Key Concepts in Counseling and Advocacy

advocacy

promoting an idea or a cause through public relations (speaking on behalf of individuals or groups and promoting ways of ensuring that their rights are respected and their needs are taken care of through social action)

burnout

the state of becoming emotionally or physically drained to the point that one cannot perform functions meaningfully

careers in counselling

psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers

compensatory model

in this model clients are held responsible only for solving their problems, but not for causing them, they suffer from the failure of their social environments to meet their needs (counsellors and clients form a partnership to overcome problems)

credentials

reflect the formal education and certification of a professional

developmental/wellness approach

based on stages that people go through as a normal part of human growth, counselling from this perspective is based on whether a problem a client is having is based on a developmental task of life (focus on prevention & education)

DSM-IV-TR

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV

effective counsellors

qualities include intellectual competence, energy, flexibility, support, goodwill & self-awareness

enlightenment model

this model holds clients responsible for causing their problems but not for solving them, clients are seen as guilty individuals whose lives are out of control, they need enlightenment into the nature of their problems and ways of resolving these problems that the counsellor can provide (counsellor is an authority figure)

generalist human service workers

(paraprofessionals) who have received some formal training in human relations skills, but work as a part of a team rather than as individuals (mental health technicians, child care workers, probation personnel & youth counsellors)

medical model

in this model, clients are not held responsible for either the cause of their problem or its solution (counsellors act as experts and provide the necessary services for change)

medical/pathological model

represented by those who base treatment plans in accordance with the DSM

moral model

in this model clients are seen as responsible for both causing and solving their problems (counsellors are viewed as coaches or motivators)

nonprofessional helpers

friends, colleagues, untrained volunteers, or supervisors

paraprofessionals

human service workers who have received some formal training in human relations skills, but work as a part of a team rather than as individuals (mental health technicians, child care workers, probation personnel & youth counsellors)

personal qualities

curiosity & inquisitiveness, ability to listen, comfort with conversation, empathy and understanding, emotional insightfulness, introspection, capacity for self-denial, tolerance of intimacy, comfort with power & ability to laugh

professional helpers

educated to provide assistance on both a preventive and remedial level (counsellors, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses & marriage and family therapists)

psychiatrists

earn a MD and complete a residency in psychiatry, prescribe medications

psychologists

hold a doctoral degree (or in some provinces a master's degree)

social workers

hold a bachelor's degree in social work (BSW)

STIPS

format for organizing and thinking about a case (Signs and symptoms, Topics discussed in counselling, counselling Interventions used, clients' Progress and counsellors' continuing plan for treatment, any Special issues of importance regarding clients)