TPC Journal-Vol 9- Issue 4-FULL ISSUE

378 The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 4 based on the movie-maker’s experience and desire. It is imperative for professional counselors to consider standards of ethical practice in order to meet the ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence. Similarly, counselors also have a responsibility to be aware of cultural considerations when integrating neuroscience into their counseling practice. Cultural Considerations There is a power differential in the therapeutic relationship, in part because of the needs and vulnerabilities that can accompany clients when seeking counseling. Clients might feel disempowered in the counseling relationship because of intersections of race, gender, age, spirituality, and social and economic status (Ratts, Singh, Nassar-McMillan, Butler, & McCullough, 2016). In addition, if counselors use language about the brain that may be perceived as intimidating or unsafe by clients, it could harm the therapeutic relationship. Integrating neuroscience into the counseling profession requires counselors to develop self-awareness surrounding neuroscience terminology and power inequalities in the counseling relationship. It is vital for counselor educators to consider the ethical and cultural implications of teaching a neuroscience-informed counseling course in order to help students learn how to facilitate a therapeutic environment where clients feel safe to process their experiences. Conclusion Given the benefits of neuroscience-informed counseling to treat behavioral and mental health concerns, counselor educators must begin to integrate neuroscience-informed counseling into the curriculum. Developing a neuroscience for counselors course using the aforementioned recommendations for course structure and methods for instruction is one approach to meeting this need. Assignments included a neuroscience-informed guided metaphor; development of a brain structures, systems, and functions book; dyads to practice using neuroscience-informed counseling interventions; N-PALs for reflection; a neuroscience-informed technology discussion post; and a summative case conceptualization paper. Integrating neuroscience-informed counseling into the counseling curriculum, while simultaneously addressing ethical and cultural considerations, has the potential to improve graduate students’ case conceptualizations, treatment planning, and counseling skills. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics . Alexandria, VA: Author. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: Author. Association for Experiential Education. (2019a). What is experiential education? Retrieved from https://www. aee.org/what-is-ee Association for Experiential Education. (2019b). The principles of practice . Retrieved from https://www.aee. org/what-is-ee