Pope Ch. 6

Question 1

Competence as an ongoing project

Answer 1

“Competence” is not a final destination. Instead, it requires ongoing humility and an openness to continuing to learn and improve.

Question 2

Intellectual Competence vs. Emotional Competence

Answer 2

Intellectual competence is about “knowing about” and “knowing how” and may be gained through formal education, professional training, supervised experience, and continuing education. Emotional competence is about knowing oneself. Strategies to build emotional competence may include appropriate self-care and regular consultation with informal networks of colleagues. Note: A national survey of psychologists found that therapists rated informal networks of colleagues as the most effective resource for prompting effective, appropriate, and ethical practice.

Question 3

Scope of Practice

Answer 3

A major aspect of competent therapeutic practice is knowing the scope, or limits, of one’s competence and not practicing outside of those limits.

Question 4

Why ethical issues involving scope of practice can be challenging in practice

Answer 4

In practice, doing the right thing from a scope of practice perspective may conflict with other considerations. For example, perhaps we have worked successfully with a given client for several months until an issue presents itself for which our previous training is inadequate.

Given our personal investment in this particular therapeutic relationship, we might find it challenging to “let the client go,” i.e., to refer the client to a therapist better suited to meet the client’s emerging needs. Alternatively, losing the client might place a significant strain on our personal finances. Whatever the reason, it might be tempting to avoid referring, even if we know that referring would be the right thing to do.

Question 5

Competence as an ethical and legal responsibility

Answer 5

Competence is hard to define. Licensing boards and civil courts sometimes specify defining criteria for areas of practice. More often, they require that in whatever area of therapy and counseling the clinician is practicing, they should possess demonstrable competence. Demonstrable competence requires clinicians to produce evidence of their abilities. Usually this evidence comes from formal education, professional training, and supervised experience, followed by continuing education. Note: A competence requirement often appears in ethical, legal, and professional standards. For example, Section 1396 of California Title 16 states: “A psychologist shall not function outside his or her particular field or fields of competence as established by his or her education, training, and experience.”