Counselling frameworks and theories are all connected to possibility. Much in the way, a
carpenter will always utilize the proper tools necessary to start a job, and reassess their work
partway through to ensure they are using the proper equipment; so, will a counselor apply a
similar philosophy toward the therapeutic alliance with their client. And as the sociopolitical
landscape shifts, so must we maintain professional consistency by continued education and
acutely assessing the biopsychosocial-spiritual needs of our clients. The Canadian Counselling
and Psychotherapy Association states that Counsellors/therapists [must] maintain high standards
of professional competence and ethical behavior and recognize the need for continuing education
and personal care to meet this responsibility (CCPA, 2020). Supporting this, The Nation
Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2020) states that:
(a) Social workers should provide services and represent themselves as competent only
within the boundaries of their education, training, license, certification, consultation
received, supervised experience, or other relevant professional experience. (NASW,
2020).
(b) Social workers should provide services in substantive areas or use intervention
techniques or approaches that are new to them only after engaging in appropriate study,
training, consultation, and supervision from people who are competent in those
interventions or techniques. (NASW, 2020). Understanding the scope of my practice and the limitations therewithin is of utmost importance
toward my professional best practice. A recent example of a challenge has been self-educating
myself: with the appropriate guidance, toward better understanding the non-binary they/them
movement and restructuring my understanding of gender norms and their social construction in
