Issues And Ethics In The Helping Profession, Tenth Ed 800639

Issues And Ethics In The Helping Professionstenth Editionchapter 8prof

Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions Tenth Edition Chapter 8 Professional Competence and Training Learning Objectives (1 of Clarify how therapist competence is an ethical issue. 8-2 Describe what is involved in the assessment of competence. 8-3 Ascertain when and how to make referrals. 8-4 Examine ethical issues in training therapists. 8-5 Understand the basis of screening candidates in training programs. 8-6 Recognize how to evaluate knowledge, skills, and personal functioning of trainees. 8-7 Describe the gatekeeping role of faculty in promoting competence. Learning Objectives (2 of Explore issues involved in dismissing students for nonacademic reasons. 8-9 Articulate the purpose of licensing and credentialing. 8-10 Gain a greater appreciation of the role continuing education plays in maintaining competence.

Therapist Competence • Professional codes of ethics on competence have common themes. • Counselors practice only within the boundaries of competence, based on: – education – training – supervised experience – state and national professional credentials – appropriate professional experience. Assessment of Competence • Assessment approaches are most effective when they integrate both formative and summative evaluations. • Formative assessment is a developmentally informed process that provides useful feedback during one’s training and throughout one’s professional career. • Summative assessment is an end point evaluation typically completed at the end of a professional program or when applying for licensure status.

Developing or Upgrading Skills • Work with colleagues or professionals who have more experience. • Seek consultation before moving outside areas in which you have received education and training. • Learn new skills by attending conferences, reading professional articles, taking courses, and participating in workshops. Making Referrals • You may need to refer a client if the resources are limited in the setting in which you work. – You may also need to refer a client if the boundaries of your professional role restrict you from delivering the services your client needs. • Referring a client because of a value system conflict is not ethically acceptable. • If the client needs a higher level of care than the counselor can provide, then the counselor may refer the client. • Consider a referral as a final intervention after you have exhausted other interventions including consulting.

Ethical Issues in Training Therapists • Training programs have an ethical responsibility to: – Establish clear selection criteria – Provide exposure to major contemporary counseling theories – Teach students strengths and limitations of theories – Combine academic and personal learning – Screen candidates to protect public from incompetent practitioners – Teach a range of skills to work with diverse clients – Provide training in ethics. Selection of Trainees • A core ethical and professional issue involves formulating policies and procedures for selecting appropriate candidates for a training program. • Screening as a two-way process – Faculty screen candidates – Candidates screen the program and faculty.

Working in a Digital Culture • Technology is evolving at breakneck speed and is expanding the ways counseling services can be conceptualized and delivered. • The need for training in transferring face-to-face skills to the online environment is essential. Evaluating Knowledge, Skills, and Personal Functioning • Every training institution has an ethical responsibility to screen candidates so the public will be protected from incompetent practitioners. • Ongoing evaluation is crucial to determine whether you are making satisfactory progress in the various areas of the training program. Evaluation of Interpersonal Behavior and Personal Characteristics • Evaluating trainees on the basis of personal characteristics is often a challenging task. • Interpersonal behaviors of trainees have a direct bearing on their clinical effectiveness, so these factors must be taken into consideration in the evaluation process.

Evaluating Character and Psychological Fitness of Trainees • Character: – The honesty and integrity with which a person deals with others • Psychological fitness: – The emotional or mental stability necessary to practice safely and effectively – Evidenced by the presence of personality adjustment, absence of psychological disorder, and appropriate use of substances. Gatekeeper Role of Faculty in Promoting Competence (1 of 2) • The academic faculty in a professional program generally has a gatekeeper’s role, protecting consumers by identifying and intervening with graduate students who exhibit problematic behaviors. • The gatekeeper role is addressed in the ethics codes of most professional organizations. • Clinical training faculty also have a responsibility to protect other graduate students in their program from those trainees who are dealing with problems of professional competency.

Gatekeeper Role of Faculty in Promoting Competence (2 of 2) • Peers can play a role in helping to identify students who may be in need of remediation or dismissal. • Well-designed gatekeeping procedures appear to improve the effectiveness with which deficient students are identified and prevented from progressing unremediated into the counseling profession. Dismissing Students for Nonacademic Reasons • Some students may not possess the emotional maturity or interpersonal skills necessary for clinical work, but they may have other skills that may be useful in the profession. • Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz Professional Licensing and Certification (1 of 2) • Registry is generally a voluntary listing of individuals who use a title or provide a service. • Certification – Voluntary attempt by a group to promote professional identity – Attempts to verify qualifications – Sets minimum standards – Does not assure quality practice Professional Licensing and Certification (2 of 2) • Licensure Statutes – Governs professional practice – Highlights uniqueness of an occupation – Restricts both use of title and practice of occupation • Credentialing protects counseling consumers by establishing the minimum standards of professional skills and knowledge.

Continuing Professional Education and Demonstration of Competence (1 of 2) • Professionals are required to engage in ongoing study, education, training, and consultation in their areas of practice. • Level of competence may diminish over time and changes in mental health laws, evolving ethical standards, and new trends in professional and evidence- based practices continue to be made. • The most common area of mandated continuing education is professional ethics. Continuing Professional Education and Demonstration of Competence (2 of 2) • Combat knowledge obsolescence and maintain competence through: – Consulting with other professionals – Participate in peer consultation groups – Engage in self-directed learning – Attend professional conferences.

Review, Consultation, and Supervision by Peers • Peer review is an organized system by which practitioners within a profession assess one another’s services. • Peer supervision provides a path to continue the transition from trainee to independent practitioner.

Paper For Above instruction

The ethical competence of therapists plays a crucial role in ensuring effective and responsible mental health practice. Ethical standards emphasize the importance of practicing within one's professional boundaries and maintaining the highest level of competency to safeguard client welfare. This paper explores the multifaceted nature of therapist competence, the processes involved in its assessment, and the responsibilities of training programs, including selection, evaluation, and ongoing professional development. Additionally, it examines ethical dilemmas associated with referrals, disqualification, licensure, and the critical gatekeeping role of faculty and peers in promoting professional standards.

Therapist competence is fundamentally an ethical issue because it directly impacts client outcomes, safety, and the integrity of the helping professions. Ethical guidelines articulated by organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Counseling Association (ACA) underscore practicing only within one's scope of competence, which involves a thorough combination of education, training, supervised experience, and professional credentials (American Psychological Association, 2017; American Counseling Association, 2014). Practitioners must continuously evaluate and upgrade their skills to stay current with evolving standards and modalities, thus ensuring their practice remains safe and effective.

Assessment of competence encompasses both formative and summative evaluations. Formative assessments support continued growth and are utilized throughout a professional's training and career, providing meaningful feedback that guides skill development. Conversely, summative assessments serve as culminating evaluations, typically at the conclusion of training programs or prior to licensure, to certify that practitioners meet the required standards (Kaslow et al., 2020). The integration of these assessment approaches ensures a comprehensive picture of the trainee’s abilities, including knowledge, skills, and personal functioning.

Developing or upgrading skills can be achieved through collaboration with more experienced colleagues, seeking professional consultation, and engaging in continuous learning via conferences, scholarly articles, and workshops. It is vital for counselors to remain adaptable and proactive in acquiring new competencies, especially in the context of rapidly evolving technology and telehealth practices. As digital platforms become prevalent, practitioners must acquire skills to transfer face-to-face techniques effectively into online environments, maintaining ethical standards and client engagement (Simpson & Carter, 2019).

Making appropriate referrals is a core ethical responsibility that safeguards client welfare when a problem exceeds a therapist's scope or when resources are limited. Referrals should be based on clinical necessity rather than personal values, and should be considered a last resort after exhausting other intervention methods. Failure to refer when necessary may not only compromise client care but could also violate ethical standards pertaining to competence and professional boundaries (Gerard & Christensen, 2020).

Training programs bear an ethical responsibility to select suitable candidates robustly. This involves transparent policies, criteria, and screening processes aimed at protecting the public from incompetent practitioners. Faculty members serve as gatekeepers to identify and address problematic behaviors early, through ongoing evaluation and peer collaboration. This gatekeeping role includes assessing interpersonal skills, character, psychological fitness, and overall readiness to practice ethically and competently.

Evaluating trainees involves multifaceted assessments of knowledge, skills, personal characteristics, and psychological fitness. Interpersonal behaviors and personal traits have a bearing on clinical effectiveness and ethical practice (Cook & Artino, 2016). Faculty and peers play a vital role in monitoring these aspects to ensure that only qualified, ethically sound practitioners move forward into independent practice.

Dismissing students for nonacademic reasons is a delicate but necessary ethical process for maintaining the integrity of training programs. Students lacking emotional maturity or interpersonal skills vital to clinical work should be carefully evaluated, and appropriate remediation or dismissal should be executed fairly, with respect to their potential ability to contribute uniquely to the profession. Such decisions are guided by established policies and ethical standards aimed at protecting clients and the public (American Counseling Association, 2014).

Licensure and certification serve to formalize professional standards, verifying qualifications and setting minimum practice criteria. Licensure statutes regulate the legal practice of therapists, emphasizing the importance of protecting the public, promoting accountability, and preserving the profession's integrity (American Psychological Association, 2016). Continuous professional education and peer review further ensure that practitioners maintain competence over time, adapting to advances in research, ethics, and treatment modalities.

In sum, therapist competence is essential for ethical practice in the helping professions. It involves a comprehensive framework of ongoing assessment, development, and regulation to uphold the standards that safeguard clients and the integrity of clinical practice. Ethical challenges such as making referrals, dismissing students, licensing, and continuous education require careful deliberation, clear policies, and vigilant oversight by professionals, faculty, and peers. Maintaining such standards ensures that mental health practitioners can reliably serve the needs of diverse populations while adhering to the core values of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice (Corey et al., 2019).

References

• American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code
• American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/Resources/Code-of-Ethics/TC-Data/Resource_Center
• Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R. (2016). Motivation to learn: An overview of contemporary theories. Medical Education, 50(10), 997–1014.
• Gerrard, M., & Christensen, D. (2020). Ethical considerations in clinical referrals. Journal of Counseling & Development, 98(4), 376–385.
• Kaslow, N. J., et al. (2020). Competency assessment in psychotherapy training. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31(2), 149–155.
• Simpson, S., & Carter, J. (2019). Telehealth and ethics: Moving from face-to-face to online counseling. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 25(7), Mailto:789–795.
• Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2019). Issues and ethics in the helping professions (Tenth edition). Cengage Learning.