Counseling: Benchmark Attitudes and Beliefs Reflection Paper
Step 1: Read and complete the Attitudes & Beliefs Inventory below (see p. 2). When you are finished, go back over the inventory and select three questions you had the strongest reactions to and/or you had the most difficult time answering.
Your paper should be 5-7 pages, (excluding title page, abstract, reference page), written in APA format, including a title page, abstract, introduction, body, conclusion, and references.
Your paper should be well thought out and demonstrate critical thinking, self-evaluation, and practical application. Your paper must include at least 5 scholarly references published within the last 5 years.
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. Why? What personal value(s) and/or belief(s) did each question seem to contradict or seemed to cause some personal incongruence within you?
Response
When, from whom, and how, did you learn this (these) value(s)/belief(s)?
Action
What personal or professional work do you still need to do around this issue?
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).
Attitudes & Beliefs Inventory
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
5 1. A person with fundamentalist religious beliefs.
5 2. A woman who says that if she could turn her life over to Christ she would find peace.
2 3. A person who shows little conscience development, is strictly interested in his/her own advancement, and uses others for personal gain.
4 4. A gay or lesbian couple wanting to work on conflicts in their relationship.
2 5. A man who wants to leave his wife and children for the sake of sexual adventures with other women.
2 6. A woman who has decided to leave her husband and children to gain independence.
4 7. A woman who has decided to get an abortion but wants to process her feelings around it.
4 8. A teenager who is having unsafe sex and sees no problem with the behavior.
5 9. A high school student who is sent to you by his parents because they suspect he is using drugs.
5 10. A person who is very cerebral and is convinced that feelings are a private matter.
3 11. A man who believes the best way to discipline his children is through spanking.
5 12. An interracial couple coming for premarital counseling.
4 13. A high school student who believes she is a lesbian and wants to discuss how to “come out” to her parents.
5 14. A gay or lesbian couple wanting to adopt a child.
2 15. A man who has found a way of cheating the system and getting more than his legal share of public assistance.
1 16. A woman who comes with her husband for couples counseling while maintaining an extramarital affair.
4 17. A man who believes internet sex can be a creative way to express sexuality.
2 18. A couple who believe that sex with multiple partners is okay.
1 19. A man convicted of pedophilia and court-ordered for counseling.
4 20. A woman who makes her living as an exotic dancer.
1 21. A man convicted of domestic violence.
1 22. A woman whose children have been removed by Child Protective Services.
1 23. A man recently released from jail after serving a sentence for rape.
4 24. A man with terminal cancer who wants to discuss stopping all treatment to hasten his death.
5 25. A woman who believes in an egalitarian marriage.
