Homework

Professional Portfolio

Russell Yost, LPC, LMFT

Knowledge, Skills, and Professional Development (25%)

1. How you are striving to meet the standards for licensure and professional behavior

I am licensed with the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners, as a Licensed Professional Counselor, and as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist. I am required to complete 30 hours of continuing education every two years to maintain these licenses. These 30 hours must include ongoing training in cultural competency and mental health ethics or law. As a supervisor, I am also required to complete six hours of supervisor training every three years, to provide supervision for clinicians pursuing independent licensure.

2. How you intend to obtain ongoing professional development

To advance in my EMDR training, I am working towards certification with Emdria. I have completed ten hours of group supervision, ten hours of individual supervision, and will be completing 14 hours of advanced training. I will be completing online training in the use of EMDR in the treatment of OCD.

I have also been learning about DBT at my place of employment, by reviewing DBT treatment manuals, observing experienced DBT IOP therapists, and taking part in providing some of the teaching in our DBT IOP adolescent treatment group.

3. How discrete, identified knowledge and skills were integrated and applied in real clinical contexts in this practicum

When I completed my practicum at ASU in 1981, I worked closely with my practicum supervisor, who observed my sessions and gave me feedback following my sessions. At the same time, I was completing courses in the masters program, so this gave me the opportunity to learn about techniques, try these in my sessions, and receive feedback from my supervisor. We also videotaped our sessions and reviewed the tapes ourselves and with our supervisor.

4. An example of your ability for continual self-reflection (less than 100 words)

When I write my session notes, this gives me a chance to consider my approach in the session. I also ask my clients for feedback, as to what they got out of today’s session, what was helpful, and what was not helpful. It is challenging to keep up self-reflection in a busy environment, but it is also essential. I know that it would be helpful to video record my sessions, but I have not felt comfortable with doing this with my current clients. I may explore how to do this, with the client’s written permission. I would focus the camera on myself, view it within a few days, and destroy the recording after I have viewed it, to ensure client confidentiality.

5. Your professional goals statement

6. A current curriculum vitae (or resume)

Collaboration (10%)

1. Your collaboration with supervisors and faculty

2. Reflections on your counseling cases (no identifying information included)

Ethics and Application (25%)

1. Reflections on ethical dilemmas and how you implemented the appropriate code of ethics in their resolution

1. Confidentiality: While preparing for a telehealth session, I noticed a client in the telehealth waiting room who is a daughter of friends of my family. I reported this to my supervisor, and she determined that I don’t supervise her counselor. While I have the capability to view her records, this would be inappropriate due to my friendship with her family. A few weeks later, my wife and I had lunch with her parents, and the mom told me that her daughter was seeing one of the counselors at my workplace. I commented that the counselor was a good worker. If I were present when this client was staffed, I would remove myself from the meeting.

2. A counseling case study, with identifying information carefully removed, showing your

1. counseling theoretical perspective,

2. biopsychosocial assessment,

3. a collaboratively constructed treatment plan,

4. course of treatment, and

5. discharge summary

Committees and Presentations (10%)

1. Committee work at your counseling agency (or any work in any type of group setting)

2. Presentations with at least one of the following: within the agency setting, at conferences, or professional meetings (could be a staffing of a client, sharing some information, etc.)

Thesis Development and Purpose (7%)

Argument Logic and Construction (8%)

Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use) (5%)

Paper Format (use of appropriate style for the major and assignment) (5%)

Documentation of Sources (citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc., as appropriate to assignment and style) (5%)