The major obstacle I foresee in working with couples is my individualistic worldview towards life. Subliminally, I may exhibit my bias towards independence, autonomy, and monogamy. My strong values for commitment towards only one partner may diminish the support in working with polyamorous individuals or couples in open relationships. In addition, I may struggle in working with the insider-outsider positions of a steprelationships. My values for prioritizing primary relationship may conflict with the stepfamily insider-outsider position. I may be more compassionate towards either the children or the stuck partner in the stepfamily. Therefore, working with stepcouples may require conscious effort to empathize with stepcouples as a team, than
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I would also educate myself by reading more about insider-outsider challenges and use consultation when needed during the treatment. Although my goal is to be a general mental health counselor, I would give preference to the stepcouples where the ex-spouses are not a part of the family. The outcomes of the therapy may be ineffective when the ex-spouse is not part of the therapy (Gurman, Lebow, & Synder, 2015).
Overcoming Biases
Biases and challenges in the therapy may affect the decision-making process. The conflicts of the therapist may result into disagreements, transferences, and countertransferences. Being the EFT couples therapist, it is my goal to work towards emotions and create opportunities for positive experience. Therefore, to overcome biases, and providing fair and balanced couples therapy to all couples, the following preparation as a therapist would be helpful:
• Nonjudgmental attitude – It is extremely important to experience difficulties while exploring the “nontraditional living patterns” of couples nonjudgmentally. As a therapist it is necessary to be open minded and knowledgeable about the lifestyle of couples; therefore, it is encouraged that a therapist is mindful of not pressuring couples with the personal biased beliefs (Weitzman, Davidson, & Phillips, …show more content…
It would be helpful to explore personal biases by becoming aware of personal intimacy or commitment fears. It would be helpful to understand the reasons of polyamourous couples declining to “come out” about their beliefs and values. The literature related to values, beliefs, and nature of polyamory clients may provide me the evidence-based knowledge; therefore, it would support my clinical work and provide them with the effective couples therapy (Weitzman, Davidson, & Phillips, 2009).
• Beneficence – As the graduate counselor, my ethical values towards counseling is extremely valuable to me. Therefore, working to benefit the client, for the client, and provide them the hope in distress is important to me. Therefore, while working with polyamourous couple, stepcouple or any challenging couple, promoting wellbeing is imperative. Nevertheless, as the EFT couples therapist it is my responsibility to create a safe haven for the vulnerabilities and empower couples with trust.
I would also educate myself by reading more about insider-outsider challenges and use consultation when needed during the treatment. Although my goal is to be a general mental health counselor, I would give preference to the stepcouples where the ex-spouses are not a part of the family. The outcomes of the therapy may be ineffective when the ex-spouse is not part of the therapy (Gurman, Lebow, & Synder, 2015).
Overcoming Biases
Biases and challenges in the therapy may affect the decision-making process. The conflicts of the therapist may result into disagreements, transferences, and countertransferences. Being the EFT couples therapist, it is my goal to work towards emotions and create opportunities for positive experience. Therefore, to overcome biases, and providing fair and balanced couples therapy to all couples, the following preparation as a therapist would be helpful:
• Nonjudgmental attitude – It is extremely important to experience difficulties while exploring the “nontraditional living patterns” of couples nonjudgmentally. As a therapist it is necessary to be open minded and knowledgeable about the lifestyle of couples; therefore, it is encouraged that a therapist is mindful of not pressuring couples with the personal biased beliefs (Weitzman, Davidson, & Phillips, …show more content…
It would be helpful to explore personal biases by becoming aware of personal intimacy or commitment fears. It would be helpful to understand the reasons of polyamourous couples declining to “come out” about their beliefs and values. The literature related to values, beliefs, and nature of polyamory clients may provide me the evidence-based knowledge; therefore, it would support my clinical work and provide them with the effective couples therapy (Weitzman, Davidson, & Phillips, 2009).
• Beneficence – As the graduate counselor, my ethical values towards counseling is extremely valuable to me. Therefore, working to benefit the client, for the client, and provide them the hope in distress is important to me. Therefore, while working with polyamourous couple, stepcouple or any challenging couple, promoting wellbeing is imperative. Nevertheless, as the EFT couples therapist it is my responsibility to create a safe haven for the vulnerabilities and empower couples with trust.