Introduction to Rehabilitation Counseling

1. Introduction to Rehabilitation Counseling Profession and Standards of Practice Code of Professional Ethics Advantages of Certification Lecture 2, 8/26/98

2. Brief Review of Syllabus

3. Discuss Film Selections

4. The Professional Portfolio • Let’s take some time to understand what it means to be a rehabilitation counseling professional • Scope of Practice • “Qualified Practitioner” • Standards of Practice (Ethical Code) • Credentialling

5. Who Are the Stakeholders? • The consumers • Approximately 49 million persons with disabilities • Regulatory agencies and lawmakers • Purchasers of services and referral sources for services • Educators of rehabilitation counselors • Students

6. What are the Primary Functions of a Rehabilitation Counselor? • Work with consumers who have various disabilities to help them develop or enhance their: • vocational skills for gainful employment • coping skills for independence • Other skills for community integration

7. Certified Rehabilitation Counselors • 14,700, according to phone call with Eda Holt, current CEO of the Foundation for Rehabilitation Research, former director of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC)

8. Rehabilitation Counseling Defined • Collaborative effort • Identify problems, barriers, and potentials • Make effective use of personal and environmental resources • Advocate for full participation in Society, with a particular focus on career aspirations

9. Rehabilitation Counselor Activities • Assessment • Goal development and planning • Provide or arrange for therapeutic interventions • psychological • medical • social • behavioral

10. Activities continued • Job placement and follow-up services • Vocational evaluation

11. What makes us special? • Specialized knowledge of the client’s disabilities and of environmental factors that interact with those disabilities, in addition to counseling skills.

12. Related professions for comparison: • Let’s try to define: • social work • mental health counselor • school counselor • career counselor

13. Work Settings • State-federal vocational rehabilitation agencies • Community-based rehabilitation agencies • Supported employment services • Workers compensation and insurance agencies • Disability management and.....

14. Settings continued • Employee assistance programs • industries • schools • hospitals • clinics • Residential and Independent Living facilities • Student services at colleges and universities

15. More settings..... • Corrections facilities • Public or private employment agencies • A variety of allied health profession settings

16. Qualified provider of rehabilitation counseling service: • MA • CRC • Licensure when necessary

17. Ethical Standards.... • Established by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) • with cooperation from American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (ARCA, part of the ACA), and • National Rehabilitation Counseling Association (NRCA, part of the NRA)

18. and.... • Alliance for Rehabilitation Counseling (ARC) • A coalition of ARCA and NRCA to coordinate our efforts to affect change in public policy and law

19. Two key documents that establish Standards of Practice: • Scope of Practice for Rehabilitation Counseling • Adopted by ARCA, NRCA, CRCC, NCRE, and CORE • See Portfolio Insert pp. 1-2 • Memorize the scope of practice statement (III)

20. Standards of Practice: • Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors • A covenant between ARCA, NRCA, and CRCC • National Council on Rehabilitation Counselor Education (NCRE) • Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) • Guidelines and Procedures for Processing Complaints • CRCC’s document which describes the process following a violation of the code

21. Research that embodies scope of practice studies • Professional roles, functions, and competencies • Ongoing validity studies • Unprecedented in the health care field, a major asset in the maintenance of a viable, responsive profession • Predictive validity studies • There are studies to support the effectiveness of our services

22. Role and Functions Study • Assessment • Affective counseling • Vocational counseling • Case management • Job Placement

23. Ten Knowledge Domains • 1. Vocational counseling and consultation services • 2. Medical and psychological aspects of disability • 3. Individual and Group Counseling • 4. Program evaluation and research • 5. Case management and service coordination

24. Knowledge domains cont. • 6. Family, gender, and multicultural issues • 7. Foundations of Rehabilitation • 8. Workers Compensation • 9. Environmental and attitudinal barriers • 10. Assessment

25. Types of Disabilities • Physical Disabilities • Sensory Impairments • Developmental Disabilities • Learning Disabilities

26. Types cont. • Emotional Disabilities • Neurological Disabilities • Chemical Dependencies

27. Curriculum Requirements • See Portfolio and our Graduate Programs Brochure

28. Anatomy of the Ethical Code • The Preamble: Types of Assistance • Counseling • Vocational exploration • Psychological and vocational assessment

29. Preamble, types of assistance cont. • Evaluation referrals: • social • medical • psychiatric • vocational • Job Placement and Development • “Other” types of services

30. Anatomy of the Code cont. • 10 Canons of professional conduct (Aspirational Goals) • Moral and legal standards • Counselor and Client Relationships • Client Advocacy • Professional relationships

31. Canons cont... • Public Statements/Fees • Confidentiality • Assessment • Research activities • Competence • CRC credential

32. Anatomy of the Code cont: • Rules of specific enforcement • These are enforceable guidelines for specific circumstances

33. What types of assistance are you able to provide? • “Required to do so in a manner that is consistent with their education and experience.”

34. Scenario 1 • You served as a forensic specialist on behalf of your client, providing expert testimony related to a worker injury that was a high profile case, which received national attention. You are approached by Time magazine to comment on matters that are public record. Should you comment?

35. Canon 1, Moral and Legal Standards • “avoid any behavior that would cause harm to others” • Perhaps your providing an alternative forum for this public information brings unwanted and stressful attention to the client you served.

36. Scenario 2 • If you are arrested and charged with criminal assault in a situation that is unrelated to your profession, and it makes the headlines of your local newspaper, have you violated any ethical code?

37. Canon 1, R1.7 • “ Moral and ethical standards of behavior are a personal matter for rehabilitation counselors to the same degree as they are for any other citizen, except as such standards may compromise the fulfillment of the individual’s responsibilities or reduce public trust in rehabilitation counselors. “

38. Scenario 3 • You have successfully placed individuals with disabilities at a firm that has a reputation of being very conservative, and you know members of management would never knowingly hire a person who was gay. You have a qualified person for a position, and the client happened to inform you that she was gay. Should you tell the firm about this information?

39. Canon 1, R1.9 • Rehabiliation counselors will not condone practices that result in illegal or otherwise unjustifiable discrimination on any basis in hiring, promotion, or training. • This information should be treated with confidentiality, and the placement made with the client fully informed of the situation.

40. Scenario 4 • You had a client successfully placed over two years ago, and you meet eachother at a bar. Your impression of this person was that you were compatible as friends. The former client expresses a desire to do social things with you, and expresses similar sentiments about compatibility. What should you do?

41. Canon 2, Client Counselor Relationship, R2.3 • “make every effort to avoid dual relationships that could impair their professional judgment or increase the risk of exploitation.” • The dual relationship may adversly impact future need of your services, or the power differential between counselor and client may lead to a relationship that is exploitative.

42. Scenario 5 • You receive a referral, a client that has recently been discharged from a psychiatric institute for the criminally insane. You find out from the client’s history that he molested and murdered a child 20 years ago. Should you work with this client?

43. Canon 2, R2.4 • “rehabilitation counselors have an obligation to provide unbiased, objective opinions.” • If the history of this client presents an obstacle to your objectivity, it would be best to make a referral.

44. Scenario 6 • A person who uses a wheel chair comes to you for advice on a situation. She went to a K-Mart where an aisle was blocked with gift wrap boxes, and she was unable to get to some bows that she wanted. She asks you if the store could get away with that. What do you do?

45. Canon 3, Client Advocacy, R3.1 • “...obligated at all times to promote better access for individuals with disabilities to facilities, programs, transportation, and communication so that clients will not be excluded from opportunities to participate fully in rehabilitation, education, and society.” • Great opportunity to make an offer of your expertise in terms of the ADA and accessibility, etc.

46. Group Activity • Come up with some ethical dilemmas from Canons 4 through 10

47. Why Become a CRC? • Established in 1974 • 23,000 have been credentialled • 14,700 currently in practice

48. Specifics of the CRCC Exam • 10 different criteria • Exam is given in April and October • Contact the CRCC at 847/818-1967

49. Credentialling • Accreditation • Registration • Licensure • Certification

50. Other types of Credentials • CCM (Certifed Case Manager • CDMS (Cert. Disability Management Specialist • Administered by the CRCC • NCC (National Certified Counselor • CCMHC (Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor) • Administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC)