Shelly: A Case Study Focusing on Ethics and Counselor Wellness

Abstract

Counselors experience stress and anxiety as part of their profession. However, frequently counselors do not attend to their own needs regarding self-care and wellness, thus, placing themselves at risk of ethical violations relating to counselor impairment. In this article, a case study is presented with a correspondent wellness plan illustrating ways that counselors might implement self-care strategies to improve their wellness. The wellness treatment plan is written in conjunction with a physician, a cardiologist, who suggests simple ways to assess and monitor wellness.

Revealing the Power of Practitioner Relationships: An Action‐Driven Inquiry of Counselor Wellness

“…The construct appeared similar to the Myers et al's (2000) description of self‐direction but lacked the number of qualities they described. Self‐preservation also appeared similar to Hendricks et al's (2009) discussion regarding counselor self‐satisfaction, career mastery, and internalized locus of control. An internalized locus of control would support participants' descriptions of competency and skill mastery.…”

“…Regardless of those challenges, we also know dozens of counselors who have been practicing for decades and who appear to maintain wellness over time. However, what we found perusing literature related to counselor wellness is that most of the professional literature is devoted to counselor impairment and remediation (Barnett, Baker, Elman, & Schoener, 2007; Hendricks et al, 2009; Linley & Joseph, 2007) rather than identification of preventive measures and strategies counselors use to maintain their wellness. A scant number of articles have focused on the wellness of counseling students (Lambie, Smith, & Ieva, 2009; Smith, Robinson, & Young, 2007) or on levels of faculty members' wellness (Wester, Trepal, & Myers, 2009).…”

“…Moreover, the Association of Humanistic Counseling (formerly the Counseling Association of Humanistic Education and Development) has long focused on practitioner wellness as a platform of humanistic counseling. Recently, the profession has published articles addressing aspects of counselor wellness, such as wellness theory (Roscoe, 2009) and the importance of counselors attending to their own wellness needs (Hendricks, Bradley, Brogan, & Brogan, 2009). Similar to Myers, Sweeney, and Witmer (2000), in this article, we define wellness as a state of optimal well‐being that maximizes a person's potential.…”

Falling From Grace: Understanding an Ethical Sanctioning Experience

“…Furthermore, counselors have an ethical and professional responsibility to engage in self‐monitoring behaviors that increase awareness and incorporate effective self‐care strategies (ACA, 2005; Hendricks, Bradley, Brogan, & Brogan, 2009; O'Halloran & Linton, 2000; Pope & Vasquez, 1998; Venart, Vassos, & Pitcher‐Heft, 2007). Stressed, distressed, or impaired counselors do not provide the most optimal level of counseling services (Lawson, 2007; Lum, 2002).…”

“…Perhaps the absence of dialogue is related to how counselors fail to recognize the extent of the emotional impact they are experiencing within themselves (Figley, 2002; Hendricks et al, 2009; Lawson, 2007; Sprang, Clark, & Whitt‐Woosley, 2007; Venart et al, 2007). Professional fatigue may unintentionally leave little room for peer support.…”