Personal-Professional Values Conflict

Where are my points of tension? (Self-study)

There is an emergent consensus in our professions that it is the responsibility of each counsellor to align their personal values and beliefs with the values of the professions of counselling and counselling psychology. As a counsellor or psychologist, you are joining, and in a sense becoming an emissary of, the professions. It is important, therefore, to analyze critically values conflicts between counsellor values and professional values. Deep engagement with the latter creates a foundation for ethical, culturally responsive, and socially just practice. This is challenging personal and professional work that needs to be done before, or outside of, your direct interactions with clients. Consider the following quotation:

As a profession, we do not mandate personal values, but we can articulate and expect professional values that orient one to being able to wrestle deeply with any personal values that preclude performing professional duties (which include serving the needs of oppressed groups and clients different from oneself). Inflexible and rigidly held values of racism or sexism, of viewing gay and lesbian individuals as sick and immoral, or any other oppressive attitude are not in line with professional standards and ethics and will interfere with the fulfillment of professional behaviors. Our trainees must be required to learn to perform required professional duties. One of these required duties is to provide ethical and quality services to all individuals, including members of groups that are marginalized in society and that have less social, political, and/or economic power. This notion is a foundation of the Values Statement. (Mintz et al., 2009, p. 670)

Mintz and colleagues focused on one specific area of potential personal-professional values tension; however, there are many other possibilities. For example, you might struggle with the professional value of advocacy on behalf of clients, because it doesn't align with your view of yourself as a counsellor or psychologist. Consider the following questions for reflection. Choose the a couple that are most meaningful for you and write a one page reflection.

• Where might my personal values diverge from those of the counselling profession?
• How much do I position my values as absolute truths as opposed to social constructions that reflect my culture and context?
• What rationalizations might I incline toward to justify holding onto or prioritizing my personal values?
• What do I risk, personally or interpersonally, by being willing to loosen my grip on long-standing personal values or assumptions?
• Where my values diverge from the values of the profession, is there a higher-order value that I can grab onto to bridge the gap I perceive?
• How willing am I to engage in continued competency development through supervision, consultation, or training to address places where I remain misaligned with the profession?
• What are the potential benefits of approaching values assessment and negotiation with humility and openness to change, instead of rigidity and certainty?
• What supports might I need to put in place, or what barriers might I need to remove, to delve deeply into these complex issues?