Personal Practice, Model of

Values

During the process of preparing for practice, all health professionals have to determine how their own personal values relate to the values being taught in their fields of choice. Mental health professionals, [Page 1028]whether consciously or unconsciously, have models of personal practice. Developing a tangible personal practice model helps the practitioner realize his or her pattern of thoughts, behaviors, and practices and allows the practitioner to see a multifaceted approach to mental health practice. The health professional's own values (personal and professional) are part of his or her identity—so Many facets play a part in this identity.

Ethics

Each facet of the mental health profession has ethical standards set forth by a governing board, which must be followed—a code of ethics. Issues involving social justice, human value and dignity, integrity, and so forth will arise, and no hard and fast rules for solving these issues exist. by having a model of personal practice, the mental health professional can grow a living, breathing model banking on prior decisions to aid in future decisions. This helps the practitioner to solidify his or her professional identity and keep it strong and expanding in knowledge.

Knowledge of Self

The desire to be well versed in all therapeutic genres related to one's personal practice is an integral part of serving human needs and diversity. Part and parcel of being a mental health professional is incorporating diversity into a knowledge base and treatment plans. This is part of one's professional identity. Each person should be treated with respect and consideration given to each facet of his or her identity: ethnicity, culture, regional cultural, level of education, religious beliefs, gender identity, age, marital status, employment, illnesses, work History, work field, family of origin—and the list goes on from macro to micro.

After initial contact, the health services professional may need to research any areas where his or her knowledge is lacking to be able to fully address issues from a learned position. Frequent consultation with other experts in the field, including staying abreast of current cultural research and published resources, attending cultural diversity conferences, and so forth are a must.

The human services professional needs to recognize his or her own biases, preconceived ideas, and limitations to help prevent one from judging or overwhelming the identity of the client.

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