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PART 1 – Ethical Self-Reflection
Morgan Sanders
COUN 533: Counseling Ethics and Professional Identity
Summer 2020
Dr. Kathleen Woods

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1. Creating Your Own Professional Path
As a professional, there are many goals I have for myself. I believe one of the most beneficial
exercises a professional can do to grow in their field is continually learning how to improve their
practice. Something I have highly benefited from as an educator is the community of outstanding
teachers around me. The teachers I have been working with share ideas and materials with each
other so that we can help students in our classes be successful. I believe it is essential for
professionals to help each other and to continually learn from one another. As a young
professional, I benefit from hearing how more experienced educators run their classrooms and
interact with their students. This is something I will continue to do when I become a school
counselor.
Another professional goal I have for myself is knowing how to balance my work life and my
personal life. The textbook talks about how helping professionals often get burned out because
they are so involved with their clients and receive a lot of self-satisfaction from their careers.
While this is a wonderful thing for a person to experience, it is essential to know how to separate
your work from your time at home with family or friends. I know it is difficult to not bring your
work home, especially when you are a counselor; however, I am determined to find a
comfortable balance so that I do not get burned out.
Something I would like to say about my professional path later down the road is that I was
able to truly help people by first helping myself. My mother has always told me, “You cannot
help others if you do not take care of yourself first”. I have always struggled with this because I
want to help so many people. However, I do believe that it is important for me to practice self-
care while working in a profession that is demanding emotionally and mentally so I can be
present for my clients and help them find success in their lives.

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2. Countertransference
I currently work as a mathematics teacher at the high school I attended as a student a few
years ago. This has been an interesting experience because I can give back to the school that
gave me so much as a young person. I learned and grew so much while I attended this school and
that inspired me to become an educator because I want to do the same for my students.
Therefore, the form of countertransference I might expect to experience and struggle with as a
school counselor at this school would be imagining where I was as a high school student and
then forcing those feelings I had onto the student I am working with. I think it would be hard to
not feel closer to some students who are like I was in high school. This would be an issue
because everyone has a unique story and responds differently to what happens to them. It would
be unethical for me to assume I know exactly how a student is feeling when they tell me about
something they are experiencing. It would also be unethical to struggle with building
relationships with students only because their interests are unlike mine. This could also damage
the relationship I would be trying to establish between me and a student.
To combat this form of countertransference in my practice, I will work hard to establish
accountability around me. In doing so, I know my coworkers will help me in working hard to
build relationships with all students who are not just like me. As a teacher, I have been learning
strategies that have helped me understand how to help all students learn and grow while they
spend time in my classroom. I believe working with students as a teacher will positively impact
the way that I am able to build relationships with all students as a school counselor. The textbook
describes that it is also effective for a counselor to grow in their self-understanding. As a
counselor, I will dedicate myself to understanding my actions and feelings better as I continue to
work with and help students.

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3. Self-Care
As I discussed earlier in this paper, it is incredibly important for a professional to know how
to balance their work and personal life. When the two overlap, then the professional is not
benefiting from one or the other has effectively as they could be. I have been learning new ways
to practice self-care this year as I entered the professional world.
One way that I love to practice self-care is by exercising. One of my best friends from
college is an active runner. She loves running half marathons across the country. This is
something that I never thought I would be able to do; however, I have grown to love running. As
I run, I feel relieved of the stress in life and it helps clear my mind after a long day at work. I
believe any form of physical activity can help a person stay healthy and avoid elevated levels of
stress.
Another way that I have enjoyed practicing self-care is by finding a hobby. I asked my
grandmother to teach me how to crochet and we have had such a fun time together doing this.
Many people do not have hobbies they enjoy, so they continue working into the night because
they have nothing to do once they get home. However, you can make your hobby something that
you love doing and look forward to after a day at work.
As I get burned out, I find that I have spread myself too thin between many commitments.
This is a hard place to find yourself because you know that you are going to have to let someone
down and I hate doing that. As I have learned from experience, it is okay to say no to
commitments. A rule I have for myself when I am feeling burned out is that I must cut out the
things I do not love doing. This is because life it too short to do things you do not love and are
passionate about.

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4. Dealing with a Value Conflict
One of my core values that I believe will enhance my ability to counsel is treating everyone
equally and with kindness. I think it is important to treat everyone with kindness regardless of
their race, background, title, sexual orientation, or gender. In our society today, there is so much
anger about equality. I honestly think all the issues our country is experiencing could have been
avoided if people would just respect one another and show kindness to each other. This value
will help me work with students because I genuinely want to help all students find and achieve
success in their life, regardless of their background, what they look like, or their beliefs.
I believe it can be extremely difficult to not impose your beliefs and values on the people you
work with. It is important for people who work with children and adolescents to not impose their
values and beliefs on the students because young people are easily influenced by those in
authority in their lives. Therefore, I believe it is essential for a professional to be incredibly
careful about what they say when they are at work. For example, in a school setting, there are
people everywhere and a teacher or other faculty member could say something without intending
other people to overhear. I try to be careful of what I say in person and post on social media
because it is hard to know how it could affect someone.
With the aim of resolving a value conflict I have with a student; I believe it is important to
communicate with the student upfront about the issue. As the conversation continues and the
conflict does not lessen, I will seek a co-counselor to help me work with this student. I believe it
would be helpful to have two people involved when working with a student who has a value
conflict. If working with a co-counselor does not work to help resolve the issues with the student,
then I would refer the student to another counselor who I think they would get-along with better
and be able to grow with the help of someone else.

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5. Ethics in Multicultural Practice
The question I consider to be the most significant in regards to the ethical aspects of
multicultural practice is what a counselor should do if they are trying to work with a client or
student who has a significantly different cultural background than they do. It can be ethically
challenging to think about trying to counsel a person who has had a considerable difference in
life experience because the counselor can feel inadequate for the job of helping this specific
person.
I understand this can be one of the hardest parts about being a counselor because part of
counseling someone is understanding where they are coming from when they confide in you. To
remain ethical, I would seek the help of another, more experienced colleague to help me if I were
in this situation. For example, if I were counseling a person who had served in the military and is
struggling with PTSD, I would not feel like I am competent enough to help this individual. I
would communicate this with my client, then explain to them that one of the counselors I work
with has more experience working with this specific population. I think it is a great idea for
counselors to seek help from each other if they know they have more experience in certain areas.
While I do not believe it is ethical for a counselor to deny services to a client solely because
of their background, I do know that many people are not aware of the differences between the
various cultures on the globe. Therefore, to stay culturally competent, I believe it is important for
a counselor to be a career-long learner. A counselor needs to be sure they are attending
professional developments and conferences so they can grow in their understanding of how to
work with the multicultural community to the best of their abilities. A counselor also needs to
stay current with how diverse cultures are changing and growing within their communities, so
they are prepared to work with these people.

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6. Informed Consent
Informed consent is an important aspect of the counseling profession. It is important that
therapists talk to their clients about the process of receiving counseling in a way that makes sense
to the client. After explaining the information, the counselor needs to make sure their client
understands and then gives consent to continue the counseling procedure. The textbook also
describes the importance of clients knowing the potential consequences that could come with
receiving counseling services. I believe this is an important and difficult part of informed consent
as it could scare a person away from wanting to continue. However, it is legally and ethically
important for a counselor to include both positive and negative consequences of counseling.
Another crucial piece of informed consent requires the client to be capable of giving consent
to counseling. As a future school counselor, I will mostly be working with students who are
under-age. Therefore, it is essential to include the parents and/or guardians in the informed
consent process because they are the caregivers of the student receiving services. Working to
meet this critical standard in my practice, I plan to meet with the student individually to hear
about their perspective and concerns. Then, I think it would be beneficial to include their parents
and other household members in on a few meetings, as well. This will allow the family to discuss
what they are experiencing together, while hopefully working through difficulties as a single
unit.
Informed consent is an on-going process, especially as a school counselor. When you begin
working with a student their freshman year, you get to see their struggles and you help them set
goals. Then, you continue to build a relationship with them and are continually helping them set
and achieve goals that meet their levels of success in academics and in their personal lives. Not
every student will have the same goals, and therefore it is important to truly get to know them

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and their interests. When school counselors know their students’ likes and interests, then they
can help them find a college, career, or other path to success. I believe this relationship starts (for
a high school counselor) during a student’s freshman year.

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7. Malpractice
One of the ways that I believe any professional can protect themselves from cases involving
malpractice is by practicing accountability in all areas. Dr. Phil McGraw quotes, “A person who
has nothing to hide hides nothing”. This quote has always stuck with me because it hits
accountability on the nose. As a school counselor, I will be sure to communicate with my fellow
school counselors about any discrepancy I might be facing. When a professional asks questions
to their colleagues and checks on the things they are unsure of, this will help them decrease the
chances of dealing with malpractice.
Another way to protect myself from malpractice actions is to have boundaries established in
my relationships with students. For example, I want my students to know and believe that I am a
trusted adult. However, many relationships between educators (especially coaches) and students
can become gray because you form a special bond with student athletes as a coach. Therefore, I
will be sure to maintain my professionalism while building relationships with my students, so
they know the boundaries.
As a professional, I know the importance of always being a life-long learner. I know it will
be especially important for me to stay up to date on the laws that are in place for counseling. It is
critical to know these laws and implement them into my practice. In addition to knowing and
respecting the law in place, the textbook describes the importance of knowing why you are doing
what you are doing. If you are a counselor and you are not following a certain technique, you are
at higher risk of dealing with malpractice. Therefore, a counselor needs to know why their
techniques and procedures are being used and can justify their actions to anyone they are
working with or for. This will decrease the likelihood that a counselor will be charged with
malpractice.

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8. Confidentiality
In consideration of confidentiality, I find the topic of working with adolescents who are
underage highly fascinating. This is because adolescents can experience some serious hardships
and trials, while their parents are unaware or unsupportive. A question I have heard asked many
times is, “What would a school counselor do if a student came into their office wanting to
discuss a problem, but would not tell the counselor if they would have to tell their parents?” This
would be a tricky situation to face as a counselor, so I believe it is valuable to discuss.
Many people are unclear of when it is appropriate to break confidentiality with a student and
inform their parents about what is going on. The textbook describes that the ethics codes do little
to support counselors when to break confidentiality if a minor is involved in self-injurious
conduct. It is important for counselors to protect the rights of the minors they are working with,
while still laboring to protect their safety and the safety of others.
While considering all the aspects of protecting the rights of students, their loved ones, and
their communities, counselors can really do one thing really well; counselors need to be sure they
go through the process of informed consent with any student they work with. This will allow the
student to know that whatever they tell the school counselor will be disclosed if they are hurting
themselves or they are hurting others. Through this process, the student will also know their
parents/guardians could also be contacted if anything they say is concerning to the counselor.
While this is not a full-proof way of working with teenagers, I believe it is the most protective
and caring way to provide service to them. This is because if a student chooses to not discuss
their issues or concerns with the school counselor, the counselor can still make a phone call
home about the student coming into their office and wanting to discuss something with them.
This will give the parents an idea about what is going on with their child.

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9. Select a Case and Analyze
The case that interests me most is from Chapter 2 where Miranda is working for a graduate
program and is leading an experiential group. While she is excited to start working with the
students, who she believes know what the group entails, she soon finds out the students are not
clear about what the group is about and are feeling resentful about the whole experience.
According to the 8-step ethical decision-making model in Chapter 1, the first step is to
identify what the issue is. In this situation, the issue is clearly that the expectations of these
students were not clearly explained, and the students are frustrated, uncomfortable, and fearful of
what this group is. The issues that are involved in this case include the students having to earn
graduate level credit through their college, while not being given the clear expectations of what
their assignments would entail. The students do have a right to know what every piece of what
the experiential group is about and why they must be involved in this group. They should have
gone through an informed consent process and the director should have explained the
expectations of what they disclose in the group.
After considering the legal obstructions that have occurred in this situation, I would schedule
a meeting with the director of this program and explain the concerns the students are having
about the expectations of the group. I would not mention any names of specific students;
however, I would make it known the students did not know what the group was. After speaking
with the director, I would highly encourage him to apologize to the students who are being
affected by this and then offer the explanation in a clear and concise manner. Then, the situation
will hopefully have a more positive turn since the students will understand. However, the
director may not handle my meeting well. In which case, I would report this to the appropriate
authorities.

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10. Self-Evaluation
As I consider the work and effort I have put into this class, I believe I have dedicated an
appropriate amount of time to learn and consider the important pieces of counseling ethically. I
know ethics and your professional identity are two important parts of building a foundation as a
counselor. I believe many professional people do not consider the value in knowing ethics as
highly as they should; this has brought much heartache and disappointment to the careers of
many. Therefore, I have worked hard in this class to learn the values and lessons that are
important to incorporate in professional practice. I spend time a few days a week to get
assignments done for this class and I work hard to achieve success.
One of my strengths is that I work on the assignments at the beginning of the week rather
than waiting until the end of the week when the assignments are due. This allows me enough
time to read the chapter and complete the assignments before the time they are due. I also have
time to read the comments of my peers and consider their thoughts for the weekly topic. Another
strength I have is some experience working with adolescents in a school setting. I have one year
of teaching under my belt and this has helped the way I respond to the questions discussed in this
class. I know some of the ethical issues that adolescents must deal with, and this has given me
some insight in this course.
One of my greatest weakness at this point of my career is my age and lack of experience. I
am the youngest staff member at my school and many people do not see my input as valuable yet
because of my age. While this is a frustrating thing to go through, I understand where they are
coming from. I think it easier to take a person more seriously when they have some life
experience to back up what they are saying. I have so much to learn about being ethical and
working as a balanced professional. Percentage Grade: 93%

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Coun 533 ethical self reflection part 1

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