Term Paper on "Supervision in Professional Counseling"

Term Paper 6 pages (1652 words) Sources: 1+ Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Standards Professional Counseling

Supervision in Professional Counseling

The Motivation Behind Supervision Standards for Professional Counseling

In 1989 a great movement swept the counseling profession, one calling for the creation of Supervision Standards for Professional Counseling. As stated by Cobia & Pipes (2002), "one of the hallmarks" of professional counseling is the counselor's ability to self-govern, which often requires some minimum of professional standards and/or education (p.140). The primary goals of such measures are often to protect the best interests of the public and the clientele served by the counseling communities (Cobia & Pipes, 2002).

Many historical events necessitated this movement. For example, among mental health professionals prior to the inception of professional counseling standards, there were relatively few rules in place regarding the number of clinical experiences or licenses needed to counsel people on mental health issues (Cobia & Pipes, 2002). Because of this, there was much variance in the training counselors had, with those having the least training most likely to produce poor outcomes among patients and clients (Cobia & Pipes, 2002; Walzer & Miltimore, 1993). There are also instances in the past where "impaired professionals" defined as those incapable of counseling another without supervision, had authority to do so or did so without adverse outcome personally, though clients may not have benefited from work with said impaired therapists (Cobia & Pipes, 2002:140).

Impact of Standards on Professional Counseling

During the 1990s, the new standards affected counselors and clients in different ways. Professional counselors agreed there is a need for formal clinical supervision and a minimum tenure of clinical experience before a professional can work in private practice without supervision (Cobia & Pipes, 2002; Watkins, 1995). The predicted outcomes for clients working with licensed professionals with adequate clinical experience were more positive than outcomes among professionals without proper qualifications (Cobia & Pipes, 2002). Thus, at the time implemented, the professional standards outlined to counselors provided an opportunity for professional counselors to gain the clinical experience necessary to provide "guidance as a disciplined professional" (Cobia & Pipes, 2002:140).

Clients benefited from standardization of practice because they carried with them into practice greater faith about the ability of the professional counselor to assist them with life events and mental health problems or affairs of the spirit (Cobia & Pipes, 2002; Watkins, 1995). As most individuals come into a counseling session with some skepticism, formal standards help reduce this skepticism so the healing process may begin faster, and a trusting relationship with the counselor may be imparted quickly. This is not to say there were no problems with the standards of professional counseling developed in 1989.

There still existed for example, little empirical evidence that the standards enacted made a significant difference in patient or professional outcomes, as few if any studies recorded the results of counseling prior to standardization measures, during standardization and after (Goodyear & Bernard, 1998). Much of the literature available is more qualitative or subjective in nature, leading to skepticism regarding the validity of research (Cobias & Pipes, 2002).

As times changed and professional counselors are faced with new challenges, it becomes apparent a need exists to improve the current standards to provide more opportunities for positive outcomes among patients and counselors. Professional counselors are also now working with a population that is much less homogenous than in times of old, so it is that professional counselors may need more clinical training in multiculturalism and diversity, which will prevent prejudice from affecting the results of counseling or preventing counseling from assisting a client (Goodyear & Bernard, 1998).

Need to Update, Revise or Add to Existing Standards

Currently, there is a great need to update and revise the existing standards, created almost 20 years ago (Cobia & Pipes, 2002). To this date, roughly 20 years following the creation of the standards in 1989, many new trends and theories have predominated in the field of professional counseling. It is now important to build on the existing standards to meet the needs of a changing clientele, one that faces problems very different from those faced during the previous 20 years. In addition to this, many recent researchers not multiple studies suggest there are "barriers" that prevent professionals from utilizing standards in the most efficient way possible, in part because many professional counselors do not agree on the definitions related to supervision and training, and also because many studies of the past leading to the original set of standards did not correctly identify the validity of the studies nor utilize methods for identifying threats to the methodology of the studies (Goodyear & Bernard, 1998; Schult, 1996; Cobia & Pipes, 2002).

For these reasons it is necessary to revise the standards using more concrete methodological processes that will generate positive or clearly identifiable outcomes, something that has not occurred in the past without question. Some potential areas for revision and possible methods of empirical research to lead to the revision are described in the sections below.

First and foremost, researchers must attempt to discern the difference between varying forms of oversight or supervision (Cobia & Pipes, 2002). There is at this time no formal definition of supervision, though some researchers have a predilection for defining supervision as a process whereby counseling professionals learn while others observe their methods and discuss potential improvements to their methods, calling into question any unethical or unusual practices (Walzer & Miltimore, 1993:590). Many healthcare professionals now agree a need exists for more clinical experience before counselors are able to provide professional services in an ethical and safe manner to the public (Cobia and Pipes, 2002).

Amongst states, there are still varying requirements for licensure and practice among regions, thus a need exists for empirical studies demonstrating a precise length of time clinical supervision is needed to produce positive outcomes, and whether licensure is beneficial in any or all circumstances from which a professional counselor works (Cobia & Pipes, 2002). There are probable cases where professional counselors can aid certain individuals with less training and cases where counselors including mental health counselors will need more training to complete the tasks at hand. Thus, empirical research may involve case studies of various professional counselors working with identifiable groups of people. Counselors may be distinguished by the type of work performed, their clinical experience and licensures. Clients would need monitoring for a defined period of time, and preferably followed for a period of one, five and ten years to ascertain the efficacy of new standards proposed to the industry.

Clients will benefit knowing there is valid data formally proving the existence of beneficial outcomes when proper licensure and experience is obtained (Watkins, 1995). Further, the definitions of supervision can be more clearly outlined once counselors undergo testing to evaluate the level of competency required to treat patients. Testing will show multiple layers or levels of "supervision" as yet to be defined may be needed for a yet to be defined period before positive outcomes are achieved (Goodyear & Bernard, 1998). Once such studies are conducted, there will be empirical evidence supporting claims that supervision and training benefit both the client and the practitioner. These studies may also lead to new discovering and newer methods of counseling that produce desirable outcomes quickly and more permanently than those used in years previous. The primary benefit of rehabilitation of professional counselors and the establishment of new methodologies is to serve the public better (Cobia & Pipes, 2002). Society will benefit the most when health professionals including professional counselors, are disciplined, rehabilitated where necessary and then returned to service in a more skilled and masterful manner (Cobia & Pipes, 2002).

In the case of impaired counselors, new standards should outline what types of supervision are necessary to help these professionals return to servicing the public in a safe and beneficial manner. To accomplish this additional… READ MORE

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