Competency 1: Therapist Awareness of One’s Own Assumptions, Values, and Biases
School counselors are held to professional ethical standards in which they are to ensure all students receive the help they need without being discriminated against because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religious belief or disability. In order for a school counselor to be effective one should have an awareness of their own values, biases and assumptions, in order not to influence the individuality of the student. School counselors are dedicated to helping students with their problems, and one should be honest and trustworthy when helping others. According to (Sue, 1992), “Culturally skilled counselors have specific knowledge…show more content… No one intervention works for all students regardless of their culture differences or similarities. For instance consider the following scenario, Tish a Hispanic student doesn’t speak fluent English and prefers to receive instructions in Spanish, Maria also a Hispanic student speaks English and Spanish, she prefers to receive instructions in English. Both are in the same English class and there teacher has decided to give both of the instructions in Spanish. Maria, grades begins to drop because she refuses to do her English assignments and is referred to the school counselor. As a school counselor you review her academic records and find she has never had any problems with the English classes. After speaking with her, you come to understand she feels her teacher is discriminating her on the basis of race and culture. The goal of the school counselor is to develop intervention plans that aim at helping students with academic and social/personal concerns. As the school counselor you speak with Maria teacher and recommends she communicate with Maria in English as she wishes. Maria grades improve and all is well. Tish the student whose grades are average needs assistance with speaking English, as the school counselor you may recommend she join an afterschool program that helps students learn how to communicate in English. According to Sue (2013), “Because groups and individuals differ from one another, the blind application of techniques to all situations and all populations seems ludicrous.” Each intervention plan or technique will need to be individuals according to the needs of each student. As a school counselor when developing intervention plans having an awareness of students and beliefs and values will enable for a more effective counseling relationship. Understanding and recognizing students’ cultures