Question: As you respond to the discussion question this week, please document each step of the ethical decision making model.
The best clinical mental health counselors are on a life-long journey towards self-awareness and multicultural competence. Throughout your journey, you will learn more about who you are, what you believe, and how you perceive people and the world around you. In order to truly understand another person, you must first know yourself.
This discussion questions has two parts. First, you will explore some of your values. Counselors have an ethical obligation NOT to impose their values onto others. "Our way" may not be the "right way" or the "only way" for our clients. Ethical, culturally competent counselors are mindful and respectful of this at all times. In order to know whether or not you are imposing your values onto others, you must first identify your values. Do you know what you value? How were your values developed? How do your values impact or influence what you do, how you live your life, and what you think of others?
In the second part of this discussion question, you will explore empathy, an inherent characteristic and skill possessed by the most effective counselors. You will not only discuss empathy in most of your classes, you will also be expected to demonstrate empathy as a counselor-in-training. Empathy is different from sympathy. Understanding the difference is important.
Tasks: Part One: - Read the Giraffe and the Elephant by Roosevelt Thomas Jr: The Giraffe and Elephant
In a minimum of 200 words, respond to the following questions:
- What do giraffe and the elephant value? Have you ever felt like the elephant? If so, please describe your experiences for us. If not, why do you think you have never had this experience? What do you value? How can you keep from being the giraffe in your future work with clients? What values has this exercise helped you identify that you may not have previously considered to have an impact on your work as a counselor?
Part Two: - Watch the following video clip of Brené Brown on Empathy vs. Sympathy
In a minimum of 200 words, respond to the following questions:
- In your own words, describe your understanding of the difference between empathy and sympathy. Why do you believe it is important for counselors to know the difference between empathy and sympathy? Describe a time when you demonstrated empathy toward someone and explain how you know it was empathy and not sympathy. How is understanding your value system related to the concept of empathy?
- Support your statements by using at least one resource from professional literature in your response. Professional literature may include peer-reviewed journal articles you can access through the Argosy University online library resources; relevant textbooks; and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (websites ending in .edu or .gov).
- Be sure to read all of your classmates' original posts and respond to more than two of your classmates' posts. Your responses should be substantive, meaning they should encourage further dialogue and discussion, encourage your classmates to think about other aspects of the topic, compare your response to your classmates' responses, or ask a relevant question, to better assist you with your understanding. Responses such as "I like/I agree" or "I don't like/I don't agree" are not complete enough.
- Your discussion posts and all written assignments should reflect graduate-level writing skills and appropriate use of APA style, including in-text citations and references.
Submission Details: By the due date assigned, post your responses to the Discussion Area.
Through the end of the module, respond to more than two of your classmates' posts.