Counseling Plan to Accommodate Diverse Needs - Coursework Example

Designing a Counseling Plan to Accommodate Diverse Needs Introduction According to McLeod (2007, p. 38), counseling is the place where one can stand back from the details of one’s daily life and obtain some sense of who they are. In a modern society where speed of technology and globalization has increased pressure on people to work more, spend more, demand more and to increasingly adapt to changes around them, leading good balanced lives becomes a pipe dream if not an impossibility. According to McLeod (2007, p. 38) living a good life entails three core aspects which are being in relationships with others and obtaining a sense of commonness, belonging and engagement in caring, building and sustaining a sense of identity of who one is and discovering, nourishing and aligning the sources of meaning and purpose that generates a sense of health, accomplishment and generativity. Nevertheless achieving these core aspects of good living is easier said than done. Therefore, counseling becomes the platform on which individuals seeks to find their central points to which they can develop and improve on the three core aspects of living a good life. Counseling is not only meant for psychologically imbalanced people but is essential for anyone who seeks to understand who they are better, by understanding their past and present to be able to walk into their future (Vogel, et al., 2007). According to Pope-Davis (2003), counseling people from varied cultures requires counselors to design counseling programs that suit the ethical and cultural needs and expectations of specific individuals to ensure objectivity, impartiality and ensure the counselor makes the right and appropriate recommendations, action plans, conclusions and decisions for their clients. This report will design a counseling plan to address the diverse needs for the Berice’s case study. Counseling Plan Primarily, counseling entails services meant to help people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, status, culture, ideologies and gender in any point of their lives to make the right choices in regards to their careers, education, training and social life and how to manage them effectively as described by Palmer (1997). According to Welfel (2010), developing an effective counseling plan that adequately address the diverse needs is crucial as it helps in facilitating effective decision making and problem solving processes. In addition, it will enhance objectivity, fairness needed from counseling programs and enhance the accuracy, validity, and reliability of information generated, which will help in making the right choices and decisions for all the concerned individuals namely Berice, Jim and Shirley (Kerth- Spregel & Koocher, 1985). More importantly, the counseling plan shall be founded on holistic approach where all the social, mental, cultural, emotional and physical needs of Berice shall be recognized. This will ensure the needs are dealt with in a way suitable and aligned with the experience, role and skills of the counselor and the supervisor with the needs and expectations of Berice as advised by Palmer (1997). Corey et al. (2010) notes that the aim of any ethical decision making process is to ensure as a counselor, one takes into consideration all relevant facts, utilize any resources available and reason through the ethical dilemma in such a manner which generates the best possible course of action. Gamimo & Ritter (2009) indicates that resolving ethical dilemmas in counseling involves analyzing the who, the where, what and the how of the decision. The Five Ps of the model are person, problem, place, principles and the process. Using the Five P model for ethical decision making described by Gamimo & Ritter (2009, p. 22), the who entails the client and other individuals involved, who is Berice, Jim, and Shirley in this case, the what defining the problem and the contextual variables surrounding the challenge. The where entailing analyzing location driven aspects while the how relates to the relevant ethical principles applied and the actual process that will followed in making the right and most suitable decision. In regards to the aspect of principles, these are the ethical principles that are the focus of the ethical dilemma. The first step in designing the counseling plan is to define all aspects of the who by assessing the age, education, occupational history, socio economic status, cultural and ethical considerations, interpersonal relationships (Swift & Callahan, 2008). Berice is 35 yrs, married Jamaican male who experienced a closed head injury which has generated negative residual side effects which has prompted him to seek counseling to help him get a new job (Houser, et al., 2006). He has been doing odd jobs. He has good interpersonal relationships with his nuclear and extended family (Houser, et al., 2006). According to Houser et al. (2006), Jim is 25yrs old white male married to a white spouse working as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. He has worked at the agency for the last two years and although he grew up in a homogeneous ethic and racial community, he has taken cross-cultural counseling courses and through exposure at work he believes he understands issues facing minority groups. On the other hand, Shirley is 50 yr old African American woman, married, has twenty-year experience in state vocation rehabilitation, and has extensive exposure to minorities. She has a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling (Houser et al. 2006). The most important thing to note is that the main persons in the ethical dilemma is not Berice but Jim and Shirley. The second step of the counseling plan is defining the ethical problem. The ethical dilemma is shared between Jim and Shirley. The ethical problems are whether is was ethical and suitable to refer Berice to Dr. Kinney despite knowing Dr. Kinney’s limitations as a counselor assessing across cultures, can the recommendations and conclusions generated by Dr. Kinney about Berice’s ability to pursue a career as an alarm system installer be perceived as accurate, objective, reliable, reasonable and valid and finally, is allocating more resources to conduct a second assessment for Mr. Berice justified (Houser et al. 2006). In order to rule the recommendations and conclusions made by Dr. Kinney were unethical, and to decide a second assessment is required for Berice and cost the organization more money, it is vital that one analyzes the whole situation and ensure that all the variables used were not only ethical but suitable. By assessing the professional competence of Dr. Kinney to counsel and assess across cultures, one realizes that the doctor although qualified as a psychologist who can adequately carry out fair neuropsychological assessment, he lacks the proficiency, the knowledge and the experience to handling multicultural clients. He not only deal with clients from relatively homogeneous ethnic and racial groups but also, his training more than twenty years earlier makes his exposure to multicultural assessment consistent with practices and training models provided at the time which had little or no focus on multicultural assessment. About how the questions were framed for instance, by Jim to Dr. Kinney, it more or less influenced the understanding, assessment and conclusions made by the doctor. According to (Constantine & Sue, 2007), use of generalized approach to psychological assessment ignores unique needs of individual clients and particularly unique attributes of minority individuals which is what happened in the case. As Moore (2002) notes, referrals by white professionals of African American illustrates a bias of expectations which best describes what occurred between Jim, Berice and Dr. Kinney. From the case scenario it is clear that there were contradictions between Jim’s personal values, race and personal history having had little exposure to dealing with Jamaican clients and Berice’s personal values, race, personal history Therefore, the solutions are first to modify the usual practice framework which is fashioned for a relatively homogeneous ethnic and racial groups, and design it to accommodate multi cultural individual clients for not only to accommodate Berice but ensure future minority assessment cases are effectively and efficiently catered for professionally and ethically a suggested by Anderson (1996). This is achievable by ensuring referrals of multicultural clients are made using focused referral questions and ensure generalized approaches to assessment are avoided as supported by Brenner (2003). In addition, it is crucial that multicultural assessment for which Berice is qualified for, be carried out by a counselor who have the experience, knowledge and is professionally trained to deal with varied multicultural issues. Such as beliefs and ideals and is able to competently take into considerations the cultural, ethnic, and racial identities of his clients when conducting the assessments as suggested by Dana (2002, p. 196). This is because despite Dr. Kinney have the competing values with the client. According to the hermeneutic model, over and above moral reasoning, therapeutic correlation and subjective responses by the counselor are vital in interpreting and applying ethical interventions as highlighted by Betan (1997). All this integrated will help Berice access accurate, reliable, impartial and equitable psychological assessment services and ensure both Jim and Shirley have fulfilled their professional duty and have adhered to their professional code of ethics to help Berice take employment position which is consistent with his interest, abilities and culture. In addition, they will ensure they have not harmed Berice as a client by ensuring their personal values, beliefs, behavior and attitudes do not influence recommendations made, they are competent by ensuring they offer suitable referral resources, and they are better placed to respect Berice as a multicultural client (Constantine, 2007). As noted by (Romano, et al., 2008), through effective interpersonal communication, the counselor offering multicultural assessment will be in a position to use assessment techniques which account for cultural differences and ensure a minority client such as Berice feel understood. The counselor does not necessarily have to have similar personal values, ideals, beliefs and history with the client from a different cultural background. They only have to have the required qualifications, skills and experience of carrying out assessment across cultures, which require taking into considerations that people from different cultures, have different cultural and ethnic identities, they communicate differently and they have unique individual needs (Gil & Drewes, 2005). Although Jim and Shirley have had past experience dealing with minority groups and have attended varied workshops and conferences addressing ethic and multicultural counseling, they need to enroll and be trained in multicultural counseling or ethics. As supported by Dana (2002, p. 196), training for cultural competence is essential than merely attending cultural assessment courses. According to Rogers (1992), training in multicultural competence is crucial in ensuring counselors are able to acquire knowledge and techniques in carrying out multicultural assessment practices as they are able to practice beneficence, they become non-maleficent and fair in understanding their clients, making conclusions and recommendations. To some extent, Shirley as the supervisor bears responsibility for the ethical problem. As a supervisor, she should have made available apart from Dr. Kinney, a qualified counselor knowledgeable and proficient in assessing multicultural clients. This is because, Shirley previously knew of Dr. Kinney’s shortcomings in assessing across cultures and therefore, she should have made available necessary resources to ensure clients such as Berice are competently served and given suitable referral resources when needed as required by the professional code of ethics (Anderson, 1996). On the other hand, she can be commended for identifying potential ethical issues in the situation and making efforts to ensure the ethical problem is dealt with amicably. As proposed by Gamimo & Ritter (2009) using the Five P of ethical decision-making, it is important to identify an ethical theory that bests help explain the dilemma and offer resolution. An applicable ethical theory in resolving the ethical dilemma in the case study is social constructivism where the parties involved use social consensual to interpret the reality as stated by Cottone (2001). According to the author, the theory takes the ethical decision making process as an interactive process instead of an intra-psychic process. Based on the case scenario, both Jim and Shirley negotiates, consensualize and arbitrate on the ethical dilemma in a bid to make the right decision on whether the assessment results made by Dr. Kenney were accurate and reliable, whether Jim acted ethically when referring Berice and whether additional costs for a second assessment were justified. Using the theory, the two are guided by social and cultural determinants in establishing what ethically acceptable practice is. The other applicable theory is the P3 model where counseling is fundamentally relational and therefore, social context is essential in any ethical decision making which involves principles, principals and process of dialogue and consultation as discussed by Seymore & Rubic (2006). Jim and Shirley can apply this. The main recommendations for Jim and Shirley as highlighted in the report are to modify the existing practice framework and environment in order to accommodate varied multicultural clients. They should either they enroll for training on multicultural competence or they identify a qualified counselor trained in carrying out multicultural assessments and ensure they recommend Berice for a second assessment. This is to ensure his unique individual needs and identity are understood and reliable, unbiased and valid conclusions and recommendations are made to help Berice in deciding his career path on whether to pursue his goal to be an alarm system installer or change his career goal. Conclusion Ethical decision making plays an important role in the work of a counselor especially when they are dealing with people from varied cultural backgrounds and ethnic, racial and cultural identities different from their own. Due to the fact that their personal values, beliefs, histories and attitude may contradict one time or another it is essential for counselors to use ethical decision making models and theories to identify what is ethically acceptable counseling practice. Carrying out assessments for individuals from varied cultures requires counselors to design counseling programs that suit the ethical and cultural needs and expectations of specific individuals to ensure objectivity, impartiality and ensure the counselor makes the right and appropriate recommendations, action plans, conclusions and decisions for their clients. As highlighted in the counseling plan developed by the report, competent multicultural assessment can only be achieved by developing a favorable practice framework, using focused referral questions and avoiding generalized approaches, seeking assessments from counselor qualified, skilled and experienced in multicultural competence. Adhering to professional code of ethics and analyzing the people, problem, place, principles and process of making the right ethical decision. References Anderson, B. (1996). The Counselor and the Law, 4th Edition. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association. Betan, E.J. (1997). Toward a hermeneutic model of ethical decision making in clinical practice. Ethics and Behavior, 7, 347-365 Brenner, H. (2003). In Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006). Culturally relevant ethical decision-making in counseling. Thousand Oak: California: Sage. Constantine, M. (2007). Racial micro-aggressions against African American clients in cross-racial counseling relationships. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(1), 1–16 Constantine, M., & Sue, D. (2007). Perceptions of racial micro-aggressions among black supervisees in cross-racial dyads. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54(2), 142–153. Corey , G. Corey, M.S., & Callanan, P. (2010). Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions. London: Cengage Learning. Cottone, R.R. (2001). A social constructivism Model of ethical decision making in counseling. Journal of counseling & development, Volume 79, pp 39-45. Accessible from http://www.wyocare.org/wyocare_static/images/ceu/Social%20Constructivism%20Model%20of%20Ethical%20Decision%20Making%20in%20Counseling.pdf Dana (2002). In Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006). Culturally relevant ethical decision-making in counseling. Thousand Oak: California: Sage. Gamimo, L.A. & Ritter, R.H. (2009). Ethical practice in grief counseling. Sidney: Springer Publishing Company. Gil, E., & Drewes, A. A. (2005). Cultural issues in play therapy. New York: Guilford Press. Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006). Culturally relevant ethical decision-making in counseling. Thousand Oak: California: Sage. Kerth- Spregel, P. & Koocher, G.P. (1985). Ethics in psychology. New York: Rnadom House. McLeod, J. (2007). Counseling skill. New Jersey: McGraw-Hill International. Moore, J. (2002). In Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006). Culturally relevant ethical decision-making in counseling. Thousand Oak: California: Sage. Palmer, S. (1997). Handbook of counseling. Upper River Saddle: Routledge. Pope-Davis, D.B. (2003). Handbook of multicultural competencies in counseling & psychology. London: SAGE. Rogers (1992). In Houser, R., Wilczenski, F. L., and Ham, M. (2006). Culturally relevant ethical decision-making in counseling. Thousand Oak: California: Sage. Romano, V., Fitzpatrick, M., & Janzen, J. (2008). The secure-base hypothesis: Global attachment, attachment to counselor, and session exploration in psychotherapy. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55(4), 495–504 Seymour, J. W., & Rubin, L. (2006). Principles, principals and process (P3): A model for play therapy ethics problem solving. International Journal of Play Therapy, 15, 101-123. Swift, J.K., & Callahan, J.L. (2008). A delay discounting measure of great expectations and the effectiveness of psychotherapy client decision making. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39, 581–588. Vogel, D.L., Wade, N.G., & Hackler, A.H. (2007). Perceived public stigma and the willingness to seek counseling: The mediating roles of self-stigma and attitudes towards counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 54, 40–50. Welfel, E. R. (2010). Ethics in counseling and psychotherapy (4th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Read More

According to Welfel (2010), developing an effective counseling plan that adequately address the diverse needs is crucial as it helps in facilitating effective decision making and problem solving processes. In addition, it will enhance objectivity, fairness needed from counseling programs and enhance the accuracy, validity, and reliability of information generated, which will help in making the right choices and decisions for all the concerned individuals namely Berice, Jim and Shirley (Kerth- Spregel & Koocher, 1985).

More importantly, the counseling plan shall be founded on holistic approach where all the social, mental, cultural, emotional and physical needs of Berice shall be recognized. This will ensure the needs are dealt with in a way suitable and aligned with the experience, role and skills of the counselor and the supervisor with the needs and expectations of Berice as advised by Palmer (1997). Corey et al. (2010) notes that the aim of any ethical decision making process is to ensure as a counselor, one takes into consideration all relevant facts, utilize any resources available and reason through the ethical dilemma in such a manner which generates the best possible course of action.

Gamimo & Ritter (2009) indicates that resolving ethical dilemmas in counseling involves analyzing the who, the where, what and the how of the decision. The Five Ps of the model are person, problem, place, principles and the process. Using the Five P model for ethical decision making described by Gamimo & Ritter (2009, p. 22), the who entails the client and other individuals involved, who is Berice, Jim, and Shirley in this case, the what defining the problem and the contextual variables surrounding the challenge.

The where entailing analyzing location driven aspects while the how relates to the relevant ethical principles applied and the actual process that will followed in making the right and most suitable decision. In regards to the aspect of principles, these are the ethical principles that are the focus of the ethical dilemma. The first step in designing the counseling plan is to define all aspects of the who by assessing the age, education, occupational history, socio economic status, cultural and ethical considerations, interpersonal relationships (Swift & Callahan, 2008).

Berice is 35 yrs, married Jamaican male who experienced a closed head injury which has generated negative residual side effects which has prompted him to seek counseling to help him get a new job (Houser, et al., 2006). He has been doing odd jobs. He has good interpersonal relationships with his nuclear and extended family (Houser, et al., 2006). According to Houser et al. (2006), Jim is 25yrs old white male married to a white spouse working as a vocational rehabilitation counselor. He has worked at the agency for the last two years and although he grew up in a homogeneous ethic and racial community, he has taken cross-cultural counseling courses and through exposure at work he believes he understands issues facing minority groups.

On the other hand, Shirley is 50 yr old African American woman, married, has twenty-year experience in state vocation rehabilitation, and has extensive exposure to minorities. She has a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling (Houser et al. 2006). The most important thing to note is that the main persons in the ethical dilemma is not Berice but Jim and Shirley. The second step of the counseling plan is defining the ethical problem. The ethical dilemma is shared between Jim and Shirley.

The ethical problems are whether is was ethical and suitable to refer Berice to Dr. Kinney despite knowing Dr. Kinney’s limitations as a counselor assessing across cultures, can the recommendations and conclusions generated by Dr. Kinney about Berice’s ability to pursue a career as an alarm system installer be perceived as accurate, objective, reliable, reasonable and valid and finally, is allocating more resources to conduct a second assessment for Mr.

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