Spiritual Integration Vlog- Holcomb, Meredith

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School

North Georgia Technical College *

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Course

RESEARCH P

Subject

Philosophy

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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docx

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Uploaded by holcombmeredith

Good evening, my name is Meredith Holcomb, and I am from the state of Georgia and I plan on becoming licensed within the state of Georgia I have read the Smith et al., (2019) and Matise et al., (2018), articles in their entirety The ethical principle from the ASCA ethical standards that I identified which is in harmony with my spiritual beliefs is Autonomy. Autonomy according to the ASCA is fostering the right to control the direction one’s life. This principle essentially addresses the concept of independence of people. It gives the individual a freedom of choice and action within their life. For me personally this principle was not in harmony until I began to navigate my way throughout this course. When I first entered this program I for the first time actually realized how much my personal faith and belief in Jesus Christ has shaped me and influenced me into who I am. It is a large part of my everyday life and during this course I have discovered a harmony with the principle of Autonomy that I did not have prior to beginning this program. As a school counselor I am responsible to accept a client for who they truly are. I will take on the responsibility to accept a client’s value’s, be sensitive to cultural differences, and promote autonomy but without imposing on my own value system. Throughout this course I have realized the importance of the commitment to engage fully with clients, allowing them to express their true selves and uniqueness. This means for me, I am learning to not run from a problem or provide my solution to an issue with a client, but rather let them talk and let this

allow you to become actively engaged with a sensitivity to the client and where they are within their journey and lives. As a counselor I have come to the understanding that I will be listening to my clients more instead of talking. I need to let them take the floor and allow them to feel the ability to open up without the feeling of judgement due to my personal or spiritual beliefs. When you hold such strong beliefs and values it is hard to not reflect that onto someone else. But throughout this course I have now learned to importance behind autonomy and allowing one to be their true self and express their feelings during session not yours. I need to understand my client’s needs, put myself within their shoes, and help them then draw out a solution from within their selves. This provides the greatest chance to ensure autonomy for a client. One standard from the ASCA code of ethics that currently remains in conflict with my personal and spiritual beliefs is Beneficence. This is defined by the ASCA as one working for the good of the individual and society by promoting mental health and well- being. I believe this is a very important principle and it is my sole duty to work for the good of my clients well beings. However, this means working to their good according to the ASCA and ACA standards, not my own personal and or spiritual beliefs. This is something I am still learning to work through and navigate. It is important and my given responsibility as a licensed counselor to follow the guidelines and standards set forth by the ASCA and ACA committees. But due to my strong spiritual beliefs and personal values it sometimes can become hard. Sometimes I might think I need to take a certain action in

order to protect a student because I feel in my heart that it is the right thing, but the ASCA guidelines could say otherwise and I do not currently need to do anything because this will best protect the student according to their standards. It is important to always follow the given standards set forth for a licensed school counselor and never rely on your own personal feelings about a situation. I might think I am doing what is best for the client, however I could potentially be bringing forth more trauma and harm if I am not following the ASCA guidelines and using my own opinions. This is something I need to work on. Not allowing my personal values or beliefs cloud my judgement when trying to work for the good of each and every student. In order to ensure this does not integrate into my career as a professional school counselor, I will need to continuously self- assess my personal values and beliefs and become a life-long learner of not only my beliefs, but the beliefs of others. I will need to work on pushing myself out of my comfort zones and accept client’s values, not as my own, but as their values and what they believe in, not me. It is about them, not me. Matisse 2018 states that the first step is for the counselor to consider any strong feelings that may arise concerning their own and/or the client’s spiritual perspective. It is important for the counselor to realize their own biases concerning religion and spirituality, whether favorable or inimical. It is important for me to frequently assess my beliefs and values and how they might impact my feelings during a client’s session. If I am aware of these feelings I can better navigate them and prevent projecting them onto my client and their given values. It is so important to

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be aware of your own personal beliefs because if you are not then you do not know how you might react to a situation your client is going through, and it could cause a strain on the client therapist relationship. This is something I will always continue to work on throughout my career as a school counselor. Whether it be through self-evaluation, attending workshops, and continuously educating myself to be genuine in accepting my clients for who they truly are and provide guidance that hopefully results in continual growth for myself as a counselor and them as a person in society.