W
Leigh-Anne White & Company LLC
Toombs County Prevention, Treatment,
& Recovery
106 East Second Street
Vidalia, Georgia 30474
P: 912.585.5504 F: 912.525.3026
Theoretical Lens
Theoretical Lens
My theoretical Lens encompasses a humanistic theoretical orientation and more specifically Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Theory. The Humanistic approach to counseling holds that people have within themselves all the resources they need to live healthy and functional lives, and problems occur as a result of restricted or unavailable problem solving resources.
- Counseling/Clinical Modalities: Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing, Trauma Focused Cognitive-Behavioral, Motivational Interviewing, and Art/Experiential Therapy and Play Therapy.
- Supervision – Cognitive-Behavioral, Integrated Developmental Model, Solution-Focused
- During the supervision experience, I will take on different roles referred to as the discrimination model of supervision which includes teacher, consultant, counselor, and evaluator.
- Cultural Implications: One's cultural background and ethnicity as well as other factors supersede happiness as a goal of counseling within the context of holistic health (body, mind and spirit). Counseling as reflected in person-centered counseling focuses on the humanistic principles, holistic health, positive psychology, personal growth and the client's intentional choice-making in life.
References
Harper, F. D., Guilbault, M., Tucker, T., & Austin, T. (2007). Happiness as a goal of counseling: Cross-cultural implications. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 29(2), 123–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-007-9030-0
Purswell, K. E. (2019). Humanistic Learning Theory in Counselor Education. Professional Counselor, 9(4), 358–368.
Philosophy of Teaching and Learning
Philosophy of Teaching and Learning
My developing pedagogical identity and philosophy of teaching and learning encompasses experientialism philosophy, tactile, and kinesthetics. According to Arthur and Achenbach (2002), experiential learning can be used to raise awareness about critical issues that challenge students' personal beliefs or personal frameworks and help them develop empathy; it is not intended to emulate another but to engage awareness and accuracy about the viewpoints of others. This is so vital to my personal philosophy because I want to engage my students to be critical thinkers and to challenge their personal biases. This is especially helpful when addressing and or teaching multicultural competencies.
I want to accommodate a variety of learning styles to include visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic learners. I believe that to do this I must provide an array of assignments and activities that will include everyone. For example, for visual learners, it would be beneficial to show YouTube clips or assign a movie to watch for homework. For those that are auditory learners lectures and auditory books but those who are kinesthetic learners allowing them to listen to the auditory books while exercising or moving.
My favorite though, is tactile activities where students can have hands on activities that assist them in understanding the materials. Addressing each of these learning styles and assisting them to become familiar with their own learning style will also be beneficial for myself as an educator and my students. Helping them recognize how best they learn will allow them to have much more productive study habits. This will translate into online learning as well by encouraging my students to make these discoveries in the class café and offering suggestions to modify the assignments and activities to accommodate everyone.
References
Arthur, N., & Achenbach, K. (2002). Developing Multicultural Counseling Competencies Through Experiential Learning. Counselor Education & Supervision, 42(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6978.2002.tb01299.x
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2009). Teaching in counselor education: Personal philosophy and identity [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Leadership and Advocacy
ACA Code of Ethics- Leadership and Advocacy
The American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics (2014) discusses advocacy concerning addressing societal barriers that limit access to services and client growth and development (A.7.a). I understand this in three ways, a) personal growth and development, b) organizational compliance, and c) societal advocacy. Personal growth and development include growing competencies to work and empathize with a diverse population. Organizational compliance refers to addressing barriers within the domain of organizations you run, own, or work for that inhibit client access to services or the ability to benefit from those services. Finally, societal advocacy refers to being an advocate or ally for clients within the greater society. Doing so can include education, enforcing ethical or legal codes, or building collaboration across disciplines.
CACREP Standards- Leadership and Advocacy
The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) requires the inclusion of leadership and advocacy into the counseling doctoral curriculum. Unfortunately, it is only included in the doctoral curriculum because most leaders and advocates (and supervisors, for that matter) are master’s degree educated professionals. Most of the references for leadership fall under pragmatic leadership, covering theory, skills, and administrative tasks. The advocacy portion is a bit more interesting in that it covers current advocacy needs, the counselor’s role in advocacy, advocacy models, and essential competencies related to advocacy (CACREP, 6.B.5., 2016).
References
American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA Code of Ethics. https://www.counseling.org/
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. (2016). Section 6: Doctoral Standards for Counselor Education and Supervision. Retrieved July 11th, 2022, from https://www.cacrep.org/section-6-doctoral-standards-counselor-education-and-supervision/
