BENCHMARK ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS REFLECTION PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
The Standard A.4.b. of the American Counseling Association’s (ACA) 2014 Code of Ethics mandates the following as it relates to personal values:
“Counselors are aware of their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and avoid imposing values that are inconsistent with counseling goals. Counselors respect the diversity of clients, trainees, and research participants” (ACA, 2014, p. 5).
Therefore, it is important that counselors and counselor trainees spend time identifying their own values, understanding the origin of these values, and honestly owning how personal values may adversely affect the counselor’s ability to work with certain populations or mental illnesses.
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Read and complete the Attitudes & Beliefs Inventory below (see p. 2). When you are finished, review the inventory and select three items that you had the strongest reactions to and/or you had the most difficult time answering.
Your paper should be 3-5 pages, (excluding title page, abstract, reference page), written in APA format, including a title page, abstract, introduction paragraph, body, conclusion, and references. Your paper should be well thought out and demonstrate critical thinking, self-evaluation/reflection, and practical application. Your paper must include at least 5 scholarly references published within the last 5 years. All sources must be scholarly journal articles outside of course materials, materials from other classes, and applicable to the counseling profession. No websites or direct quotes. This assignment should be written in 1st person.
Step 2: Divide your paper into the three required headings below and address the following questions within each section:
Reaction
State the 3 questions that evoked the strongest reaction in you, and/or, you found most difficult to answer. Discuss your initial reactions and why you found the assessment item difficult. Discuss your personal value(s) and belief(s), making sure to explain how they are incongruent with and/or contradict the topic in the assessment items.
Response
Explore your value(s) and belief(s) highlighted in the previous section. Reflect on when you developed them, who/what influenced their development, and how they were learned.
Action
Given the topics highlighted in the first section, your value(s)/belief(s) in the second section, what personal and professional work do you need to engage in to address the value(s)/belief(s) incongruence and conflicts?
Step 3: When you have completed your paper, save it as a Microsoft Word document under your name and assignment title (Example: Doe_J_Attitudes and Beliefs_Paper). Submit your paper via the assignment submission link in Canvas and LiveText. If the final paper you submit contains entire sentences or paragraphs that have a high similarity index to other sources, it may indicate either unintentional or intentional plagiarism. You may be contacted by your instructor.
Attitudes & Beliefs Inventory*
Directions: Using the scale below, rate each item to indicate how comfortable you would be working with this population or problem.
5= Very Comfortable 4= Somewhat Comfortable 3= Comfortable
2= Somewhat Uncomfortable 1= Very Uncomfortable
1. A family and student with fundamentalist religious beliefs.
2. A student who says that if she could turn her life over to Christ, she would find peace.
3. A student who shows little conscience development, is strictly interested in their own advancement, and uses others for personal gain.
4. A gay or lesbian high school couple wanting to work on conflicts in their relationship.
5. A student and family who believe non-whites are inferior
6. A student who identifies as an atheist
7. An 18-year-old student who got an abortion and wants to process her feelings around it
8. A 16-year-old student who is having unsafe sex and sees no problem with their behavior.
9. A high school student who is sent to you by his parents because they suspect he is using drugs and alcohol.
10. A student who is very cerebral and is convinced that feelings are a private matter.
11. Parents who believe the best way to discipline their children is through spanking.
12. An interracial dating in high school
13. A high school student who believes she is a lesbian and wants to discuss how to “come out” to her parents.
14. A school counseling colleague who believes racial disparities between students must be addressed within your school
15. A family who has found a way of cheating the system to get their children into the school of their choice
16. A student who believes women and girls should be subservient to men and boys
17. A student who believes internet sex can be a creative way to express sexuality
18. A teacher who shares that her racially diverse students are not as academically astute as her white students
19. A student who shares that “Black Lives Matter”
20. A student who sexually abused younger siblings
21. A mother whose children have been removed by Child Protective Services
22. A 16-year-old student who was recently released from youth detention for rape
23. A student with terminal cancer who wants to hasten their death
24. A school counselor colleague who states there is no need to address issues of equality and equity within your school because all is equal
*Modified from Corey, G., Cory M.S., & Callanan, P. (2011). Issues and ethics in the helping professions, (8th ed.). Brooks/Cole
