Counseling the Counselor: Personal
Therapy
Counselor educators and
supervisors are seen as gatekeepers for the profession, ensuring that learners
who graduate from their programs are competent to provide counseling services
to the public. In many graduate counseling programs, attending personal
counseling sessions is a requirement. Counseling is also frequently required in
situations where learners are demonstrating problem behaviors and have been
placed on a remediation program.
What criteria should counselor
educators and supervisors use when determining whether a learner or trainee
needs remediation? List three specific behaviors that might indicate a learner
may not be competent to work with others in a helping relationship.
What types of remediation
activities or programs should be required for learners who are demonstrating
problem behaviors in their programs or at their fieldwork sites? For each of
the three problem behaviors you identified, discuss a method by which the
learner could address these issues and describe how the learner would
demonstrate improvement.
Do you believe personal therapy
should be a requirement for learners who are preparing to become professional
counselors? Why or why not?
Support your ideas with references
to specific ethical standards and to a minimum of two peer-reviewed articles.
