Ethics and Career Development Course ELECTIVE

ECD-400 Ethics and Career Development

This course in a nutshell:

Discussion Topics: Understanding professional ethics, application of ethics, and ethical dilemmas; self-care, professional skill development, career opportunities, and developing a private practice.

Skills: Students will begin to learn how to approach ethical decision making, when and how to seek out clinical supervision, how to gauge self-health, learn the warning signs of burn-out, and how to develop and maintain a healthy perspective on a career in the helping professions.

Course Objective : Applied Skill Development

On-line delivery of the Ethics and Career Development (ECD-400) course provides an overview of the job outcomes and foundation skills as acquired in the Diploma of Applied Psychology program.

In addition to discussion of core concepts and skill development, topics covered in this course will include: the range of mental health professions; levels of education required; and employment opportunities for entry-level counselors; and skills relating to ethical decision. Students also develop a personal career plan appropriate to their area of interest and professional goals.

COURSE CONTENT

Topics covered will include:

  • Ethical guidelines for practice, and ethical decision making.
  • Political and community impact of membership in professional association
  • Limits of scope of practice
  • Usual and customary standards of counselling practice
  • Working with diverse populations,
  • Understanding the importance of self awareness and self care for all counselors.
  • Maintaining boundaries in professional relationship,
  • Overview of major theoretical models.
  • Characteristics of an effective counsellor.
  • Different types of jobs for counsellors and other mental health practitioners.

PORTFOLIO OF JOB SKILLS

What you will learn:

The Ethics and Career Development course will teach you to recognize characteristics of successful counselors; basic counseling skills; career planning; and ethical decision making skills used by entry level counsellors. Your level of proficiency and competence with the skills introduced in this course will deepen as you proceed through the program. Upon graduation from the Diploma or Certificate program, you may include the following list of skills in your Profession Portfolio:

  1. Knowledge of the differences in scope of practice between various types of counsellors and other types of mental health practitioners.
  2. Ability to deal with counter-transference, transference, and resistant clients.
  3. Understanding of cultural diversity as it affects the therapeutic alliance.
  4. Ability to recognize and develop the necessary characteristics found in effective counsellors such as congruence, the ability to demonstrate empathy, and unconditional positive regard.
  5. Ability to adhere to the ethical guidelines and usual and customary standards of counselling practice as established by professional associations such as he ability to maintain confidentiality, and understand the limitations of confidentiality.
  6. Ability to apply ethical decision making to various professional dilemmas.
  7. Awareness of your own strengths and motives for becoming a counsellor including attitudes, beliefs and values; self awareness, and the need for self-care and prevention of burnout.
  8. Understanding of boundary issues, which can affect the efficacy of the counselling process such as dual relationships, sexual attraction, and maintaining boundaries with supervisors and teachers.
  9. Understanding of the basic differences and commonalities between the major categories of personality theories and counselling techniques.
  10. Ability to apply basic career planning strategies in assisting clients to set career goals. (Note: An in-depth study of career counseling skills is offered in the two-part elective course, Career Planning and Development.)