I am old fashioned to be sure. My office is filled with Mission Style furniture and Barrister bookcases and though parts of the building are about 15 years old, I designed, built and decorated it as if it could have been built in the 1920’s when the street was first designed. I even put furring strips on selected roof rafters to give it the appearance of the roof settling with “age.” My wife often teases me that I am the only person on the planet that still uses the term “telephonic communication” when making a note on a phone call. Working on the level is an old term. It predates anyone who will ever read this blog. Actually no one really knows when it was first used but it harkens back to the times when people worked with their hands and those who could build things “on the level” and were known to work “on the square” were in high demand and revered. In our field we are rarely known for working with our hands; our minds are our bread and butter. We do not use working on the level and instead use the new fangled term “congruent.” We all know that being congruent is very important in what we do. Most of us likely have taught many a client the term, its meaning and its use. In training counselors we push the need to be congruent in the techniques we use and in our actions. Sometimes new clinicians confuse being congruent with imposing their views on their clients. I often hear issues surrounding being true to their faith, people, party etc. , and their “being forced” to work with clients that conflict with same.  Often times I hear something akin to “if I don’t tell them that they are wrong and I do not and cannot condone their behavior then I am being unfaithful to my beliefs.”  Although I appreciate their dedication to faith, they have missed a key point in counseling; we do NOT have to condone, support or agree with the lifestyles or choices of our clients. When Rogers referred to having unconditional positive regard towards our clients, he was not referring to accepting their behaviors or actions on face value but acknowledging that they were humans and deserving of treatment. We accept that they have lifestyles, behaviors and actions that have lead them to need treatment and we are duty bound to treat them to the best of our abilities. Most of us have worked with those that we would rather never deal with. We have worked with rapists, murderers, molesters, racists and a whole host of folks that live lives that we could not approve of. That is the point; we do not have to approve of our clients in order to work with them. So long as we can see them as people who need our services, it is our duty to serve. If however we feel that we cannot give the client the services they need, it is our duty to refer them to those who are better suited to care for them. Our beliefs though important to us are not necessarily a part of the therapy process. As with self disclosure, the code of ethics/ best practices is very clear: If we cannot tell ourselves that the self disclosure will potentially benefit our client then we are compelled to keep it to ourselves. Most of my clients are clueless to my politics, religion or other personal views but all would agree that I am working on the level. Would your clients say the same? If not, why and do you feel it could have a negative impact on practice?

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Warren Corson III (Doc Warren) is a counselor and the clinical & executive director of a community counseling agency in central CT (www.docwarren.org).