Accountability and Outcomes in the Counseling Profession

269 Words2 Pages
Clients are the most important stakeholder in the outcome of any treatment received by the counseling field. The common goal in the therapy process is to help the client achieve their goals that have been set. Accountability is the expectation that the results are going to show improvement and the client has to feel like they will benefit from the therapy process. Counselors are expected to function accordingly to what is best for the client and they have to apply the right treatments that are effective in “promoting the welfare of clients” (Bradley, Sexton, & Smith, 2005 p. 488). Stakeholders must continue to see constant change and improvements in the field of counseling in order for the field to remain credible. The effectiveness of counseling has to be proven, otherwise the need for counseling services may decrease over time. Needs assessment is used to determine the greatest need and how to go about fulfilling that need. If clients’ needs are not being met by the counseling profession, then the field is ineffective and there is no need for it. According to Saxton, encouraging outcomes rely on “evidence-based counseling intervention protocols effective with the client problems they were developed to help” (Saxton, 1999). The personal success of the client as well as all stakeholders relies heavily on the outcomes from the counseling process. Needs assessment and program evaluation are essential to the counseling field because needs assessment helps the counselors understand what is needed in the population based on proven evidence from research. Also, program evaluation provides confirmed success which helps construct the tools needed to help the
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