BENCHMARK ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS 1
BENCHMARK ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS REFLECTION PAPER
Julia Kirkland
Department of Behavioral Science, Liberty University
COUC501: Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling
Dr. Candace Sneed
November 3, 2024
BENCHMARK ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS 2
ABSTRACT
This essay is a self-reflective study examining my exploration of personal biases,
preconceptions, and potential barriers in therapeutic relationships with specific client
populations. I will identify key challenging areas including work with individuals holding
opposing lifestyle choices than my own. My reflection will reveal how personal history and
spiritual beliefs may impact therapeutic effectiveness with these populations. I will outlines
concrete steps for professional development, exposure-based learning experiences, and enhanced
supervision focused on countertransference. This paper contributes to the growing need for
future counselor self-awareness. The findings emphasize the importance of ongoing self-
reflection and professional development in building therapeutic competence across diverse client
populations.
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Benchmark Attitudes and Beliefs Reflection Paper
The counseling profession is a complex arena. It is normal for counselors to share
different values and beliefs than the individuals that their clients. This paper will address my
personal biases and responsibility to the counseling profession. Topics like pedophilia, abortion,
and adolescent sexual behavior are deeply sensitive issues that I find hard to address in
counseling. I will dissect how they formed and the contradictions they have within the
profession. Lastly, I will review the importance of self-awareness and professional development
to address my challenges. Through this I aim to illustrate my willingness to give quality care to
all individuals and the need for change.
Reaction
Upon reviewing the Attitudes and Beliefs worksheet I found three questions that were
difficult to answer. These questions involved abortion, teen sex, and pedophilia. I concluded that
I felt strongly about them after I realized I could not help those individuals without imposing my
own values. I value adhering to the things written aforetime in the bible. The scripture tells us
that the things of old were written for our learning. I believe if we do these things we will avoid
judgement which happens when we do things contrary to what we were commanded. Therefore,
I believe certain situations are self inflicted due to us disobeying Gods laws.. I learnd that
biblically that it is against Gods laws to murder and have sex before marriage. Deuteronomy 5:17
says,“ Thou shalt not kill (King James Bible Online, n.d.) .” This scripture
made it very plain that we should not kill anyone, let alone the baby that is
growing in our wombs. I value the unborn children, because I understand
BENCHMARK ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS 4
them to be gifts from God. Psalms 127:3 reminds us that “Lo, children are
an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward (King James
Bible Online, n.d.).” I believe when we do these things we commit sins
Proverbs 8:36 says that.“he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: All they that hate me
love death (King James Bible Online, n.d.) .” I value doing what God says so I do not get judged
or put to death. I believe it would be in everyones best interest to do the same, to avoid
punishment.
I would find It difficult d to counsel a teenager that is having unsafe sex. I believe my
values stems from several places. As a mother, I hold the belief that children should not engage
in adult activities. I understand that there are several dangers that stem from unprotected sex.
They could conceive a child. or contract sexually transmitted infections. Having sex is also a
profoundly serious thing that I do not think teenagers understand emotionally. I would find It
hard not to impose my own beliefs or values on them about their risky behavior. I also hold a
religious belief that sex is for individuals that are married . The scriptures tells us that.”
“Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will
judge.” Hebrews 13:4. There are a lot of grave consequences that comes with a few minutes of
pleasure. I would just want them to genuinely take that into consideration.
Counseling a pedophile may be triggering for me because I am a survivor of sexual abuse. I
believe that its hard to recompense a crime so grave. The bible tells us that sexual immoral things
like rape were judged by a death in the Old Testament. I learned this from my Church as an
adult. It made me realize the severity or sexual crimes against individuals. I disagree with his
actions due to the bible telling us to subdue these unreasonable feelings towards kids. The bible
says, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness,
BENCHMARK ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS 5
inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry (King James Bible
Online, n.d.).” I do believe that this person can repent of their actions if they are genuine. Being
that the counseling was court mandated I do not fully think that individual is ready to change.
Response
All of my values are rooted in the scriptures. I learned my values about pre-marital sex,
and abortion from my church in 2016. During that year I decided to take my faith seriously and
not only believe, but to do the things were written. I read the scripures for myself to learn more
things that I should do. Ovetime the biblcal principals became my morals and values.
I learned my values about pedophiles reallt young. I’m a survivor of sexual abuse.
Therefore I hold negative biases towards individuas who are involved with that type of life. I’m
still coping with its lasting affects. I recognize that sexual abuse can leave lasting effects on
individuals.I fear the thought of the pedophile minimizing their actions. This could cause me to
feel angry and lack empathy. I feel my boundaries will be blurred and I could develop vicarious
trauma. Therefor I may feel some disgust about the choices that that individual made. Im unsure
if I would be able to view them as an individual versus an unwell person that wants to make a
change.
Action
There is a considerable amount of work to be done to improve these areas. I am
committed to taking the necessary steps to become competent and to build healthy therapeutic
relationships. I want to start off by increasing my faith. I would like God to use me as a vessel to
help those in need. I want to embody the grace that Jesus Christ showed to us and have empathy
for those that are in need. Christ said that people that are whole don’t need a doctor. I have to
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train myself on how to have undonditional positive regard regardless of my beliefs. I want to
deepen my spiritual journey so that I can harness my faith to inspire and support as many people
as possible in making lasting changes in their lives.. I plan to do this through prayer, fasting,
studying the bible , and speaking with my spiritual counselor.
Next, Im plan to learn the code of ethics and practice utilizing it in my everyday life. I
understand my values are not a direct reflection of those that counselors follow. I will however
learn these values and in bed into my being. That will help me develop my counselor identity. I
will than learn how to properly incorporate my personal and professional values. In their 2021
narrative inquiry, Thacker, Minton, and Riley noted that there is a need for intra- and
interpersonal development to integrate personal attributes and professiona roles into a
professional identity. My main goals are to ensure I’m not engaged in any malefience, and
promoting autonomy. This can happen when I get counsel from a professional to resolve
specific issues that I have. I know that countertransference can occur when unresolved emotions
or experiences influences how counselors interact with their clients. I will utilize counseling so I
can maintain boundaries with my future clients and to ensure im being consious of imposing my
personal beliefs on them. I geneuinely want my future clients to understand that their life is in
their hands. I want to ensure they feel supported througout our counseling relationship, and
empowered to make serious decisions.
Utilizing my mentors and supervisors to help guide me in the ethical decision making
models will ensure great navigation throughout my career. I can look to them, because they have
experiences with a plethora of unique circumstances. I’m interested in role playing with mentors,
so that I can be prepared to hear different situations and get feedback. Role play is an
instructional strategy for teaching graduate counseling stu-dents basic attending skills (Osborn,
BENCHMARK ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS 7
West, & Nance, 2017). They can give me guidance and feedback on what areas that I struggle in.
Feedback helps CITs to discover unresolved personal matters that mayevoke intense negative
emotions toward clients or oneself in or out of session (Prikhidko, Su, Houseknecht, & Swank,
2020, p. 104). They can I will than have a diverse perspective to help me challenge perspectives
that I may not have seen. I can also inquire about observing them interact with different
individuls to learn how to maintain boundaries and effectively communicate.
All counselors, regardless of their scope of practice, mustbe prepared by their CACREP-
accredited programs to delivercompetent counseling services to all clients (Kocet & Herlihy,
2014, p. 180). This is the reason that I will self-reflect on my values, and gain the infomration
necessary to become content in that areas that I struggle to understand like pedophilia and
abortion. I will attend worshops and conferences to learn how to serve these populations better.
It's imperative, because I don’t want my values to superceed the clients .The ethical mandates of
the profession must be upheld regardless of the personal values and beliefsof the counselor
(Kocet & Herlihy, 2014, p. 181)
Lastly, I will utilize the evidence-based practices like the Client-Centered approach to
ensure im prioritizing the clients needs over my own personal beliefs. I will learn more about
human development to determine the how and why problems occur. I wold also like to
incorporate neuroscience into counseling to help myslf understand the why behind actions. In
their 2022 study, Beijan et al. explored the experiences of counselor educators incorporating
neuroscience into their teaching. I believe this information is vital so that we can become more
confident while helping clients as well. Then I can focus on helping the individual once I
understand the depths of the problem. I can also get involved with emperical research for
BENCHMARK ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS 8
professional development. This will allow me to reflect on my current practices and adapt to
changes to promote continout growth
CLOSING
Through this journey of self-reflection, I have gained profound insights into my own
biases and limitations as a future counselor. My examination of personal beliefs, particularly
regarding lifestyle choices that differ from my own, has revealed both challenges and
opportunities for growth in my therapeutic practice. While my spiritual beliefs form an integral
part of my identity, I have come to understand the critical importance of separating these
personal convictions from my professional role as a counselor. This process has taught me that
acknowledging our biases is not a sign of professional weakness, but rather a crucial step toward
becoming a more effective counselor. The concrete steps I have outlined for my professional
development is a commitment to continuous growth and learning.
I realized that becoming a culturally competent counselor is an ongoing journey.
Throughout my self reflection I recognize when my personal beliefs might interfere with the
therapeutic process. I recognize that this self-reflection process must continue throughout my
career. As our society becomes increasingly diverse, the ability to work effectively with clients
from all backgrounds becomes ever more crucial. I am committed to professional growth.
In conclusion, this made me realize that counseling demands an ongoing commitment to
self-awareness, personal growth, and professional development. By maintaining this
commitment to growth and remaining open to challenging my own preconceptions, I will be
better equipped to serve all clients with the understanding, empathy, and professional
competence they deserve.
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REFERENCES
Beijan, L. L., Prosek, E. A., Jones, L. D., Jackson, D., & Legacy, B. (2022). A consensual
qualitative analysis of counselor educators’ experiences incorporating neuroscience. Counselor
Education and Supervision, 61, 247–261. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12234
King James Bible Online. (n.d.). Colossians 3. King James Bible Online.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Colossians-Chapter-3/#5
King James Bible Online. (n.d.). Deuteronomy 22:15. King James Bible Online.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Deuteronomy-22-15/
King James Bible Online. (n.d.). Psalms 127:3. King James Bible Online.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-127-3/
King James Bible Online. (n.d.). Psalms 127:3. King James Bible Online.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-127-3/
Kocet, M.M. and Herlihy, B.J. (2014), Addressing Value-Based Conflicts Within the Counseling
Relationship: A Decision-Making Model. Journal of Counseling & Development, 92: 180-186.
https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00146.x
Osborn, C.J., West, E.M. and Nance, W.Z. (2017), Experiences of Counselors-as-Clients in
Counselor Education. Counselor Education and Supervision, 56: 112-129.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12066
Prikhidko, A., Su, Y.-W., Houseknecht, A. and Swank, J.M. (2020), Emotion Regulation for
Counselors-in-Training: A Grounded Theory. Counselor Education and Supervision, 59: 96-111.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12169
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Sells, J.N. and Hagedorn, W.B. (2016), CACREP Accreditation, Ethics, and the Affirmation of
Both Religious and Sexual Identities: A Response to Smith and Okech. Journal of Counseling &
Development, 94: 265-279. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12083
Thacker, N.E., Minton, C.A.B. and Riley, K.B. (2021), Marginalized Counselor Educators'
Experiences Negotiating Identity: A Narrative Inquiry. Counselor Education and Supervision,
60: 94-111. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12198
