8.5 Problems of Professional Competence
Problems in Professional Competence (PPC) arise when a counselor cannot hold their professional roles and responsibilities effectively or there is evidence to show inappropriate boundaries. This requires remediation so counselors are supported in their development and protection of clients (Moralejo, 2023). A counselor is responsible for providing services that fall within their professional knowledge, skills, and abilities, beyond which a counselor is obligated to consult or refer the client to appropriate professionals (Overholser et al., 1990). When counselors cross boundaries or provide services outside of their competency, they are prone to malpractice lawsuits.
148F.125 COMPETENT PROVISION OF SERVICES.
Subdivision 1.Limits on practice. Alcohol and drug counselors shall limit their practice to the client populations and services for which they have competence or for which they are developing competence.
Subd. 2.Developing competence. When an alcohol and drug counselor is developing competence in a service, method, procedure, or to treat a specific client population, the alcohol and drug counselor shall obtain professional education, training, continuing education, consultation, supervision, or experience, or a combination thereof, necessary to demonstrate competence.
Subd. 3.Experimental, emerging, or innovative services. Alcohol and drug counselors may offer experimental services, methods, or procedures competently and in a manner that protects clients from harm. However, when doing so, they have a heightened responsibility to understand and communicate the potential risks to clients, to use reasonable skill and safety, and to undertake appropriate preparation as required in subdivision 2.
§Subd. 4.Limitations. Alcohol and drug counselors shall recognize the limitations to the scope of practice of alcohol and drug counseling. When the needs of clients appear to be outside their scope of practice, providers shall inform the clients that there may be other professional, technical, community, and administrative resources available to them. Providers shall assist with identifying resources when it is in the best interests of clients to be provided with alternative or complementary services.
Subd. 5.Burden of proof. Whenever a complaint is submitted to the board involving a violation of this section, the burden of proof is on the provider to demonstrate that the elements of competence have reasonably been met.
LPCC
2150.7510 COMPETENT PROVISION OF SERVICES.
Subpart 1. Limits on practice. Providers must limit practice to the client populations and services for which they have competence or for which they are developing competence.
Subp. 2. Developing competence. When the provider is developing a competence in a service, method, or procedure or to treat a specific client population, the provider must obtain professional education, training, continuing education, consultation, supervision, or experience, or a combination thereof, necessary to demonstrate competence.
Subp. 3. Experimental, emerging, or innovative services. Providers may offer experimental, emerging, or innovative services, methods, or procedures that are based on a scientific or practice foundation. However, when doing so, providers have a heightened responsibility to understand and communicate the potential risks to clients, to use reasonable skill and safety, and to undertake appropriate preparation as required in subpart 2 to ensure that they provide such services, methods, or procedures competently and in a manner that protects clients from harm.
§Subp. 4. Limitations to scope of practice. Providers must recognize the limitations to the scope of practice of professional counseling and professional clinical counseling. When the needs of clients appear to be outside this scope, providers must inform the clients that there may be other professional, technical, community, and administrative resources available to them. Providers must assist with identifying such resources when it is in the best interests of clients to be provided with alternative or complementary services.
Subp. 5. Burden of proof. Whenever a complaint is submitted to the board involving violation of subparts 1 to 4, the burden of proof is upon the provider to demonstrate that the elements of competence have reasonably been met.
Table 8.2: Minnesota Statutes. Source: Adapted from Ch. 148F MN Statutes and 2150.7510 – MN Rules Part.
As outlined in the statutes, while a counselor is given some room to practice emerging or innovative evidence-based services, the counselor is responsible for being transparent with the client about the services. This allows counselors to practice beyond competence within reasonable limits and is subject to supervision and peer consultation. When a client requests assistance filing a complaint to the board, a counselor must assist the client upon request, providing them with the necessary information about where to file the complaint and how to do so.
According to MN Rules Part 2150.7510, Subp. 3:
Client complaints to board. A provider shall, upon request, provide information regarding the procedure for filing a complaint with the board and shall, upon request, assist with filing a complaint. A provider shall not attempt to dissuade a client from filing a complaint with the board, or require that the client waive the right to file a complaint with the board as a condition for providing services.
Students Under Supervision
As mentioned previously, problems of professional competence (PPC) require remediation to continue supporting the counselor’s development and protecting clients receiving the services. A counselor’s journey begins as a student under supervision. It needs utmost support when addressing PPC to account for their student status, meaning someone who has just begun their journey in the counseling field and therefore needs some insights into PPC. PPC among students presents in the form of (Rust et al., 2013 as cited in Moralejo, 2023, p.8):
- Trainees are unable to recognize the presence of an issue,
- Issues are not a typical developmentally appropriate skill deficiency,
- The effectiveness and quality of client work is impacted,
- The issue spans across multiple domains of professional functioning,
- A disproportionate amount of time and attention is dedicated to remedying the issue,
- The behavior or issue does not change despite efforts and
- The issue and behavior have ethical, legal, and administrative implications
Additionally, other behaviors that require remediation were identified by Henderson and Dufrene (2013) as 1) receptivity to feedback; 2) basic counseling skills; 3) boundaries with clients, supervisors, and colleagues; 4) openness to self-examination; and 5) advanced counseling skills” (as cited in Moralejo, 2023, p.9). The institutions and supervisors providing counseling education must have an obligation to implement gatekeeping to ensure the remediation of PPC among students. Counselor educators are required to be transparent in their gatekeeping procedures with students.
Gatekeeping, discussed in greater detail in the next section in this chapter, is used to evaluate students in terms of professional competence and prevent those with inadequate skills and dispositions from entering the profession. Students are to be informed of “the levels of competency expected, appraisal methods, and timing of evaluations for both didactic and clinical competencies” and be provided “ongoing feedback” (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014, p. 15; Brown-Rice et al., 2016, p.134)
The Supervisor’s Role in Addressing Problems in Professional Competence
Brown-Rice (2016) highlighted increased legal actions against counselors due to their violation of ethics and remediation. Counseling education programs that include a field experience component and post-degree supervision as counselors-in-training are working towards licensure are designed to include structured checkpoints for formative and summative evaluations, ensuring that counselors-in-training possess the necessary skills and competencies to serve as independent practitioners (Homrich et al., 2014). Supervisors play a critical role in this developmental process, mainly through gatekeeping, which can sometimes lead to difficult decisions, such as recommending dismissal when remediation efforts fail (Ziomek-Daigle & Christensen, 2010). This process is called gatekeeping, which we describe in greater detail in the next section.
Key Takeaways
- Problems in professional competence (PPC) arise when a counselor cannot fulfill their professional roles effectively, requiring remediation to protect clients and support counselor development.
- Counselors must practice within their scope of competence, seeking education, supervision, and consultation when offering emerging or innovative services and transparently communicating risks to clients.
- Supervisors and educational institutions are responsible for identifying and addressing PPC in students and counselors-in-training, utilizing gatekeeping to ensure only competent individuals enter the profession.
- Remediation of PPC involves addressing issues such as receptivity to feedback, boundary-setting, counseling skills, and openness to self-examination, with ongoing evaluations and transparent expectations.
- Counselors must provide clients with the necessary information to file complaints and are ethically prohibited from discouraging or hindering the complaint process.