Personal Values in Counseling

Your personal values impact your role as a counselor. It is important to understand when and if disclosure of personal values is appropriate and how to counsel a client with different values than your own and still maintain a therapeutic relationship. Imagine a counselor with strong pro-life values working with a client who is contemplating having an abortion. Think about how you might develop and maintain a therapeutic alliance with this client without imposing your own values. Both silence and self-disclosure can be used as therapeutic techniques when dealing with these types of challenging situations.

For this Discussion, review this week's Learning Resources and view the media titled, "Attitudes, Values, and Beliefs." Consider how you would work effectively with clients whose values (such as those regarding abortion, pre-marital sex, sexual orientation, variance of gender role expression, or religious beliefs) differ from your own. Reflect on how you might use silence and self-disclosure in this type of situation.

Post by Day 4 an example of a specific situation in which a client's personal values might be challenging for you. Then, explain how your own values might influence your work with clients who have values different from your own. Finally, explain how you might use silence or self-disclosure to maintain a therapeutic alliance with a client who holds values different from your own.