Insufficient Closure and the Counselor

Counseling in the age of instant access to the latest information and collaboration has never been more rewarding. Sweitzer and King (2009) highlighted that practitioners in the field of counseling can expect to shift the focus of goals and knowledge goals to continually acquire greater understanding and thinking at deeper levels. The challenge of regulating emotional involvement is worthy of careful attention as issues surrounding insufficient closure can result in difficulty getting a break from the intense content of counseling or therapy sessions (Skovholt & Rønnestad, 2003)

For novice and seasoned counselors alike, an easy way to take concepts further is to share and work with them with colleagues, local mental health related gatherings, or on national and international levels. With web 2.0, the opportunities to collaborate have never been more accessible by combining RSS and social networking in professionally meaningful ways. Potential downsides of continual engagement, however, can include difficulty in breaking away from thinking about client issues or continuing to experience, on an emotional level, the disturbing emotions generated over the course of the workday.

So where does this leave us as mental-health practitioners? On the one hand, we have an ethical obligation to stay abreast of the most current developments in our field (CPA, 2000). On the other hand, we have an obligation to take care of ourselves and, subsequently protect our clients from the issues that can arise through practitioner burn-out. Self-monitoring for signs that we are not effectively disengaging during our off-duty hours and habitual self-care practices can help safe-guard against the pitfalls of insufficient closure for the counselor. As is a common theme in various posts and presentations found on this site, the need to “unplug” is apparent in professional counseling, as well. – AC

Adam Clark is a school counselor at Yokohama International School in Yokohama, Japan. Find out more at http://whoisadamclark.com/who-is

Canadian Psychological Association. (2000). Canadian code of ethics for psychologists (3rd ed.). Ottawa: Author.

Skovholt, T. M., & Rønnestad, M. H. (2003). Struggles of the novice counselor and therapist. Journal of Career Development, 30(1), 45-58. Retrieved from http://www.jcd.sagepub.com/

Sweltzer, H.F., & King, M.A. (2009). The successful internship: Personal, professional, and civic development (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

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