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.