SAC330

1. Professionalism and Professional
Relationships
Professionalism and
Professional Relationships
Brent Scobie, Phd
Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All
Rights Reserved.

2. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All
Rights Reserved.
Acting in a Professional
Manner
 A professional is a person who has specialized training for a
particular career and who acts in conscientious, appropriate
ways in the workplace.

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Rights Reserved.
Being a Professional Involves
 Dressing appropriately.
 Being organized and timely and accurately recording
meetings with colleagues and clients.
 Being prepared for meetings.
 Acting responsibly at all times.

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Being a Professional Involves,
Cont’d
 Behaving as a mature adult
 Using language that is culturally appropriate, age
appropriate, understandable, and not offensive.
 Speaking honestly and with integrity.
 Knowing how to communicate to clients of all ages and
backgrounds as well as to fellow practitioners.

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Rights Reserved.
Professional Roles
 Each setting has different expectations.
 Roles vary based on:
 Different ages and backgrounds of clients.
 System size - individuals, groups, families, and
organizations.
 Level of training or education.

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Rights Reserved.
Advocating for Change
 Being professional goes beyond what you do in your
interactions with colleagues and clients.
 Being aware of the social, political, economic and cultural
factors that impact individuals, families, groups and
institutions, and advocating for their betterment.
 Advocating for adequate services for all.

7. Copyright © 2018 Cengage Learning. All
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Developing a Professional
Identity Involves:
 Knowing what it means to be a practitioner of your
particular discipline.
 Knowing what activities, knowledge, and skills identified
by licensing boards and professional organizations relate
to your discipline.
 Defining your area of
competence for your clients.

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Rights Reserved.
Maintaining Respectful,
Productive Relationships with
Colleagues
 Working cooperatively in interdisciplinary teams.
 Working together effectively requires knowledge of and
respect for the other professionals’ expertise.
 Different professionals often work toward the same goal
using different methods.

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Using Supervision and
Consultation
 Your supervisor will help evaluate your level of
competency by:
 Providing feedback about your use of skills.
 Helping you figure out how to rectify problems, learn from
mistakes, and improve skills.
 Consultation involves meeting with an expert who can
help you solve a particular dilemma or problem.

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Rights Reserved.
Engaging in Career-long
Learning
 Being a professional means:
 Being dedicated to on-going learning or professional
development.
 Remaining current on best practices related to work with
your clients.
 Social media and technology provide opportunities to
learn about relevant topics for your chosen profession.

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Rights Reserved.
Unique Nature
of Professional Relationships
 Relationships between a practitioner and client are
unique in a number of ways:
 Collaborative
 Goal-directed
 Purposeful
 Time-limited
 Fiduciary
 Unequal
 Practitioner must set aside personal opinions,
judgments, and values