Standards and competencies in counseling represent attempts to articulate tacit knowledge into criteria and to regulate professional behavior. They are also important as the foundation of efforts in personnel certification and program accreditation. Standards are ubiquitous across modern society. Transnational bodies regulate standards through a representation process. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) creates and
Shifting Standards Definition Much of people’s conversation about others includes descriptions such as “he’s very tall” or “she’s smart” or “he’s really aggressive!” The concept of shifting standards refers to the idea that these descriptions are made with reference to some standard of judgment, and that this standard may shift depending on the person or
The study of behavioral development involves the use of both human research subjects of all ages and animals from chicken embryos to monkeys and apes. Research strategies exist on a continuum that ranges from nonobtrusive naturalistic observation to the direct experimental manipulation of the subject’s internal or external environment. As the range moves from observation
At the heart of the counseling profession is the all-important relationship between the professional counselor and the individual, couple, group, or family seeking help. Because the relationship itself is so central to the helping process, ethical concerns and obligations are especially salient and compelling. This relationship entails an important power differential between the professional and