a clinician performing forensic evaluations and conducting individual therapy with young children who have been physically and sexually abused. David has been performing psychosocial assessments and facilitating groups with domestically violent families. Julie and David are participating in triadic supervision as a requirement for their internship. Julie begins to cry easily during supervision when reviewing their clinical cases. Despite efforts to conceal her emotion, Julie’s supervisor would frequently inquire about her affective state. At first, Julie dismissed her behavior claiming she “just didn’t feel good” and was hesitant to share her anguish. Julie’s supervisor fostered a safe environment and persisted in questioning her about her tearfulness and reactivity to difficult cases. Eventually, Julie began to discuss her feelings of despair particularly about working with children who have been abused or neglected. She went on to explain that the stories she was hearing in supervision made her feel overwhelmed that no matter what setting or population she went to work for, she feared that counseling work is filled with only darkness and hopelessness. She described excessive worry and concern about the well-being and future of the children with whom she works. She expresses anger and resentment towards the parents that did not protect the children, the judges that send kids back into homes with abusive parents, and clinical supervisors that she felt were not providing adequate care. Although Julie could not identify any actual inappropriate events, she believed the children deserved better care. Julie reported nightly sleep disturbance and avoidance of all social activity. It became clear to Julie’s supervisor and to Julie’s colleague that she was emotionally and physically exhausted and was absorbing client pain. David watches and listens impassively as Julie describes her plight. He started out his internship very energized by the opportunity to help families break the cycle of abuse. He initially received many compliments from the clients and staff for his insight and empathy. As time passed, David begins to question the quality of his own marital relationship. After hearing about stories of abuse, David began to question whether his most intimate relationship had a passive aggressive pattern of abuse. Rather than returning home after work, David becomes increasingly vigilant about personal space and boundaries. He became emotionally distant from his wife and his colleagues. During supervision, David implies that all relationships are at risk for exploitation and abuse. He remarks that he used to be uninformed but now he “knows better.” As the supervisor talks with David, it becomes evident that he is greatly influenced by the emotional and physical condition of his clients and their stories of abuse. In response, David is struggling with trust and intimacy, has become suspicious of people, and has developed a self-protective stance.

The assignment: (2–3 pages)

• Choose one of the supervisees in the triadic supervision session and identify a behavior that may reflect impairment
• As a counseling supervisor, select two evidence-based strategies you would use to address the symptoms of vicarious trauma exhibited by the supervisee. Justify your selection. Be specific.
• Select two self-care strategies you would recommend to the supervisee to promote their personal wellness in the future. Justify your selection. Be specific.

Master’s Students: The assignment: (1-3 pages)

• Identify yourself as a master’s student on the title page of your assignment.
• Choose one of the supervisees in the triadic supervision session and identify a behavior that may reflect impairment.
• Describe how you might approach the individual as a peer to call her or his attention to this potential impairment. Use the American Counseling Association’s code of ethics to justify your approach.
• Identify two self-care strategies this supervisee could address her or his impairment. Justify your selection. Be specific.
• Support your responses with references to the Learning Resources or current literature.
• See the weekly Application area for assignment details.