TPC-Journal-V5-Issue4

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 4 470 2014; Nancarrow et al., 2013). Knowledge about organizations or systems theory, as well as models of consultation, also is extremely helpful to professionals working across disciplines (Arredondo et al., 2004). Arredondo et al. (2004) and McLean (2012) point to a need to have an intuitive understanding of interpersonal and group dynamics. Finally, Arredondo et al. suggested that awareness of one’s own beliefs, values and personal history—all of which are at play when interacting with others—and having “emotional intelligence” (p. 794) are necessary for effective interdisciplinary participation. It appears that as the various members of the interdisciplinary training team in our project asserted their voices at the decision-making table in our project, other trainers were able to learn more about discipline-specific practices and training needs. In order for this process to happen in a way that did not alienate others, we found it necessary to make careful decisions about what to say where and when. Knowledge of how to work in groups and teams was critical, especially for the professionals who were at risk of marginalization in the “collaborative” process. Collaboration skills. The display of collaboration skills is predicated upon a firm grounding in collaborative attitudes and requisite knowledge, including those mentioned above. Putting these ideas into practice requires strong interpersonal skills such as listening, empathy, humor, facilitation, assessment (Arredondo et al., 2004), ability to participate in power sharing (McLean, 2012), and being able to use feedback to make subsequent changes (Nancarrow et al., 2013). Collaboration also requires problem-solving and decision-making skills (Nancarrow et al., 2013; Wellmon et al., 2012) as well as assertiveness, confidence and ability to communicate one’s ideas appropriately (Miller & Katz, 2014; Nancarrow et al., 2013). Finally, most agree that skills for collaboration include being flexible (Arredondo et al., 2004; Miller & Katz, 2014). Power sharing is possible when participants demonstrate competence in their area of expertise as well as interest in learning about collaborators’ fields of specialization. As already noted in our training project, the demonstration of professional competence, confidence and the ability to engage interpersonally in the spirit of collaboration and collegiality created an opportunity for power sharing. We also noticed in the SBIRT project that when we were flexible and willing to accommodate other’s beliefs and values, they in turn made efforts to accommodate ours. Conclusion Counselor educators need to examine pedagogical means of providing counseling students with the knowledge, values and skills to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams. For one counselor education program, the experience of interdisciplinary training provoked passionate dialogue among students and faculty regarding their professional roles, functions, professional advocacy and positioning among other behavioral health professionals. Multiple opportunities for exploring interdisciplinary training and professional identity development processes were evident in the training project described in this article. Of course, learning about interdisciplinary collaboration does not need to happen solely within a project such as this. Counseling internships typically offer an abundance of opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, and the points raised in this article are relevant to all training venues available for counseling students. As mentioned, providing counselors-in-training with a firm foundation in professional orientation both in terms of philosophical underpinnings as well as a clear understanding of their future scope of practice are critical. Additionally, instruction on the scope of practice and roles of other professionals with whom they may be working in practice settings is important. Assuring that counselors enter into internship settings with adequate competence is, of course, critical. But additionally, providing students with positive appropriate feedback so they develop a clear sense of confidence is equally as important for work in collaborative settings.