Choose three to five of the Dispositions required of Professional Counselors. Write a 250-500 word personal reflection on each of the dispositions that you chose. Make sure to discuss some of the strengths you have in maintaining the dispositions as well as any challenges you may face in upholding the dispositions.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION;

Dispositions required of Professional Counselors.

Introduction

Professional counselors are required to have the dispositions necessary to provide counseling services in a manner consistent with professional standards. The following list illustrates some of those dispositions, which may be viewed as professional qualities or skills required by all licensed clinical professionals.

Ethical and Professional Behavior

The ethical and professional behavior required of a professional counselor is defined by the American Counseling Association. These include: advocacy, multicultural competence, social and civic responsibility and leadership. In addition to these standards, there are additional codes of ethics that must be followed in order for a counselor to be considered qualified by some states or agencies (for example: the National Board for Certified Counselors).

Multicultural Competence

Multicultural competence is the ability to recognize and respect cultural differences in clients. It also entails being able to work effectively with clients from different cultures.

The counselor should be aware of the social and cultural differences among people, as well as their impact on counseling processes. Counselors need to know how to appropriately respond when these factors are present in the client’s life or history, whether those people are experiencing distress or not (e.g., cultural competency).

Social and Civic Responsibility

• Counselors are expected to be socially and civically responsible.

• Social and civic responsibility is a core value of the counseling profession in general, but particularly for professional counselors.

• The importance of social and civic responsibility in the counseling profession for the counselor’s clients can be seen throughout their practice as well as through their participation within organizations like the American Counseling Association (ACA).

Advocacy

Advocacy is the process of influencing others to bring about change. It’s a way to help others, whether it be for personal growth and development or social change.

Advocacy can be used for both personal and social justice; for example, one could use advocacy as a way to promote equality in the workplace or in society at large. A counselor who advocates on behalf of clients will offer them options that will allow them more control over their lives while also helping them understand why they are experiencing these difficulties so they can work through them successfully.

Use of Self in the Counseling Process, Helping Relationship and Career Development

You must use yourself as an object of study. Your own behavior and feelings are the ones you must understand, analyze, and change. You must not only study your clients’ behaviors but also your own reactions to them.

You should be aware of your own needs and wants in a relationship with someone else in this case the client or patient who is partaking in counseling sessions with you; this will help guide you when helping others navigate through their own lives by providing insight into what they may be feeling at any given point during their treatment process (or whatever stage they may be experiencing).

This aspect refers more specifically to how professional counselors deal with themselves when doing their job however one could argue that if one were being treated by said counselor then it would apply regardless whether said person was actually seeking out professional assistance like me!

Intellectual Competence, Activities to Maintain and Improve Competence, Demonstration of Scholarship

Intellectual competence is the ability to understand ideas and information, think critically, and apply knowledge in a wide range of contexts. Intellectual competence also includes an understanding of ethical principles that apply in the counseling profession.

Professional counselors must demonstrate intellectual competence by:

• Applying their knowledge about psychology (e.g., theories about human behavior) to real-life situations;

• Using sound reasoning when making judgments about people’s needs;

• Understanding how clients think and feel rather than just what they say; and

• Demonstrating scholarship through publication on topics related to counseling practice or research

Professional Identity

Professional identity is a part of the counselor’s self-concept. It reflects how the counselor sees herself or himself as a person who does what she or he does professionally. The professional identity includes:

• Knowledge, skills and experience that are used in helping clients develop skills needed to cope with life’s problems (e.g., counseling theory).

• Personal values that guide how you view yourself as a professional (e.g., do I believe in human rights?).

• Beliefs about what makes good counselors (e.g., am I open-minded?).

The dispositions required of Professional Counselors.

The dispositions required of Professional Counselors.

The dispositions are needed for a counselor to be effective. Dispositions are the characteristics, values and beliefs of a counselor. They represent the foundation of good counseling practice.

The dispositions are listed below.

Conclusion

Professional counselors have a duty to provide counseling services that are competent and ethical. They must seek to use their skills in ways that promote the well-being of their clients, which includes acting with integrity at all times. Professional counselors must be willing to make sacrifices for the good of others, especially those they serve as they seek self-improvement through counseling sessions or other activities like conferences or workshops where they can share knowledge with peers in order to further expand their knowledge base as professionals over time.