Discussion : Avoiding Counselor Impairment

Burnout is a major concern for clinical mental health counseling professionals and it can lead to both professional and personal issues for counselors. It can start with counselors taking on trauma, stress, and an unrealistic belief that they alone are responsible for their clients' wellness.

There are numerous factors in a counselor's work that might lead to burnout including: secondary stress and vicarious trauma, expanded roles and responsibilities, poor supervision, and lack of the specific tools necessary to perform the job.

Counseling, by its very nature, is stressful work. This stress, if not monitored and addressed, can lead to counselor impairment. The profession acknowledges this by ethically obligating counselors to be mindful not only of their own states of mind, but their colleagues' health as well.

For this Discussion, review the Counselor Impairment media and consider ethics related to counselor impairment. Examine signs of counselor impairment and the potential impact this may have on clients.

Post by Day 3 a brief description of the codes of ethics related to counselor impairment. Then explain at least two signs of counselor impairment.

Finally, propose a scenario using one of the signs of counselor impairment you identified that elicited a negative effect on client treatment. Suggest a solution for remedying the situation and justify your solution.

Be sure to use the Learning Resources and the current literature to support your response.

Counselor Impairment: Code of Ethics

A counselor's job by natural is one of the most stressful, at times we hold the stress, hurt and pain our client unload on us in order to help them grow and achieve in treatment. But at times if stress begins to add up and is not monitored or address it can lead to counselor impairment. As counselors we have an ethically obligation to be mindful not only of our client state of mind by the one's of our colleagues and our own health as well.

Burnout is a typically issues many counselors have concerns about, it can lead to personal as well as professional issues if not addressed. When reviewing ACA Code of Ethics Section C.2.g discusses professional impairment and to seek assistance for problems that reach the level of professional impairment.

Counselors also assist colleagues or supervisors in recognizing their own professional impairment and help provide consultation and assistance when warranted with signs (2014).

Signs of Counselor Impairment

Signs of counselor's impairment is failure to uphold professional responsibilities and the inability to deliver competent care to clients. This can include lack of personal care, signs of drug or alcohol abuse, depression, anxiety or moodiness (Remley & Herlihy, 2014). If a counselor is unable to deal with impairment in an ethically manner and is still working with clients, they are unable to see harm a client is going through.

An example of this is, if a client is telling a counselor of how they just lost a baby and the counselor is thinking in their mind so what they can try again. Thoughts like with impair a counselor's ability to help a client hear and find meaning in life. They are unable to up hold their professional responsibility to a client during treatment.

In this example as the counselor or one that see the counselor go though these burnouts I would report it to a supervisor. If I was this counselor I seek assistance and limit, suspend or terminate my professional responsibilities until it is determined that I may safety resume work (ACA 2014). I would want to want myself or my client at risk.

Reference

American Counseling Association (ACA). (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics [White Paper].

Remley, T. P., Jr., & Herlihy, B. (2014). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson