Werlick 2
Abstract
This paper examines the role of beliefs and values through the eyes of the counselor.
Throughout this paper, I will talk about three identified scenarios that pose incongruence with
my own values and beliefs. This paper will show how my values and beliefs came to be and
cultivated throughout life. By incorporating evidence from “peer” reviewed literature, my
personal upbringing, and religious text.
Werlick 3
Justin Werlick
Professor Erik Schmitt
Ethics and Legal Issues in Counseling (B05)
23 January 2024
Attitudes and Beliefs Reflection
As a counselor it is important to reflect on your beliefs and values as they can impact our
choices and decisions and can influence how we treat others. Values and beliefs can be different
depending on the person and cultural background. It is important as a counselor to understand
your worldview and its implications related to the field of counseling. Throughout this paper, I
will talk about my beliefs and values related to three chosen statements that elicited feelings of
comfortability. It is noted that these statements do not coincide with my own values and beliefs. I
will examine the foundations and origins of my beliefs and the inconsistency with different
topics. Reflection is a key skill in counseling when identifying basis arising from one’s own
values and beliefs.
Reaction
Throughout my life there have been several situations that have made me question my
beliefs and values. The first statement is “A woman who comes with her husband for couples
counseling while maintaining an extramarital affair” (Corey 19). This statement goes against
several different values that I cultivated during my life, such as love, loyalty, and faith. Love is
an ambiguous term that can mean many different things depending on who is interpreting it. If
we look at the bible, we can conclude one thing: that love is pure and does not seek personal
gain, only give and inspire (The Bible, International Version 2011). Extramarital affair goes
Werlick 4
against the value of faith, believing in marriage as a sacred sacrament, a bond meant to last
forever and not taken lightly (The Bible, New International Version 2011). The second statement
is “A man convicted of pedophilia and court ordered for counseling” (Corey 19). Another value
that I believe deeply in is security. Security means feeling safe and ensuring the safety of others.
When someone indulges in the act of pedophilia the role and feeling of security is broken.
Security means taking care of someone and protecting them. When you engage in the act of
pedophilia, you defile and harm them emotionally and mentally. Another key value that it goes
against is the value of pleasure. Meaning something that you take joy and or satisfaction over. A
person who acts sexually upon a younger person with a developing mind is robbed of the chance
to have authentic and organic pleasure. The last statement that is incongruent with my values is
“A man who wants to leave his wife and children for the sake of sexual adventure with other
women” (Corey 19). To me, the institution of marriage is a sacred sacrament where two people
bond for life and should be held to the highest standards (The Bible, New International Version
2011). Marriage also comes with the responsibility of your partner but more importantly to your
children, as a father you have a responsibility to teach and raise your children to be respected
members of society. Leaving your partner because you want to have sexual adventures only
fulfills self-idealism. When you are in a marriage your responsibility is no longer about yourself
but also about others. Family is the most important value that I identify with, which is why I
chose the third statement. Family value to me means sticking with one another even when things
are tough or complicated. By leaving you break the family bond.
These statements elicited feelings of dissonance around my own values and beliefs. Each
statement was chosen because of their situations; I believe I would find these scenarios
uncomfortable when counseling an individual. Often when we reflect on our values and beliefs
Werlick 5
uncomfortable emotions arise and can cause us to stop processing our thoughts, it is important
that we see this as an opportunity to learn and grow rather than an obstacle that we must
overcome (Sue, 21).
Response
The values that I described in this paper were not innate; these values were taught to me
by society, friends, and family. I was raised by a traditional family with a mother, father, and
sister who respected Christianity. My values and beliefs were cultivated over long periods
throughout my life.
Family structure can be said to be one of the most important factors in teaching us values,
morals, and beliefs, early on we learn structure, routines and how to interact with others (White,
729). When growing up my mother had cheated on my father when I was young, and they went
through marriage counseling learning skills to help better communicate. They often held family
meetings with my sister and me to talk about issues going to and to let us vent our frustrations
with one another. This was my first introduction to the values of love. Learning that the word
love means working through issues, openly talking about frustrations, and enjoying each other.
Parents who are found to have good family values can be seen to create a safe environment for
their own children (Stien Par, 1477). During my upbringing with my parents, they reinforced this
idea repeatedly with simply gestures throughout the year to make each other feel important along
with making my sister and me important. They structured family trips yearly and always placed a
high priority on the value of family. The family included extended family, holidays were
necessary, and everyone would come together to celebrate major US holidays such as Christmas,
Thanksgiving, and Easter. Along with my parents teaching the values of love, loyalty, and
family. They also taught me about faith. Faith was important, especially to my mother, who took
Werlick 6
us to church every Sunday and holiday. My mother took us to religion and had us complete all
the sacraments of initiation. The thoughts that I have are engrained with the value of having
faith. It was important to my mother, which meant it was important to everyone because of
respect. When I was older, I learned security from my parents not only because they had
provided shelter and safety but also because they created a safe space for me to talk about my
feelings. It can be said that family function has a large role in the development of values, beliefs,
and positive family structure leads to positive values such as security (Stien, 1478). When I was
teenager, I went through counseling for depression. I learned security from an older adult who
created a trusting therapeutic relationship with me. This allowed me to express myself in ways
that I could do with others. Being able to go through counseling reinforced these values of
security within my life.
As I grew and had a foundation of values from my parents and family, I began to learn
other values from my friends. An important part of the development of values and beliefs comes
from our socialization with others and learning from different groups within the community
(White, 728). One of the values I learned from friends was the importance of loyalty. Being loyal
to a friend and sticking with them, being honest with them and having their best interest in mind.
I learned that friends you could count on to be there for you were more important than others.
When I was in high school, I took a break and was out for two months due to disciplinary issues.
When I came back, I found out that my friends had moved on and forgot about or did not want to
associate with me. I had several friends who stood by me when I returned. This is when I learned
loyalty and never took it for granted. Understanding this changes your values and beliefs and
how you socialize with others because of an event that impacted you significantly (White, 729).
When I started high school, I was a Boy Scout and held four high-ranking positions. I had to
Werlick 7
learn to manage equipment and take inventory along with school and work. Learning the value of
responsibilities. They taught me to take pride in things along with the importance of having
responsibility. This value stuck with me and influenced the choice I make today to see something
through when I start a project because you have a responsibility to finish what you start. Lastly,
an important value for me is pleasure and enjoying life. This became important when I started
working in California in my first substance abuse treatment center. I was often working overtime
and trying to do several projects and once neglecting my own feelings. Through this I learned the
importance of pleasure and enjoying life. I learned from coworkers that you must enjoy what you
do and find pleasure in your life through challenging times; otherwise, you will burn out. I
eventually never made progress up the career ladder during this employment making a choice to
value pleasure. When making a choice to work somewhere, live somewhere or take on a new
responsibility I always think about pleasure and happiness.
These are some examples of the different values and beliefs that I hold in high esteem
and think about when making choices about my own life. The values that I spoke about have
been cultivated from an early age, being 33 years old now. I do recognize that these are values
that not everyone prioritizes.
Action
Being a culturally competent counselor is the idea of understanding other cultures and
incorporating that into your own counseling practice (Gopal, 11). Counselors do not want their
worldview to influence others and do not want our worldview to skew what others might or
might not believe. As a counselor, you must take a multicultural approach when counseling
clients. It is important for myself to understand my biases and understand when it might
influence a decision or choice. It is important to have connections with other cultures and groups
Werlick 8
to understand their point of view, removing any misconceptions that might misguide you to view
that culture negatively (Gopal, 12). Learning is a part of being a competent counselor; for
myself, it is important that I continue to learn about other cultures and their values and beliefs for
best practice. In studies, it has been shown that learning from others is part openness and
acceptance, this is often found with members of religious backgrounds which is an important
part of understanding others religious backgrounds. The same idea can be said about having a
multicultural view (Farrel, 64). It is also important for me to create a professional group of
colleagues that I can consult with when working with a culture that I might not have a great
understanding of their values. Having colleagues who can shed light on cultures or even help you
to make sure that you are keeping the patient’s best interest in mind.
As a counselor, there are many different things to think about and be aware of. From
learning what my values and beliefs are, where they came from, and how they influence my
interactions with others. I can understand how my beliefs can make me uncomfortable with
different scenarios such as, the three referenced in this paper. Being able to reflect on this has
helped me to gain a better understanding of myself and the issues I might run into when
practicing counseling.
Werlick 9
Works Cited
Farrell, Jennifer E., et al. “Religious Attitudes and Behaviors toward Individuals Who Hold
Different Religious Beliefs and Perspectives: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.”
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, vol. 10, no. 1, Feb. 2018, pp. 63–71.
EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000143.
Gopal, Baiju, et al. “Facilitating Faculty Development for Training in Multicultural Competence
in Health Service Psychology Graduate Programs through an International
Collaboration.” International Perspectives in Psychology: Research, Practice,
Consultation, Oct. 2023, pp1-17. EBSCOhost,
https://doi.org/10.1027/2157-3891/a000089.
Corey Gerald et al. “Issues in Ethics in the Helping Professions.” 5th ed. Brooks/Cole Pun 1998.
Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/issuesethicsinhe00core_0/page/n9/mode/2up
New International Version 2011. Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-
International-Version-NIV-Bible/#booklist. Accessed 20 January 2024.
Stein, Gabriela Livas, et al. “Familism in Action in an Emerging Immigrant Community: An
Examination of Indirect Effects in Early Adolescence.” Developmental Psychology, vol.
56, no. 8, Aug. 2020, pp. 1475–83. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000791.
Sue, Derald Wing, et al. Counseling the Culturally Diverse : Theory and Practice, John Wiley &
Sons, Incorporated, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central,
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5761055.
White, Rebecca M. B., et al. “Theorizing the Benefits and Costs of Adaptive Cultures for
Development.” American Psychologist, vol. 73, no. 6, Sept. 2018, pp. 727–39.
EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000237.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
