COUNSELING AS PROFESSION AND  Adult Counselor

PRACTICE  Geriatric Counselor

 Clinical Psychologist
DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND
ROLES OF PROFESSIONAL
• have gone extensive training in counseling
COUNSELLOR
• undergraduate and graduate degree
• School Counsellors - help students deal
usually:
with hindrances in their studies.
 Field of Psychology, Counseling,
• Career Counsellors - help their client
Social Work, Human Resource
prepare for the start of their professional
Management, Behavioral Science
lives, adjust to change in the workplace, and
• some are doctors in MEDICINE who succeed in their careers.
completed their recidency training as
• Child Abuse Counsellors - help victim of
Psychiatry
child abuse rebuilds their psyche, trust
• adult or child psychiatry others, and gain happiness

• geriatric counselors - geriatric medicine • Child Counsellors - provide counseling

services for children, adolescents, and their
REPUBLIC ACT 9258 family.
• Professionalized the practice of guidance • Geriatric Counsellors - provide
and counseling in the Philippines counseling services to senior citizens and
• Basis of creating a board in counseling their families.
which administers the exam in counselors • Depression Counsellors - help people
• Code of Ethics of counselors who deal with the mental, emotional, and
physical issues arising out of depression.
PRACTITIONERS THAT PRACTICED
COUNSELING PRIVATELY • Community Mental Health Counsellors
- provide therapy, counseling, and coaching
Clinical Psychologist - perform counseling services to help minimize mental health
Psychiatrist - perform counseling and issues and promote mental health in
authorized to give medication communities.

PROFESSIONALS AND • Legal Counsellors - usually lawyers who

PRACTITIONERS OF COUNSELING rehabilitate inmates and help them adjust to
their incarceration.
 Guidance Counselor
 Human Resource Development • Grief Counsellors - help people cope with
Specialist loss from the death of a loved one.
 Career Counselors • Hospital Counsellors - help patient
 Marriage Counselors develop a positive view of their
 Psychiatrist confinement.
 Child Counselor
• Drug Abuse Counsellors - may be hired • demonstrates compassion and are aware
in inpatient or outpatient facilities: and sensitive to the various cultural and
personal backgrounds of their clients
 Inpatient Facilities - counsellors
assist in the care of high-risk patients
battling substance abuse.
4. Professional Identity
 Outpatient Facilities - counsellors
are hired to provide treatment during • think and act like professionals
the day wile patients are allowed to
return to their work at night. • usually members of professional
organizations for guidance counselors
• Resident Care Facilities Counsellors -
assist and monitor temporarily living in a 5. Good Social Skills
foster care facility, including those that • must be able to relate well with different
house troubled or at-risk youth. types of people, groups, and communities
• Religious or Spiritual Counsellors - • must maintain productive and respectful
specialize in combining mental health relationships with clients
counseling with Christian beliefs in their
practice.
• Grief Counsellors - help people cope with 6. Effective Communication Skills
the loss that usually follows the death of a • able to clearly communicate ideas,
loved ones. feelings, and information through verbal,
COMPETENCIES OF COUNSELORS non-verbal, and written skills

1. Professionalism • use professional terms and concepts

appropriately
• expected to follow the policies and
procedures of the institutions 7. Basic Helping Skills

• also expected to be highly organized and • relate to the counselors’ readiness to help
exhibit integrity their clients

2. Accountability • listens and is empathetic towards others

• must take responsibility for their own • respects and shows interest in other
actions cultures, experiences, values, pov’s, etc.

• must value the commitments they have • effectively uses verbal and non-verbal
made with clients and other parties communication

3. Concern for the Welfare of Others 8. Knowledge of Key Issues and Concepts
in related Disciplines
• make sure that they look after the welfare
of their clients • open to working with professionals from
other related disciplines
• recognize the contributions of other THE RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES,
disciplines in the development of counseling AND ACCOUNTABILITIES OF
COUNSELORS
9. Scientific-mindedness
• Observe confidentiality
• expected to display critical scientific
thinking and apply scientific methods • Code of Ethics must be known by the
counselors
• evaluate the methodologies of studies and
the scientific basis of their findings • Maintaining a high standard of
professional competencies
10. Awareness and Application of Ethical
Decision Making  Cont. Education and Renewal of
Licenses
• apply the concepts of informed consent
 PGCA - Philippines Guidance and
and confidentiality in their practice
Counseling Association
• value morality in their work, as well as  PAP - Psychological Association of
honesty and integrity the Philippines

11. Observational skills • Accountable to their clients, peers, and the

general public
• able to observe clients’ facial expressions,
body language, and social interactions CODE OF ETHICS
during session
The Code of Ethics for counselors outlines
a particular set of behaviors that is expected
of the professional, as well as certain
12. Thinking Skills prohibitions.
• use a variety of thinking skills from The Code of Ethics discusses how the
analysis to problem-solving skills counselor should relate to their clients,
• reasoning skills enable the counselors to peers, and the public.
see connections between issues that are The Code of Ethics includes provisions
unrelated to one another describing the client’s right to privacy.
13. Computer Skills The ethical principles underlying any Code
• adept at using computers and other of Ethics for Counselors includes:
devices, as these can help them perform Respect for Autonomy
their task more easily.
• Autonomy is the individual’s right to self-
• need to be skilled in using medical determination.
software to store and analyze client records,
spreadsheets, and word processing programs • Have a right to act freely even if others do
to write reports and such not like their choices.
• Autonomy should always be respected, but
is limited by two restrictions:
  The rights of the individuals END
where rights of others BEGIN
 Respect for autonomy assumes that
individuals are capable of
understanding the consequences of
the choices they make

Beneficence
• Counselors must do all they can to help
their clients.
• Valuing beneficence also means that the
counselor cannot end the process without
seeing an improvement in the client.
Nonmaleficence
• The responsibility of preventing the client
from getting worse, be it by intention,
reckless action, or incompetence.
• Obliges clients to avoid exposing clients to
research or experimental treatments with
high risk and little benefit.
Justice
• Involves treating all clients equally,
regardless of the status in life.
• Counselors set goals and devise strategies
based on the individual characteristics of the
client and not on discriminatory attitudes
towards groups.
Fidelity
• Involves being “loyal” to the client
• Confidentiality of the client
• Counselors must avoid ending the
counseling process abruptly.
• If doing this is unavoidable, counselor
must refer the client to another counselor.