The Impact of Values and Bias in Sociology Counselling Sessions

This essay delves into the intricate relationship between personal values, experiences, and preferences, and their profound influence on counselling sessions within the field of sociology. It highlights how these factors, shaped by individual backgrounds and societal norms, can significantly impact a counsellor's understanding and approach to clients. The essay emphasizes the importance of self-awareness for counsellors, enabling them to recognize and differentiate their own values from those of their clients to ensure effective and unbiased support. Furthermore, it explores the potential for counsellor bias to interfere with the counselling process, particularly when personal beliefs clash with client perspectives, stressing the need for counsellors to maintain an open, non-judgmental stance to provide the best possible care and outcomes. The essay concludes by underscoring the client's right to confidentiality, unbiased attitudes, and a deep understanding of their unique values and preferences to facilitate a successful and supportive counselling experience.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
COUNSELLING
Name of the Student:
Name of University:
Author Note

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SOCIOLOGY
How can your values, experiences, and preferences affect a counseling session?
Counselling is linked to cultural and social aspects of life, which also include social
norms, socio economic conditions of living, gender roles, decision making processes and
perceptions of the worlds, which are shaped by own experiences and values. These factors
influence a counselling session to a greater degree, apart from specific experiences and
situations. Personal values, preferences and perceptions are developed in a person through one’s
experiences which are encountered (Swift & Callahan, 2010). Therefore, this affects a person’s
decision making as well as understanding of the world. However, if one can acknowledge his or
her personal values, then counselling sessions can be very effective to differentiate the
differences and similarities. It, thus affects a counselling session to a great degree.
A counsellor understands about the existence of experiences, values and preferences and
therefore, it enables them to not limit their understanding but rather enlarge their views to
understand how it might affect the person who is undergoing a counselling session. It is very
important to be notice and experience how these factors influence the world view and
understanding of the world as well as differentiate the values and experiences of the counselling
and the person engaging in the counselling session. If personal values and experiences are well
distinguished, then the influences will be better recognized. Therefore, it can be made certain
that the assumed values, preferences and experiences lay a foundation for the appeasement of the
client (Okun & Kantrowitz, 2014). Hence, a counsellor will be more enabled in his or her role,
with the awareness that values throughout all communities religions and societies are not the
same. People possess personal values, which might differ and influence the client differently as
compared to others.

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How can a counselor’s biased opinion interfere with the counseling process?
Counsellors encounter different and complex problems while engaging in counselling
sessions with clients. One of the very common issues which are faced by counsellors as well as
clients is the clash of personal values and biases of the counselor during the process. Clients
come from various practices, sexualities, genders religion, communities, orientation,
relationships and so on. It is very important to not be misinformed and be able to ensure the
personal values and biases do not intervene in the process and distort the counselling session
(Corey, 2015). It is, thus, very important to be able to identify if there is a bias, while engaging in
a session with a client and preventing it from interfering, so that they obtain the best experience
and outcome from the counselling session, and often the help they require.
A counselor’s bias may include attitude, perception, belief, idea, emotion as well as own
experience, with which the counselor might judge the client which shall put limitation to the
counselling process and relativeness with the issue which the client wants to highlight during the
process. It is important to not marginalize issues, values, perceptions, choices, preferences,
identity and religion of the client, to have a clear understanding, even if they are not the same as
experienced and understood by the counselor (Corey, 2015). A bias may impact the client in a
devastating way Therefore, awareness is very much necessary in the process.
It can thus be said that a client has the right to engage in a counseling session with certain
expectations from the counselor which involves confidentiality, unbiased attitude, understanding
of values and preferences, which allow critical judgments and consideration of issues.
Confidentiality plays a very crucial role to ensure that a counseling session is effective to make
the client feel comfortable to disclose about him/herself. It is important for the session as the

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counselor gets to know about the client and develop proper understanding of the issues and
experiences which may show new possibilities to be suggested by the counselor.

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References
Corey, G. (2015). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Nelson Education.
Okun, B. F., & Kantrowitz, R. E. (2014). Effective helping: Interviewing and counseling
techniques. Nelson Education.
Swift, J. K., & Callahan, J. L. (2010). A comparison of client preferences for intervention
empirical support versus common therapy variables. Journal of Clinical
Psychology, 66(12), 1217-1231.