The Role of the Helper in Our Society: How Big or How Small is the Role?
Jackie Phillips
Counseling, Post University
HSV203 Self-Assessment: An Inventory of Your Attitudes and Beliefs
David Six
Due Date: 11:59 pm EST Sunday of Unit 1
Self-Assessment: An Inventory of Your Attitudes and Beliefs about Helping
1. Provide a brief analysis of your responses to each question. Explore the reasoning behind your choices and consider any underlying beliefs or assumptions that influenced your answers.
2. Reflect on how your responses align with your personal values, beliefs, and experiences.
3. Discuss the potential implications of your beliefs and attitudes on your future practice as a helper or mental health practitioner. Consider how your perspectives may influence your interactions with clients, ethical decision making, and overall effectiveness in the helping process
Effective helpers.
The personal characteristics of helpers are a not as important as the skills and knowledge helpers possess. I definitely believe that the skills and knowledge of helpers are much more important than the individual personality because the skills and knowledge are what will be helping people. You bring your knowledge and skills to the table to help clients
Personal traits
Which of the following do you consider to be the most important personal characteristic of a good helper? Openness and honesty. A helper definitely needs to be open about a wide variety of techniques and the people they will be coming in contact with. Honesty will help them to get to the core of the issues and not hide behind reality. No one will be helped by hiding the truth and not dealing with the core issues.
Self-disclosure
I believe helpers’ self-disclosure to their clients should be done rarely and only when helpers feel it would be of benefit to clients.
The job of the helper is to help the client and not to use the sessions as their own therapy. If it is necessary to help the client, then the helper can decide whether disclosing their personal issues and beliefs would be helpful to the client.
Fees
If I were working with a client who could no longer continue because of his or her inability to pay my fees, I would most likely suggest some form of bartering of goods or services for therapy services.
I would discuss with the client if they had other alternatives to pay, assuming that was OK with my supervisors if I was working for another company. If I was working for myself in my own company, I would certainly consider other alternatives if the client had the means. I think everyone should be given a chance at choices, and not everyone is loaded with cash. Maybe we could talk about insurance forms that would work within their budget.
Change
Which of the following factors is most important in determining whether the helping process will result in change? The motivation of the client to change. The client has to be motivated to make changes if that is what will help them and the reason for the therapy sessions. The helper provides the direction and means for the client to make changes and guides them in the direction of their choice.
Key attribute of effective helpers
Which of the following do you consider to be the most important attribute of an effective mental health practitioner? Skill in using techniques appropriately. A helper needs to be fully trained and educated, and then they need to know the variety of ways to use this training and education in order to help the client. In addition, a helper needs to attend ongoing training and practices to keep on top of refreshing training and learning new techniques.
Fieldwork
With respect to a fieldwork placement, I want to work with clients that I think would be a challenge for me. A great helper wants to continue to grow and challenge themselves, which in turn helps their clients to know more and be open to a wide variety of clients and their challenges. A great helper wants to grow in where they work and the people they work with and not be isolated in an office and single location.
Effectiveness as helper
To be an effective helper, I believe I must have an in-depth knowledge of my client’s cultural background.
A great helper remains open to learning about and understanding the client’s background and culture and all the differences and challenges that occurred leading the client to their current position in their lives.
Helping relationship
With regard to the client–helper relationship, I think a personal relationship, but not friendship, is essential.
I believe it is essential to build a relationship with a client that allows for a friendship and trust to exist. It is important that the client trusts the helper and feels comfortable to be able to tell them the truth without being criticized. This friendship doesn’t include going out after meetings, but friendship inside the meetings and building trust and co-existence.
Being open and honest with clients.
I should be open and honest with my clients only when it intuitively feels like the right thing to do. It is important to be honest with your opinions that are intended to help the client and achieve their goals of healing and moving forward. I would reserve opinions that are not beneficial to the client in their journey to move forward and move on.
Ethical decision making
If I were faced with an ethical dilemma, the first step I would take would be to identify the nature of the problem or problems.
Always start by accurately identifying what the issues and core dilemmas are for the client and then how it is best to achieve them. There might be multiple avenues and directions to take and eventually, with great therapy, the best path can be achieved.
Dealing with inadequate supervision
If I were not getting the kind of supervision I thought I needed and want, my inclination would be to learn assertiveness skills and consistently ask for what I need by way of supervision.
I would definitely approach my supervisor and ask appropriate questions about the amount and type of supervision. There could be a variety of reasons like the supervisor has taken on additional duties that I am not aware of. Also, the supervisor might think that I am doing fine with the level I already have and doesn’t feel the need to increase the amount or type.
Competence
If I were an intern and was convinced that my supervisor was encouraging trainees to take on clients with problems beyond their level of education and competence, I would first discuss the matter with the supervisor. I would definitely approach my supervisor and ask questions. As an intern I could be completely unaware of what is going on around me and what changes are made and why. Always maintain open communication with your supervisor to ask questions.
Cultural competence
Practitioners who work with culturally diverse groups without having multicultural knowledge and skills. Will need to acquire the knowledge and skills by taking a course, reading, or engaging in continuing education.
Of course learn about all the different cultures and lifestyles that exist in potential clients and embrace them all. It is always more challenging to be aware of all the variety of beliefs and lifestyles and choices that people have and how you can help them along their path.
Dealing with difficult clients
If I were working with a difficult and resistant client, my approach would likely be to strive to honor and respect the resistances my client displays and encourage my client to explore his or her attitudes and behaviors
Find out in detail why the client is resistant to the treatment. Maybe he or she is being forced to attend the meetings and doesn’t feel there is actually a problem. They may be on parole or probation and these meetings might be a requirement of the release. Maybe speak with the parole or probation officer to get a clearer understanding of the situation.
Being ready
I won’t feel ready to offer professional help to others until I feel very confident and know that I will be effective.
A helper needs to start slowly and gain confidence in their skills and knowledge and then gradually increase the level of skills needed for clients with more challenging questions and issues. Confidence comes with experience and positive experience and knowledge and that is all gained by handling cases and clients of varying issues.
Managing attractions
If a client evidenced strong feelings of attraction or dislike for me, I think I would quickly refer my client to another professional.
If this happened, I would explain to the client in a professional and experienced tone that maybe another helper would be a better fit to help them in their needs and directions. If there is a supervisor involved, I would confide in my supervisor for their opinion. If the client had a case worker or probation or parole officer, I would explain to them the situation and what needs to happen.
Diversity
Practitioners who counsel clients whose sex, race, age, social class, or sexual orientation is different from their own are likely to be very effective if they are willing to acquire a range of knowledge and skills that will enable them to become culturally competent helpers.
The more skills and knowledge and exposure a helper has in their training and background and cultural experience, the better helper that person will be. For example, I grew up in San Francisco during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, at the height of all the changes and acceptance of different lifestyles. I witnessed politicians murdered in their offices for accepting bills that allowed gays in office and to express themselves in public. Since that very low time, I have seen a tremendous growth in acceptance in all types of lifestyles ranging from gender to race to age and social class.
Value priorities
When I consider being involved in the helping professions, I value most the knowledge that I will be intimately involved with people who are searching for a better life.
Opportunity to give back to the community
I know that I have a balanced and solid lifestyle, and that I am in the position to be stable and in turn give back to the community. I can offer my experience and knowledge to people who may need help in a variety of areas.
Value judgments
With respect to making value judgments in the helping relationship, I believe helpers should remain neutral and keep their values out of the helping process. Encourage clients to question their own values and decide on the quality of their own behavior. Always encourage clients to question where their behavior and beliefs are coming from in case they are relying on past experiences that no longer pertain to their current lifestyle. The helper would interject their own values and opinions only if the intention was to help the client and possibly give a comparison and contrast.
Helper key tasks
Helpers should teach desirable behavior and values by modeling them for clients. Encourage clients to look within themselves to discover values that are meaningful to them.
Helpers should be positive role models and show positive outcomes that the client can choose to model after with steps on how to achieve those goals. Helpers should show clients how to look inside and find things that make them happy and how to continue working on those. Then the helper should show them how to get rid of bad behaviors that lead them down the wrong path of maybe using drugs or breaking laws and ending up in prison.
Making referrals
I would refer a client to another professional if I was convinced that I was no longer able to be effective with this client for any reason.
I would definitely discuss with the client if I felt that another helper would be the best choice for them at this time. Could be that their situation needs a helper with more experience and expertise in a particular area, like maybe how to be on parole or probation and how to follow those requirements.
Confidentiality
Regarding confidentiality, I believe there is little hope that trust will be established unless clients can be guaranteed absolute confidentiality.
It is ethical to break confidence when there is reason to believe that a client will do harm to someone else or will harm him- or herself.
It is essential for me to discuss in detail the purpose and limits of confidentiality at the first session with a client.
The client has to 100% believe that what is discussed in their sessions is kept confidential between the client and the helper. I can think of one exception would be if the meetings are a part of the clients probation or parole and it is decided ahead of time if the discussions in the meeting are able to be viewed by the court or prison systems.
Sex with former clients
A sexual relationship between a former client and a therapist is ethical only when client and therapist discuss the issue and agree to the relationship.
Though probably not a great decision to begin with, if both parties agree to the relationship and there is no longer a client/helper relationship, then there shouldn’t be a problem
Accepting gifts
If a client were to offer me a gift, I would possibly accept it, but only after fully discussing the matter with my client.
I don’t have any problems with gifts since the client could be very nice and show appreciation. Everyone shows their appreciation differently and I accept that each person shows their gratitude differently.
Spiritual and religious values
With respect to the role of spiritual and religious values in the helping process, I would be inclined to routinely conduct an assessment of my client’s spiritual and religious beliefs during the intake session.
I would encourage the client to express their religious beliefs, and I would appreciate any education about their religion that I am unaware of. If this would help me to understand their background and culture, it could better help me to help them.
Goals of helping
Regarding the issue of who should select goals in the helping process, I believe the responsibility for selecting goals should be a collaborative venture by both client and helper.
Definitely! Both the helper and the client should agree in the beginning and update along the way what the goals are for the meetings and how they will be achieved. If there is an outside counselor or parole or probation officer, then they might need to be included in the goals.
Social justice counseling
Counseling from a social justice perspective involves addressing the realities of oppression, privilege, and social inequities. This implies teaching my clients how to become advocates for themselves, assisting people in gaining full participation in society and assuming an advocate role if I am to make a difference
I would definitely be willing to teach any client about the opportunities available to all in our society. In a large urban society where I live, there are many opportunities for a wide variety of people. The work sometimes is finding them and accessing them, especially if a person is not comfortable on computers or the internet. I would be happy to assist with finding these opportunities to help out.
Advocacy competence
To become a competent client advocate, a helper must have the courage to speak out against injustices and assess whether to engage in social advocacy action.
Definitely. A great helper must be willing to advocate for their client and support their needs and desires to achieve their goals.
Internet counseling
Regarding the practice of counseling via the Internet, I believe this is a form of technology with real promise for many clients who would not, or could not, seek out face-to-face counseling.
Internet or phone counseling is a huge benefit for people who are unable to make it to an office for meetings. Not everyone has a car to drive, and many people have physical disabilities that prevent them from driving or comfortably going into buildings for regular meetings. These types of meeting are already very popular in health and medical meetings, so it would be simple to adjust to behavioral health meetings.
Unethical behavior
I consider the most unethical form of therapist behavior to be abandoning a client. A helper should never abandon a client for any reason. The client has put their trust in the helper and the helper needs to be the person who is the strong one and stays to support the client.
Bartering
I believe bartering with a client in exchange for therapy services depends on the circumstances of the individual case. It should be considered if the client has no way to pay for my services.
This option can be considered on a case-by-case basis with the approval of the helper and the supervisor to confirm that the amount is adequate to cover expenses. If the helper runs their own independent business, then it would be the sole decision of the helper to confirm that the client doesn’t have other ways to pay for the meetings. There are other options like insurance or if the meetings are part of pre-paid arrangement with business.
Responsibility to the community
Concerning the helper’s responsibility to the community, I believe the helper should educate the community concerning the nature of psychological services. It is appropriate to function as an advocate for underrepresented groups in the community. Helpers should become involved in helping clients use the resources available in the community. All of the above are important to educate the community about the services of the helper and what great services are available.
Working in systems
When it comes to working in institutions or a system, I believe I must learn how to survive with dignity within a system. I must learn how to subvert the system so that I can do what I deeply believe in. Learn to understand the systems and how they work and what they want from their employees. Feel free to ask questions to your supervisor and attend all meetings to be aware of what is being said.
Philosophical conflicts
If my philosophy were in conflict with that of the institution I worked for, I would agree to whatever was expected of me in that system so that I would not lose my job. In life there are options besides working for a single place. There are options of running your own business where you have more control over details and outcomes. If you choose to work for a separate company, then, yes, you work with what they expect of their employees and the outcomes. Make sure you are aware of all of these and learn to follow them.
No comments:
Post a Comment