Bshs 322 - Communication for the Human Service Professional

Counseling is a profession that tailors the approach to the needs of the client, presenting issues and the personality of the individual. A counselor's approach is also unique based on belief systems and personal values.

My Beliefs, Values, and Clinical Gestalt with Individuals and Systems Paper

Beverly R. Gibson

Communication for the Human Service Professional/BSHS 322

June 4, 2011

ToJauna Jackson-Forbes

As a professional, clinicians bring a mixture of expectations, attitudes, beliefs, biases, thoughts, and feelings about all situations and experiences. Often clinicians will be conscious of the mixture and sometimes they will not. Counseling is a profession that tailors the approach to the needs of the client, presenting issues and the personality of the individual. A counselor's approach is also unique based on belief systems and personal values. ()

In my daily lives, I view people making judgments all the time. The decisions are, in fact, decisions about how to react in a given circumstances. These judgments are usually based on the information that is being taken in through their five senses and through their intuition. The facts can be obvious or indirect, and consequently, the decisions can be blatant or subtle as well. I often find myself making judgments that are habitual and out of my awareness. I frequently have to stop and think about every action that I decide to take, in order to make an unbiased decision. In my job as a Career Counselor, I cannot afford to be immobilized. The way to become conscious of my morals and beliefs, and their possible impact on the views of my clients, is through a thoughtful process of observing my value system. Throughout my career training, one important issue was as a professional I must be non-judgmental in my approach to clients. I believe this is a recipe for disaster. We are all biased and judgmental. However, we do not have to behave in a biased or judgmental way. By becoming aware of our biases and judgments and bringing them into consciousness, we can choose to act in a conscious and intentional manner.

Public awareness campaigns and public information materials have been developed, in part, to help the general population clarify its beliefs. However, there are several areas new to society that have not presented effective prevention efforts. As a result, many of these long-held beliefs about certain issues unexplored.

In an effort to help myself become more aware of my values, I have developed some reflection questions, which might help not only me but, others, get in touch with some of their own personal beliefs. The list of questions is not extensive. It does, however,