Chapter 8: Preparing To Work Within An Ethical And Legal Framework As A Counsellor Flashcards
Working ethically includes understanding _________ and ________ in an agency context
Assessment and referral
What are steps that a counsellor needs to take to work ethically?
The first thing a counsellor needs to do is identify an ethical framework in which to work. For example, the Canadian code of ethics for psychologists from the Canadian psychological Association (CPA).
The next step is to consider how you would actually apply ethical principles to counselling. Consider the different ethical principles and the situations you may come across during counselling. Essentially, a counsellor needs to develop ethical mindfulness – to be aware of how ethics informs counselling work and how ethics can help us to make decisions about counselling practice.
Also important to keep in mind that no ethical framework provides all the answers but rather provides a structure which you can refer to in order to make difficult ethical decisions. It is not a set of rules, but a set of guidelines that help counsellors make decisions in the best interest of their clients.
If a client feels that they have not been treated fairly or have been abused in someway by the counselor, they can make a formal ______ to the professional body that the counsellor belongs to. This is an important protection for the client.
Complaint
The professional body you belong to will make a formal investigation and find in favour in either the client or the counselor. If the counsellor is found to be at fault, a sanction may be imposed. Including, requiring the counsellor to apologize to the client, requiring the counsellor to do for their personal development to fill a gap in their training, requiring the counsellor to seek further supervision, requiring the counsellor to make financial reparation, suspending the counsellor from the professional body register, removing the counsellor from the professional body register
What does limits of proficiency mean in counseling?
Counsellors also have professional limits of ability depending on their training and experience. For example, most counsellors cannot give advice to clients on medication unless they are medically trained.
It is the counsellors responsibility to monitor and recognize what their personal limits are and to make these limits clear to the client.
For example, limits around:
The setting and client group, for example young people, people who are addicted to drugs
The type of counselling being offered or needed – for example, individual, couples, family, or group
Personal issues – for instance, if the counsellor recently had a bereavement
Specialist training being needed for certain issues – like sexual dysfunction, trauma, eating disorders
The counsellors own lack of training and/or experience in relation to the clients need, complexity and depth of work required
This is about evaluating and reaching a judgement about something in order to determine what is appropriate. In counseling, about determining whether the counselling being offered is right for the client
Assessment
Well there are many different tools for making assessments, what these instruments have in common is a means to determine the type and severity of the clients presenting issues and their appropriateness for the service being offered
While counsellors do not undertake clinical assessments because they are not medically trained to diagnose clients, they do have to make an assessment as to whether a client is able to engage in the process of counselling and whether the client is suited to the model of counselling being offered, and also the level of experience of the counsellor who will undertake the work. The counsellor also needs to be able to assess the clients ability to hold themselves together between sessions and be as confident as possible that the client is not in need of a more specialist kind of help. It could be that they need a referral.
Describe the medical model of assessment
Based on the idea that the therapist is the expert who knows what is best for the client. They are the expert on mental health issues and psychological problems and therefore know how to treat those problems. Once a diagnosis has been made, this will lead to a specific treatment.
This approach comes from the field of medicine where psychiatrists use standard classifications to diagnose what is “wrong“ with the client. One common took which is used to make such diagnoses is the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5)
Describe the humanistic model of assessment
The humanistic model of assessment aims not to categorize the client or take the position of expert. The approach is based on a central belief in the clients objective and inter-subjective experience, The clients own personal feelings and opinions, and how these are shared with others.
Humanistic practitioners believe that the therapist’s role is to work with the clients own language for describing their difficulties rather than giving them a label or diagnosis.
Just as a helper needs to be aware of other sources of support in their area, it is important for a counselor to build local knowledge of the different counseling agencies and type of support available. And also to be aware of other counselors, therapists and agencies and understand the rules of other relevant organizations.
It is important and ethical to be mindful of when you have reached your level of expertise or proficiency and know where you can _____ a client on to, either at the assessment stage or later on in the course of the counselling work
Refer
What are some important factors to consider when making a referral?
That the referral needs to be handled sensitively and carefully. It is important to ensure that you do not make the client feel that it is their fault that you cannot work with them or that they are being passed from one person to the next.
You need to discuss with the client your reasoning behind wanting to make the referral – including highlighting the benefits of the referral and why it is in the clients best interests.
Need to consider the issue of confidentiality – part of the benefit of the referral may be sharing the work you’ve done so far with the client
Key points when making a referral:
- Discuss the need to make a referral with your supervisor and/or agency manager to get the help and support and reach the best possible decision
- Discuss the reason and purpose of the referral with the client
- Obtain the clients consent for the referral wherever possible
- Obtain the clients permission to share any notes and records that may support a clear transition where appropriate
What are the BACP ethical framework ethical principles?
Being trustworthy – honouring the trust placed in you
Autonomy – respecting a person’s right to make their own choices
Beneficence – acting in the best interests of the person
Non-maleficence – not doing any harm
Justice – being fair and impartial
Self-respect – having integrity, self knowledge, and taking care of yourself
What role do client complaints play in enforcing a counselor’s ethical behavior?
When a counsellor becomes a member of a professional body, they agree not only to work within that organizations ethical framework but also to abide by its complaint procedures.
This is an important protection for the client
The professional body will make a formal investigation and find in favour of either the client or the counselor.
If at fault, a sanction may be imposed in proposition to the nature of the transgression. Sanctions might include:
Requiring the counsellor to apologize to the client.
Requiring the counsellor to do further personal development to fill a gap in their training.
Requiring the counsellor to seek further supervision.
Requiring the counsellor to make financial reparation.
Suspending the counsellor from the professional body register.
Removing the counsellor from the professional body register.
When a counsellor belongs to a professional body and is on a recognized counselling register, this provides the client with some confidence that the counsellor has an appropriate level of training, that the counsellor is practising with in an ethical framework, and that they have an avenue to make a complaint if the counsellor behaves unethically
Define client autonomy in the context of the counselling relationship. What is the relationship between client autonomy and ethical principles?
Client autonomy means respecting the clients right to make their own choices and to be self-governing. This means allowing the client to be autonomous and not imposing your own agenda on them. Letting them make their own decisions and not forcing what you think is right on them – because what is right for someone else may not be right for them. Means making decisions together, letting them control the direction of counseling, and including their input in interventions.
Relationship to ethical principles: this is acting with beneficence or in the best interest of the client
