Prompt: As pointed out in your text, ensuring counselor competence is an ongoing
responsibility for every counselor. Go to your particular state board’s website and look up cases
of counselor’s who were disciplined by the board. You may want to look under such terms as
“case decisions,” enforcement actions,” “actions taken by board,” or “discipline.” If you cannot
find your particular state’s disciplinary decisions, then pick another state. Look over the cases
that have come before your state board and answer all of the following questions:
What are the most common reasons for a board to discipline a counselor, and
what is your personal reaction as you read through the list?
What are some themes you see when you look at the common reasons for
board discipline?
Choose one of the more recent cases and discuss the following points:
What was the behavior that led to the discipline?
Identify and share the ACA Code of Ethics and your State Code that
was violated.
What was the outcome of the board discipline?
oWhat is a question this brings to mind for you?
The case decisions that I reviewed from the Virginia Department of Health
Professions had the commonality of dual relationships as the main reason for
counselors to be disciplined. In all honesty, I was not shocked with my findings
because, unfortunately, people tend to allow lustful interactions to take place no
matter the consequences. Wilkinson, Smith and Wimberly (2019) voiced that
liability claims related to dual relationships, specifically sexual relationships, are
reported as one of the most common and costly types of ethical infractions.
The theme that is most common is a male professional counselor beginning a dual
relationship with a female client that almost always has a history of sexual abuse or
violence in her past.
The most recent case reviewed was finalized February 7th, 2020 involving the
Virginia Board of Counseling against Christopher David Clotez for the sexual
abuse of a minor, which happened to be his family member.
According to the Virginia Board of Counseling Regulations (2020) Mr. Clotez
violated code 18 VAC 115-20-140 Standards 3 and 8. Standard 3 explains that the
counselor should not conduct their practice in such a manner as to make it a danger
to the health and welfare of one’s clients or to the public, or if one is unable to
practice counseling with reasonable skill and safety to clients by reason of illness,
abusive use of alcohol, drugs, narcotics, chemicals or other type of material or
result of any mental or physical condition. Standard 8 of the Virginia Counseling
Board illustrates the violation of any performance of an act likely to deceive,
defraud, or harm the public. Mr. Clotez was licensed as a resident in professional
counseling and in marriage and family therapy. He was also certified to practice as
a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor Assistant supervisee in the Commonwealth
of Virginia which means he violated regulations governed by the Certification of
Substance Abuse Counselors and regulations governing the practice of Marriage
and Family Therapy. For this discussion, I will only focus on violations against the
Practice of Professional Counseling.
The case report does not express that the minor in question was a client of the
professional counselor so he did not violate the counseling relationship but Mr.
Clotez violated standards in Section C of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) which
discusses Professional Responsibility. Standard C.2.g highlights impairment of the
counselor and requires the professional counselor to seek assistance for problems
that reach the level of professional impairment, and, if necessary, they limit,
suspend or terminate their professional responsibilities until it is determined that
they may safely resume their work. Standard C.6.a of the ACA (2014) explains that
counselors should not engage in or condone sexual harassment. Mr. Clotez violated
this standard when he sent videos of himself in an inappropriate manner to the
minor and requested the same in return. He also performed acts on the minor that
could not be consented to because of his age which probes sexual harassment.
The Board concluded that Mr. Clotez is a substantial danger to pubic health or
safety and ordered that his licenses and registration be suspended. It was also
ordered that a hearing be convened within a reasonable time of the date of entry of
the order to receive and act upon the evidence presented.
Are we doing enough as professional counselors to safeguard our profession when
people like Christopher David Clotez are able to slip through the cracks? I
understand that no one is perfect and mistakes can be made but it is almost scary to
know that by day Mr. Clotez can counsel others towards wholeness from drugs,
violence, etc. and by night he is participating in condemning acts against children.
Wilkinson, T., Smith, D., & Wimberly, R. (2019). Trends in ethical complaints leading to
professional counseling licensing boards disciplinary actions. Journal of Counseling and
Development,97(1). https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1002/jcad.12239
American Counseling Association (2014). ACA Code of
Ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2014-
code-of-ethics-finaladdress.pdf
Regulations Governing the Practice of Professional Counseling-Virginia Board of Counseling
(2020). https://www.dhp.virginia.gov/counseling/counseling_laws_regs.htm
A primary challenge is to determine which infractions are deemed remediable
and which are fundamental PPC that indicate unsuitability for the field.
Demyan, A., Abraham, C., & Bui, N. (2018). Trainees looking through the lens of a supervisor:
remediation and gatekeeping responses to hypothetical problems of professional
competency. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 46(1). https://doi-
org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1080/01926187.2018.1428128
Although research regarding counselor impairment is dismayingly scarce, I found a very
interesting study from 2007 on the topic. Lawson (2007) examined influences on counselor
wellness and impairment. One angle he examined was what he called “career-sustaining
behaviors (CSBs)” (p. 22). Lawson found 15 of these CSBs that are used more often by “highly
satisfied” counselors. These factors are (in order):
Maintain sense of humor
Spend time with partner/family
Maintain balance between professional and personal lives
Maintain self-awareness
Maintain sense of control over work responsibilities
Reflect on positive experiences
Try to maintain objectivity about clients
Engage in quiet leisure activities
Maintain professional identity
Participate in continuing education
Engage in physical activities
Spend time with friends
Not feel sense of responsibility for clients' problems
Put aside thoughts of the clients outside of work
Use positive self-talk (p. 28).
Lawson concluded,
If there is a lesson to be learned from one’s counseling colleagues about how to maintain
one’s own wellness, it would appear that it involves maintaining perspective on the work
that one does, valuing one’s clients and one’s professionalism, balancing work with
family and friends, and remaining centered spiritually (2007, p. 32).
I think Lawson’s conclusion lines up well with how God instructs us to live, whether we are
counselors or not. What are some specific scriptures that reflect these ‘career
sustaining behaviors?’
Reference
Lawson, G. (2007). Counselor wellness and impairment: A national survey. Journal of
Humanistic Counseling, Education, and Development, 46(1). 20-34. Retrieved
from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/212445686?accountid=12085
NESWALD‐POTTER, R. E., BLACKBURN, S. A., & NOEL, J. J. (2013). Revealing the power of
practitioner relationships: An Action‐Driven inquiry of counselor wellness. The Journal of
Humanistic Counseling, 52(2), 177-190. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1939.2013.00041.x
Counselor impairment can be avoided to a great extent through wellness tools. As
helping professionals, we tend to put our all into our work and provide limited
exposure and care to other areas of life that are just as important. Neswald-Potter,
Blackburn and Noel (2013) revealed in their article the major differences between
personal and professional wellness. They communicated that personal wellness is a
balance between health, relationships, and fun while professional wellness
represents a balance between self-preservation, self-concept and supportive
relationships. The Word of God provides insight into how we should conduct
ourselves behaviorally in our career and personal lives. Proverbs is considered the
book of wisdom and it discloses life nuggets that could be applied to all areas.
Proverbs 17:22 states that a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit
saps a person’s strength. If we do not learn to prioritize our time efficiently, we
could find ourselves with a broken spirit because of the busyness we create in our
lives. Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and do not
depend on our own understanding. Seek God’s will in all that we do, and He will
show us which path to take. We must seek the one who is in control and follow His
direction so overwhelming ourselves will cease to exist. We must stop stretching
ourselves so thin and creating unnecessary weariness that could be avoided.
Pausing long enough throughout our day to acknowledge God’s control and accept
His peace would behoove us beyond recognition. Proverbs 16:3 reiterates that we
should commit our actions to the Lord and then our plans will succeed. Family,
friends, colleagues and all other relationships in our lives require work to maintain
healthiness and growth. We are a people that thrive on community to sustain a full
life, but we cannot allow a sense of togetherness to dominant other responsibilities
that we take on. Colossians 3:23 instructs us to work willingly at whatever we do,
as though we were working for the Lord rather than for people. If we focus our
energy and time on pleasing God in all our ways, activities and relationships we
will indirectly gain favor over other areas in our lives including our careers.
Neswald-Potter, Blackburn and Noel (2013) encourages clinical supervisors and
practice administrators to engage in practice-wide wellness checks to support
clinical staff. Internalized wellness checks should be conducted on personal levels
to guarantee we are pouring from our overflow of strength, wellness, faith and
wholeness. Our cups should be running over, so why not give from our overflow to
make certain that our cups are being sustained?
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