556 The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 4 a situation. And in doing so I have to remember to bring it into the present. That I have to be able to separate what my values and beliefs, skills, and competencies are and what is expected of the profession, especially as delineated in the code of ethics. Most participants also discussed how their programs and departments changed as a result of their intense gatekeeping experiences. Changes often occurred at multiple levels. For example, Sue shared, “I tightened my syllabi. I went back through the code. I actually advocated and we re-wrote all of the syllabi for my entire university in grad counseling.” All but one participant (n = 10) offered current and future counselor educators advice on emotionally intense gatekeeping experiences. Eight participants specifically mentioned that counselor educators should rely on trusted and supportive colleagues to help navigate emotionally intense gatekeeping. Dan said: I want to say how critically important it is to make sure that you build a team of faculty, not just for the day when you’re going to have to engage in a gatekeeping process, but for all kinds of reasons. Building a team where there’s real trust, where there’s emotional vulnerability, and where differences about ideas . . . can be addressed is so very important. In other examples, participants shared how each faculty member in their program developed a role. These roles helped faculty share responsibility with gatekeeping duties while also promoting due process and professionalism. Rosie commented: We look at [gatekeeping] in a behavioral way, but certainly with a respect for the student’s interpersonal processes and personality style. . . . We’re always good at keeping each other (faculty) accountable. . . . We balance each other out. Then, when we do meet with the student as a faculty, if on one of those occasions we think that is necessary, we take different roles. We decide who’s going to be what person in that process. Several participants offered tips for working with administrators (e.g., deans, human resource representatives, university lawyers, provosts, presidents), including how faculty may need to explain ethical codes, program policy, and gatekeeping philosophies to them. Lila shared, “Be prepared outside of the department, there are appeals committees. They may see it differently than you and your faculty see it.” Maria offered more proactive advice: At the beginning of a semester, reach out to deans or upper administration, that, “we are looking to tweak or update our gatekeeping policy; we’d like to run it by you and get your feedback, and we’d also like to run it by legal counsel through university.” And that helps everybody be informed up front, and things tend to go much better when everybody knows what to expect and what our obligations are as gatekeepers. Finally, all participants talked about ways in which counselor educators and counselor programs can better prepare doctoral students and support early career faculty for emotionally intense gatekeeping experiences. Herbie offered:
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDU5MTM1