ABSTRACT
A professional counselor’s professional identity is grounded in the standards of knowledge set by CACREP. You must demonstrate a good knowledge in each of these eight common core curricular experiences, which also represent CACREP Standards: Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice, Social and
Cultural Diversity, Human Growth and Development, Career Development, Helping Relationships, Group Work, Assessment, and Research and Program Evaluation. These areas comprise the basic course requirements in your counseling program of study. Part I of this primer is devoted to Standard 1, Professional Orientation and Ethical Practice. Chapter 2 also presents those parts of Standard 5 that address counselor characteristics and behaviors that influence helping processes. Part II addresses the most basic parts of Standard 5, Helping Relationships, and presents the most essential interviewing and beginning skills you must master. This chapter and the next present an overview of the common core curricular experiences that will be included in your professional counseling program of study. It reviews and summarizes the fundamental elements of each of these core areas. We will turn first to that part of Standard 1 that speaks to an important aspect of professional orientation, namely ethical principles and legal considerations, followed by the other seven core areas.
