Oleh:Nasrudin Subhi

Pusat Pengajian Psikologi dan Pembangunan Manusia,

Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan,Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Three major components capture the essence of the meaning professional competence:• Knowledge• Skill• Diligence

Knowledge• To be knowledgeable means being schooled

in the history, theory and research of one’s field and aware of the limits of current understanding.

• In counselling theory and research are always evolving.

• Knowledge is first achieved by completing a credible degree program.

Counsellor Act (1998) has a list of registrable qualifications in its Second Schedule:

Name of Institution Granting Qualification

Description of qualification

University of Malaya Master of Education (Guidance and Counselling)Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Diploma in Psychology (Counselling)Master of Arts (Counselling Psychology)Master of Education (Guidance and Counselling)

Universiti Putra Malaysia Bachelor of Education (Guidance and Counselling)Master of Science

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Master of Education (Guidance and Counselling)International Islamic University

Master of Education (Guidance and Counselling)

Universiti Sains Malaysia Bachelor of Education with HonoursMaster of EducationDoctor of Philosophy (Education)

Kelayakan pendaftaran adalah terkandung di dalam seksyen 24, Akta 580: 24(1): seseorang hendaklah didaftarkan

sebagai kaunselor jika dia memuaskan hati Lembaga bahawa dia seorang warganegara Malaysia atau seorang pemastautin tetap Malaysia, berumur tidak kurang daripada dua puluh satu tahun, adalah orang yang layak dan sesuai didaftarkan sebagai kaunselor dan memegang mana-mana kelayakan yang dinyatakan dalam Jadual Kedua.

24(2): jika seseorang memegang apa-apa kelayakan yang tidak dinyatakan dalam Jadual Kedua tetapi Lembaga berpuas hati bahawa kelayakan itu adalah tidak kurang daripada atau yang bersamaan dengan kelayakan yang dinyatakan dalam Jadual itu, Lembaga boleh meluluskan pendaftaran orang itu sebagai kaunselor jika dia memuaskan hati Lembaga bahawa dia seorang warganegara Malaysia atau seorang pemastautin tetap Malaysia, berumur tidak kurang daripada dua puluh satu tahun dan adalah orang yang layak dan sesuai untuk didaftarkan sebagai kaunselor.

• 24(3): Menteri boleh, selepas berunding dengan Lembaga, meminda Jadual Kedua melalui perintah yang disiarkan dalam Warta.

Kod Etika Kaunselor, Lembaga Kaunselor (Malaysia)• C.2 Kompetensi profesional

C.2.a Sempadan kompetensi C.2.b Bidang kepakaran baru C.2.c Layak untuk pekerjaan C.2.d Memantau keberkesanan C.2.e Konsultasi mengenai obligasi etika C.2.f Pendidikan berterusan C.2.g Ketidakupayaan C.2.h Ketidakmampuan kaunselor atau penamatan

praktis

Jumlah kredit minimum komponen kaunseling untuk peringkat Sarjana Muda dan Sarjana yang perlu diambil seperti berikut:Peringkat Nilai Kredit Minimum

Ijazah Sarjana Muda 81

Ijazah Sarjana 48

Sumber: Piawai dan Kelayakan Latihan Kaunselor, Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia

Pecahan kurus untuk Ijazah Sarjanamuda hendaklah seperti berikut:

Komponen Jumlah Jam Kredit

1. Teras 662. Latihan Amali atau Praktikum 33. Internship 64. Elektif/ Projek Penyelidikan 6 Jumlah 81

Sumber: Piawai dan Kelayakan Latihan Kaunselor, Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia

Pecahan kursus untuk Ijazah Sarjana hendaklah seperti berikut:

Komponen Jumlah Jam Kredit

1. Teras 332. Latihan Amali atau Praktikum 33. Internship 64. Elektif/ Projek Penyelidikan 6 Jumlah 48

Sumber: Piawai dan Kelayakan Latihan Kaunselor, Lembaga Kaunselor Malaysia

Kod Etika Kaunselor, Lembaga Kaunselor (Malaysia)• F.11 Kompetensi multibudaya/kepelbagaian

dalam program pendidikan dan latihan kaunselor F.11.a Kepelbagaian pensyarah F. 11.b Kepelbagaian pelajar F.11.c Kompetensi multibudaya/ kepelbagaian

Skill• The second component of competence is skill,

not just in practicing therapeutic procedures in the classroom but also in successfully applying interventions with actual clients.

• Overholser and Fine (1990) divide this component into two kinds of skills: Clinical skill: is the counsellor’s appropriate use of basic

interviewing skills. Includes abilities such as the capacity to build a productive

therapeutic alliance, to communicate effectively and to sensitively explore uncomfortable aspects of a client’s problem.

Technical skill: concern effective use of specific therapeutic interventions.

Example: to administer an individual intelligence test. Professional judgment on which test is the most suitable. The judgment must be based on recent knowledge and

development.

To develop clinical judgment and intervention skills, counsellors training programs require field experiences such as practical and internships as degree requirement.

Because of the complexity of skill building in counselling and psychotherapy, many hours of closely supervised field experience are necessary to achieve success in applying counselling interventions.

Kod Etika Kaunselor, Lembaga Kaunselor (Malaysia)• F.2 Kompetensi penyeliaan kaunselor

F.2.a Penyediaan penyelia F.2.b Isu-isu multibudaya/kepelbagaian dalam

penyeliaan

Diligence is the consistent attentiveness to the client’s needs that takes priority over other concerns.

A diligent counsellor gives deliberate care to appropriate assessment and intervention for a client’s problem and maintains that care until counselling is completed.

Diligence means that the professional is willing to work hard to help a client and is ready to refer the client elsewhere is the counsellor fells unable to give competent help.

Only counsellors that understand their strengths and weaknesses can truly be diligent.

Evidence of diligent attitude emerge in several ways:• Thoroughness in counselling• Sure and reasonable positive about diagnosis

and treatment• Willingness to do extra reading and be up to

date with current knowledge and research• Interested in follow-up with former clients

A person may be skilled in career counselling for one cultural group or age group but may be incompetent to use that intervention with other age groups or cultural groups.

Competent work with particular populations also assumes knowledge of the group and demonstrated skill in working with clients from that group.

One challenge in identifying and working within the boundaries of competence arises from the geographic location of a given counselling practice.

Professionals in urban and suburban settings tend to have many local referral sources accessible to clients to whom they do not feel competent to offer services and they also tend to have easier access to face-to-face consultation and supervision (Helbok, 2003).

Thus urban and suburban practitioners have relatively little difficulty limiting their scope of practice and have the luxury of focusing on areas in which they have developed significant expertise.

In contrast, practitioners in rural areas and small towns do not have many referral sources nearby.

Seeing another professional frequently entails a real inconvenience for a client because it means traveling some distance.

Usually practitioners in rural areas are consider as generalists rather than specialists.

The jobs of counsellors are inherently stressful.

They repeatedly see the pain and destructiveness of people and although they can usually offer help and hope to those in need, they have no magic wand to quickly cure suffering.

The cumulative effects of witnessing so much human suffering can wear down even the most competent professionals.

Practitioners are being asked to do more with less resources and there seems to be no end to this trend which will usually lead to emotional exhaustion of work.

In most extreme form, this emotional exhaustion becomes burnout, a syndrome that significantly compromises the competent performance of counsellors.

A true burnout syndrome consists of emotional exhaustion, the loss of a sense of accomplishment in one’s work and a depersonalization of those served (Maslach & Jackson, 1986).

Of course, counsellors and therapists have their share of stress in their personal lives, too. They juggle careers, family responsibilities, relationships and civic duties simultaneously and sometimes unexpectedly get hit by a catastrophes.

From time to time these stresses become overwhelming for counsellors.

In addition to monitoring their own emotional status and stress levels, counsellors can take additional actions to prevent burnout (Trippany et al., 2004): Recognize the risk and hazards of mental health

practice and celebrate its rewards. Set clear limits about how much help they can humanly

give. Take their own advice about self-care. Recognize their own vulnerability and seek help and

support when overwhelmed. Consider counselling for their personal problems, even if

they are not overwhelmed by them. Prepare for symptoms of secondary posttraumatic stress

and take full advantage of support service available.

Counsellors who perform incompetently are potentially subject to legal action as well as discipline by their professional association or licensing board.

Four criteria must be met for a court to rule in favour of the plaintiff in a negligence action: The professional duty to the client must be established. The counsellor must have breached a duty to the client. An injury or damage to the client must be established. The harm must be caused by the therapist mistake.

Di dalam Akta 580 ada terkandung peraturan berhubung kelakuan dan tatatertib. Hal ini diperincikan di bahagian III di bawah sub-tajuk Tatacara Tatatertib.

Kod Etika Kaunselor, Lembaga Kaunselor (Malaysia)• H.1 Piawaian dan Undang-undang• H.1.a Pengetahuan

Kaunselor hendaklah memahami KEK, LK dan kod etika lain yang boleh diguna pakai daripada organisasi profesional yang lain di mana mereka menjadi ahli. Kekurangan pengetahuan atau salah faham mengenai tanggungjawab etika bukan alasan pembelaan bagi sesuatu tuduhan tingkah laku yang tidak beretika

Kod Etika Kaunselor, Lembaga Kaunselor (Malaysia)• H.1.b Konflik antara etika dengan undang-

undang Sekiranya berlaku konflik antara tanggungjawab

etika dengan undang-undang, peraturan atau pihak berkuasa undang-undang yang lain, kaunselor hendaklah menjelaskan komitmen mereka kepada KEK,LK dan mengambil langkah-langkah untuk menyelesaikan konflik tersebut. Jika konflik masih tidak dapat diselesaikan dengan cara tersebut, kaunselor boleh mengikuti ketepatan undang-undang, peraturan atau pihak berkuasa undang-undang yang lain