The Counseling Psychology Program at the University of Louisville adheres to the values and ethics put forward by the American Psychological Association. Students are expected to adhere to the highest professional and ethical standards. Upon entry into the program students are expected to become familiar with the Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct (2017) and the various guidelines published by APA (2003).
Respect for diversity and for values different from one's own is a central value of counseling psychology training programs. One way of how these values are manifested is in the form of the Cardinal Success Program that is part of the Department of Counseling and Human Development to which the Counseling Psychology MEd program belongs (for more information about the Cardinal Success Program please see http://louisville.edu/education/cardinal-success).Beyond the services provided through the Cardinal Success Program, many classes and significant parts of the research projects of faculty in the program and the department take place there and/or are related to social justice and diversity (for more information about faculty research please see their individual webpages). The valuing of diversity is also consistent with the profession of psychology as mandated by the American Psychological Association's Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct (2017) and as discussed in the Guidelines and Principles of Programs in Professional Psychology (APA, 2005). More recently there has been a call for counseling psychologists to actively work and advocate for social justice and prevent further oppression in society. Counseling psychologists provide services, teach, and/or engage in research with or pertaining to members of social groups that have often been devalued, viewed as deficient, or otherwise marginalized in the larger society.
Academic training programs, internships that employ counseling psychologists and espouse counseling values, and post-doc training programs (herein "programs") in counseling psychology exist within multicultural communities that contain people of diverse racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds; national origins; religious, spiritual and political beliefs; physical abilities; ages; genders; gender identities, sexual orientations, and physical appearance. Counseling psychologists believe that training communities are enriched by members' openness to learning about others who are different than them as well as acceptance of others. Internship and practicum supervisors, faculty, instructors (herein "instructors"), and students and interns (herein "learners") agree to work together to create learning environments that are characterized by respect, safety, and trust. Further, instructors and learners are expected to be respectful and supportive of all individuals, including, but not limited to clients, staff, peers, and research participants.
Instructors recognize that no individual is completely free from all forms of bias and prejudice. Furthermore, it is expected that each training community will evidence a range of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Nonetheless, instructors and learners in counseling psychology programs are expected to be committed to the social values of respect for diversity, inclusion, and equity. Further, learners and instructors are expected to be committed to critical thinking and the process of self-examination so that such prejudices or biases (and the assumptions on which they are based) may be evaluated in the light of available scientific data, standards of the profession, and traditions of cooperation and mutual respect. Thus, learners and instructors are asked to demonstrate a genuine desire to examine their own attitudes, assumptions, behaviors, and values and to learn to work effectively with "cultural, individual, and role differences including those based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, and socioeconomic status" (APA Ethics Code, 2017, Principle E, p. 1063). Stated simply, both instructors and learners are expected to demonstrate a willingness to examine their personal values, and to acquire and utilize professionally relevant knowledge and skills regardless of their beliefs, attitudes, and values.
Instructors will engage learners in a manner inclusive and respectful of their multiple cultural identities. Instructors will examine their own biases and prejudices in the course of their interactions with learners so as to model and facilitate this process for their learners. Instructors will provide equal access, opportunity, and encouragement for learners inclusive of their multiple cultural identities. Where appropriate, instructors will also model the processes of personal introspection in which they desire learners to engage. As such, instructors will engage in and model appropriate self-disclosure and introspection with their learners. This can include discussions about personal life experiences, attitudes, beliefs, opinions, feelings, and personal histories. Assuming no one is free from biases and prejudices, instructors will remain open to appropriate challenges from learners to their held biases and prejudices. Instructors are committed to lifelong learning relative to multicultural competence. Counseling psychology programs believe providing experiences that call for learners to self-disclose and personally introspect about personal life experiences is an essential component of the program. Specifically, while in the program learners will be expected to engage in self-reflection and introspection on their attitudes, beliefs, opinions, feelings and personal history. Learners will be expected to examine and attempt to resolve any of the above to eliminate potential negative impact on their ability to perform the functions of a psychologist, including but not limited to providing effective services to individuals from cultures and with beliefs different from their own and in accordance with APA guidelines and principles.
