Threat Assessment Teams for Institutions of Higher Education: A Review of Key Ideas and Practices for Professional Counselors

This review of literature provides a comprehensive account of the instigative factors, history, and evolution of threat assessment teams (TATs) for target-based violence in institutions of higher education (IHEs). Through examining diverse approaches to threat assessment, this review investigates the most effective criteria for creating protocols to identify and manage threats of target-based violence. The objective is to provide a greater understanding of the precursors and warning signs to threats of violence, including an understanding of what psychosocial factors impel students to enact mass murder, so that TATs can implement preventative strategies to school violence. The generalized findings of the majority of studies point to the necessity for a multi-disciplinary team referencing fact-based predictors of violence, yet applying an individualized and preventative approach to each case of suspected violence.

Etika dan Kompetensi Konselor Sebagai Profesional (Suatu Pendekatan Literatur Sistematis)

The purpose of this study was to describe the ethics and competence of counselors as professionals in providing guidance and counseling services. The research method used is a systematic literature study. This systematic literature review contains explanations and descriptions of theories, findings and research materials obtained from databases of national and international journal providers through the Google Scholar platform, and then analyzed descriptively. The result of this research is that ethics and competencies must be possessed by a counselor as the basis for the profession he adheres to. Counselor education is one way to develop competencies for prospective counselors. The competence of the counselor as an agent for counseling guidance services is stated in government regulation No. 19 of 2005 article 28 paragraph 3, namely: competence as a service agent at the level of primary and secondary education and early childhood education which includes pedagogic competence, personality, professional and social competence. Professional counselors must have a strong determination to be able to help others and have a positive nature to be able to view the counselee as a human being who has different values, religious teachings, cultures and backgrounds.

Case Study for Counseling Same Sex Couples Through the Fertility Process

Fertility and reproductive technologies are increasingly important topics for counseling LGBT+ individuals. As legislation improves, lesbian couples have additional opportunities to expand their families. Professional counselors may be aware of the various fertility methods (e.g., artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization), but may lack understanding of the specific differences inherent in the process for two females. Lesbians also face barriers present in a heteronormative society. This chapter describes a counseling relationship with a lesbian couple who are working through the fertility process. When performing counseling work, using the multicultural and social justice competencies allows the counselor to provide ethical practice. The counselors use Relational-Cultural Theory, a feminist theory, to help Jane and Kelsey set goals consistent with the tenets of the theory. Additionally, the counseling team and couple work through the unique barriers a lesbian couple faces when experiencing the fertility process in a heteronormative society.

Work Patterns, Training, and Clinical Supervision Demographics of Home-Based Professional Counselors

Home-based counseling is an emerging modality of providing mental health counseling services to clients across the lifespan. However, minimal graduate training programs and home-based agencies provide training and preparation for professional counselors. In addition, educational and professional requirements are currently ill defined. A nonexperimental pilot survey exploring home-based professional counselors work-based, and clinical supervision and training patterns was conducted. Results suggest home-based professional counselors serve diverse populations and have limited training regarding home-based competencies. Findings from the study are presented. Implications for training and practice for home-based counselors are discussed.

Enhancing Assessment Literacy in Professional Counseling: A Practical Overview of Factor Analysis

Assessment literacy is an essential competency area for professional counselors who administer tests and interpret the results of participants’ scores. Using factor analysis to demonstrate internal structure validity of test scores is a key element of assessment literacy. The underuse of psychometrically sound instrumentation in professional counseling is alarming, as a careful review and critique of the internal structure of test scores is vital for ensuring the integrity of clients’ results. A professional counselor’s utilization of instrumentation without evidence of the internal structure validity of scores can have a number of negative consequences for their clients, including misdiagnoses and inappropriate treatment planning. The extant literature includes a series of articles on the major types and extensions of factor analysis, including exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), higher-order CFA, and multiple-group CFA. However, reading multiple psychometric articles can be overwhelming for professional counselors who are looking for comparative guidelines to evaluate the validity evidence of scores on instruments before administering them to clients. This article provides an overview for the layperson of the major types and extensions of factor analysis and can serve as reference for professional counselors who work in clinical, research, and educational settings.