LYCEUM OF THE EAST-AURORA

3202 BRGY. FLORIDA, MARIA AURORA, AURORA

S.Y. 2020-2021

MODULE 2
Chapter 2: Discipline of Counseling
2. Professionals and Practitioners in Counseling
2.1 Roles, functions, and competencies of counselors
2.2 Areas of specialization where counselors work
2.3 Career opportunities of counselors
Content Standard: The learners demonstrate an understanding of professionals and practitioners in counseling
Performance Standard: The learners shall be able to undertake participant observation (e.g., a day in a life of
counselor) to adequately document and critique their roles, functions, and competencies
Learning Competency:
 The learners discuss roles and functions of counselors HUMSS_DIASS12-Ic-7
 The Learners Identify specific work areas in which counselors work HUMSS_DIASS12-Ic-7

WEEK 2

Lesson 2 Professionals and Practitioners in Counseling

2.1. Roles and Functions of Counselors

According to Gibson and Mitchell (2003) a helping profession is composed of members “who are especially
trained and licensed to perform a unique and service for fellow human beings”.

Roles / Functions Description

Individual Assessment Seeks to identify the characteristics and potential of every
client ; promotes the client’s self-understanding and
assisting counselors to understand the client better
Individual Counseling Considers as the core activity through which other
activities become meaningful. It is a client –centered
process that demand confidentiality. Relationship is
established between counselor and client.
Group Counseling and Guidance Groups are means of providing organized and planned
assistance to individuals for an array of needs. Counselor
provides assistance through group counseling and group
guidance.
Career Assistance Counselors are called on to provide career planning and
adjustment assistance to clients.
Placements and Follow -Up A service of school counseling programs with emphasis
on educational placements in course and programs.
Referral It is the practice of helping the clients find needed expert
assistance that the referring counselor cannot provide.
Consultation It is the process of helping a client through a third party
or helping system improve its service to its clientele.
Research It is necessary to advance the profession of counseling; it
can provide empirically based data relevant to the
ultimate goal of implementing effective counseling.
Evaluation and Accountability Evaluation is a means of assessing the effectiveness of
counselor’s activities.
Accountability is an outgrowth of demand that schools
and other tax-supported institutions be held accountable
for their actions.
Prevention This includes promotion of mental health through primary
prevention using a social – psychological perspective.

2.2. Competencies of Counselors

Seven distinct competence areas of counselors. There might be other areas but we will focus on the input of McLeod
(2003).
1. Interpersonal Skills –counselors who are competent display ability to listen, communicate ; empathize ; be present ;
aware of nonverbal communication; sensitive to voice quality , responsive to expressions of emotion, turn taking,
structure of time and use of language .
2. Personal beliefs and Attitude- counselors have the capacity to accept others, belief in potential of change, awareness
of ethical and moral choices and sensitive to values held by client and self.
3. Conceptual ability – counselors have the ability to understand and assess client’s problem; to anticipate future
problems; make sense of immediate process in terms of wider conceptual scheme to remember information about the
client.
4. Personal Soundness – counselors must have no irrational beliefs that are destructive to counseling relationships,
self-confidence ,capacity to tolerate strong of uncomfortable feelings in relation to the clients, secure personal
boundaries, ability to be a client ; must carry no social prejudice, ethnocentrism and authoritarianism.
5. Mastery of Techniques – counselors must have a knowledge of when and how to carry out specific interventions,
ability to assess effectiveness of the interventions, understanding the rationale behind techniques, possession of wide
repertoire of intervention
6. Ability to understand and work within social system – this would be compromise of awareness of family and work
relationships of client the impact of agency on the clients, the capacity to use support networks and supervision ;
sensitivity to client from different gender, ethnicity , sexual orientation, or age group.
7. Openness to learning and inquiry – counselors must have the capacity to be curious about client’s backgrounds and
problems; being open to new knowledge
2.3. Career Opportunities and Areas of Specialization of Counselors
1. Marriage and Family Counseling – refers to the efforts to establish an encouraging relationship with couple or
family and appreciate the complications in the family system.
2. Child and Adolescent Counseling – is a developing area of expertise in counseling profession. The counseling
strategies focus on helping children and adolescents acquire coping skills through promotion of resiliency, positive
attachment relationship, emotional and intellectual intelligence, and other qualities that promote optional
development.
3. Group Counseling – is the dynamic field in the counseling profession. Group counseling as a practice can be
located in most counseling programs and became the essential part of counselor’s system. Group counseling offers the
following : opportunities to members to learn from observing other group members ; can functions as helpers and
helps ; opportunities to discover that you others have similar concerns ; members are encouraged to offer help to
others ;opportunities to enhance interpersonal skills; the therapeutic climate created similar as the client’s family
origin.
4. Career Counseling –is an evolving and challenging counseling field. This type of counseling aids individual on
decisions and planning concerning their career. The counseling approach includes integrating theory and practice.
Adopted Savickas ( 1996 )as cited Nystul ( 20003 ) adopted the model of Wagner ( 1971) on structural analysis of
personality to the realm of vocational psychology. The model consist of vocational career services, occupational
placement , vocational guidance , career counseling , career education , career therapy, and position coaching.
5. School Counseling- refers to the process of reaching out students with concerns on drugs, family and peers or gang
involvement. The job requires sensitivity to individual differences and considers diversity in enhancing educational
perspective. The job requires skills on consultation, counseling’s exceptional students and with the ability to handle
problems such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, divorced or single parents, dropping out of school.
6. Mental Health Counseling - is manifested in the challenges posed by its clientele with mental disorders. Mental
disorders include serious depression, schizophrenia, and substance abuse. Mental health counselors have to be
inventive, and creative to address these problems. The job requires patience, humility, kindness and compassion.
2.4. Rights and Responsibilities, and Accountabilities of Counselors
Code of ethics help counselors to remind them of their rights, responsibilities and accountabilities in the counseling
profession. The rights, responsibilities and accountabilities of the counselors are based on the counselors associations
of Code of Conduct.
The code of ethics of the counselors is divided into seven sections, namely , (a) counseling relationship, (b)
confidentiality (c) professional responsibility (d) relationships with other professionals , (e) evaluation, assessment,
and interpretation, (f) teaching ,training and supervision (g) research and publication.( Gladding , 2000 ). We shall
only presenting in details three of the seven areas, namely, counseling relationships, confidentiality, and professional
responsibility. The following three tables below provide a sample code of ethics of the American Counseling
Association.

Areas Description
The Counseling Relationships
1. Client welfare Counselor’s primary responsibility is to respect
the dignity and promote the welfare of clients.
They are also expected to encourage client’s
growth. Counselors and clients are expected to
work together in crafting individual counseling
plans consistent with the client’s
circumstances.
2. Respecting Diversity Counselors do not engage in discrimination
based on age, color, culture, disability, ethnic
group, gender, race, religion, sexual
orientation, marital status and socio economic
status. Counselors shall respect differences and
understand the diverse cultural backgrounds of
their clients.
3. Client Rights Counselors shall disclose the purposes, goals,
techniques, procedures, limitations, potential
risks, benefits of the services to be performed
and other pertinent information to the client
throughout the counseling process. Counselors
offer clients the freedom to choose whether to
enter into a counseling relationship and
determine which professional will provide
counseling, except when the client is unable to
give consent.
4. Clients Served by others In cases where the client is receiving services
from another mental health professional, with
clients consent, inform the professional person
already involved to develop an agreement.
5. Personal Needs and values Maintain the clients and avoid actions that seek
to meet their personal needs at the expense of
the clients. Counselors shall be aware of their
values, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior and how
these apply in a diverse society and avoid
imposing their values on clients.
6. Dual Relationships Counselors are aware of their influential
position over their clients avoid the exploiting
the trust and dependency of the clients.
 Counselors should not accept as superiors or
subordinates clients’.
7. Sexual Intimacies with Clients Counselors should not have any type of sexual
intimacies with clients and do not counsel
persons with whom they have sexual
relationship. Counselors should not also
engage with sexual intimacies with their
former clients within a minimum of two years.
8. Multiple Clients In cases where counselors agree to provide
counseling services to two or more persons
who have a relationship, counselors clarify at
the outset which person or persons are clients
and the nature of relationship they will have
with each other involved person.
9. Group Work Counselors screen prospective group
counseling / therapy participants to determine
those with compatible needs. In group setting,
counselors take reasonable precautions to
protect clients from physical or psychological
trauma.
10. Fees Prior to entering the counseling relationship,
the counselors clearly explain the clients all
financial arrangements related to professional
fees.
Source: Gladding, 2000

Areas
Confidentiality
1.Right to Privacy  Counselors respect a client’s right to privacy and
avoid illegal and unwarranted disclosures of
unwarranted information.
 The right to privacy may be waived by the clients
or their legally recognized representative.
 The general requirement that the counselors keep
the information confidential does not apply when
disclosure is required to prevent clear and
imminent danger to the client or others or when
legal requirements demand that confidential
information is be revealed.
 Counselors who received information confirming
that a client has a disease known to be
communicable and fatal is justified in disclosing
information to an identifiable third party, who by
his/her relationship with the client is at high risk of
contracting the disease.
 When court orders the counselors to release
confidential information without client’s permit,
counselors request to the court that the disclosure
should not be required due to potential harm to
client or counseling relationship.

2. Group and Families  In group work, counselors clearly define

confidentiality and parameters for the specific
group being entered, explain its importance, and
discuss difficulties related to confidentiality
involved in group work.
 In family counseling, information about one family
cannot be disclosed to another member without

3. Minor Incompetent client
4. Records
5. Research and Training
6. Consultation
Source: Gladding, 2000
Areas
Professional Responsibility
1. Standards Knowledge
2. Professional Competence
permission.
 When counseling clients who are minors or
individuals who are unable to give voluntary,
informed consent, parents or guardians may be
included in the counseling process as appropriate.
 Counselors maintain necessary records for
rendering professional services to their clients and
as required by laws, regulations, or agency or
institution procedures.
 Counselors are responsible for securing safety and
confidentiality of any counseling record they
create, maintain, transfer, or destroy whether the
records are written, taped, computerized, or stored
in any other medium.
 Counselors recognized that counseling records are
kept for the benefits of the clients therefore provide
access to record and copies of record when
requested by competent clients unless it contains
information that may be misleading or detrimental
to the clients.
 Counselors obtain written permission from clients
to disclose or transfer records to legitimate third
parties unless exception to confidentiality exists.
 Use of data derived from counseling relationships
for purposes of training ,research , or publication is
confined to content that is disguised to ensure the
anonymity of the individuals involved.
Identification of the client involved is permissible
only when the client has reviewed the material and
has agreed to its presentation or publication.
 Information obtained in consulting relationship is
discussed for professional purposes only with
persons clearly concerned with the case. Before
sharing information, counselors make efforts to
ensure that there defined policies that effectively
protect the confidentiality of information with
other agencies serving the counselors clients.
Description
 Counselors have a responsibility to read,
understand, and follow the Code of Ethics and
Standards of Practice
 Counselors practice only within the boundaries of
their competence based on their education,
training, supervised experience, state and national
professional credentials and appropriate
professional experience. Counselors will
demonstrate a commitment to gain knowledge,
personal awareness, sensitivity, and skills pertinent
to working with diverse client population.
 Counselors practice specialty areas new with to
them only after appropriate education, training,
 and supervised experience. While developing skills
in new specialty area, counselors take step to
ensure the competence of their work and to protect
other from possible harm.
 Counselors accept employment only for positions
which they are qualified by education, training,
supervise experience, state and national
professional credentials, and appropriate
professional experience.
 Counselors continually monitor their effectiveness
as professionals and take steps to improve their
skills and knowledge.
 Counselors refrain from offering or accepting
professional services when their physical, mental,
or emotional problems are like to harm clients or
others.

Activity 1
Count Me In, Count me Out: Will I Give up My Job or Not?
Instruction:
1. In the area of counseling relationships of the Code of Conduct, it states that “Counselors should not have any
type of sexual intimacies with clients and do not counsel persons with whom they have sexual relationship.
Counselors should not also engage with sexual intimacies with their former clients within a minimum of two
years.”
2. What if you are counselor and you have fallen in love with your client and the client has also fallen in love
with you. Since, it is unethical to pursue the relationship; you will quit your job. Your job is also important to
you. Now, what will be your decision?

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3. The class will be divided into two. The first group will choose,” quit the job.” The second group will choose,
stay on the job”. Why? Which is more ethical? Why is it more ethical? Support your answer .Explain your
answer in form of debate.

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 Activity 2
Will I report My Client or Not
Instruction:
1. In the area of confidentiality of the Code of Ethics, there is a portion on client’s right to privacy. What if the
counselor, in his/her conversation with the client, found out that the client accidentally killed a person, will you report
the client to police or not? Explain your answer.
2. The class will be divided into two. The first group will choose the position of disclosing the information to the right
authorities. The other group will take the position of not disclosing the information to the authorities. What is your
position? Why?
3. Share your answer below
4. Will I report? Or will not report?

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Superior – 4 Proficient - 3 Poor - 2 Unsatisfactory - 1 Score

Used many facts Used some facts Used few facts Did not present facts to
to support all arguments. to support all arguments. to support arguments. support arguments.

All arguments were logical and Most arguments were Some arguments were Few arguments were logical
convincing logical and convincing logical and convincing and convincing

Communicated clearly and Communicated clearly; Seldom communicated Failed to communicate

confidently; maintained eye frequent eye contact; good clearly; poor eye contact; clearly; no eye contact;
contact; excellent voice inflection voice and delivery rate. poor voice and delivery monotone delivery.
and delivery rate. rate.

Addressed all opponent Addressed most of Addressed some of Did not address opponent’s
arguments with counter-evidence. opponent’s arguments opponent’s arguments arguments.
 with counter-evidence. with counter-evidence.

Total Score:

Test your Knowledge and Understanding

1. What is the importance of counseling?
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2. If you were given a chance to become a counselor are you going to grab it? Why or Why not?
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3. What are roles of counseling?

4. What Careers opportunities and areas of specialization of counselors?

5. What are the roles and functions of counseling?