INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING
PSY 3140
WEEK 4
DR. ELSIE NEWA
PUTTING CLIENTS NEEDS BEFORE
YOU
• Before you embark in counseling, always ask yourself whose needs
are being met in this situation.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN COUNSELING
PRACTICE
What is ethics?
Examples of ethical concerns
• Abortion
• Sexual orientation
• Suicide
• Sexual promiscuity
• Some relationship issues
Introduction
• Counseling is an evolving field of study especially here in Kenya.
Many a time, the counselor will be called upon to deal with
challenges that do not have obvious answers.
• Ethical codes of practice might assist you to decide
which is the best course of action to take.
• It is therefore imperative that you consult with
colleagues, keep informed about the laws
affecting the practice, update yourself regularly in
your area of work, be aware of any new
developments in ethical practice and be willing to
continually self-examine your values. As Corey,
2001 states,
“ Ethical decision making is an evolutionary process
that requires you be continually open and self critical”.
1. Putting the Clients’ Needs before your
Own
• As counselors, we engage in a professional
relationship with the client for the clients’
benefit. The clients’ needs come first. A good
question to ask ourselves would be, “ Whose
needs are being met in this relationship, my
clients or my own?” Corey (2001)
• It is not unethical for counselors to meet their
own needs through their professional work.
However, this MUST be kept in perspective.
• Many counseling associations now require
evidence of continuing education on ethics before
they can re-license you as a counselor.
• As you endeavor to bring about significant
individual change, it is difficult to ignore the
social/political ills that sometimes bring about the
individual problems in the first place. E.g poverty,
post election violence, forceful evictions e.g Syokimau
where individuals had titles.
• Sometimes our own prejudices and vulnerabilities
might “ color” how we react in the relationship. It
is our responsibility as counselor to keep working
on increasing our levels of self –awareness in order
to avoid the pitfalls concerning our prejudices and
vulnerabilities e.g. How would it be for me to
counsel a man who has just divorced his wife for
infidelity if the same happened to me and I have
not dealt with it. I am not even aware about how I
feel about it?
• Our other needs appear noble but they can also get
in the way of creating a growth-producing
relationship. These include, “ the need for control
and power; the need to be nurturing and helpful;
the need to change others in the direction of our
own values; the need to persuade; the need for
feeling adequate, particularly when it becomes
important that the client confirm our competence;
and the need to be respected and appreciated.”
Corey (2001 p.44).
• If the counselor depends on the client for their
needs, then they will keep the client in a
dependent position to ensure that the status quo
remains.
Ways in which a counselor can create
dependency
• When you advise clients
• Sympathize with clients
• Setting goals for clients
• Prioritizing for clients
• Planning for clients
2. Ethical Decision Making
Professional codes of ethics: -
• Help educate counseling practitioners and the
general public.
• Provide a basis for accountability and thus protect
the client from unethical practice.
• There are two different ways in which a counselor
can be ethical.
• Mandatory Ethics where one is merely complying
with the minimal standards.
• Aspirational Ethics which means striving for the
ideal standards of ethical behavior and involves “
Doing what is in the best interests of their clients”.
• Fear of litigation may sometimes “straight jacket”
the counselor to concentrate on avoiding law suits
as opposed to thinking of ways in which to assist
the client
• If you show respect for the client and have their
welfare as a central concern, as well as practicing
within the professional codes, you minimize
chances of getting sued.
ACTIVITY
• In groups, discuss the following cases. You have ten
minutes
• Scenarios
• One of the partners in a marriage is HIV positive. Should
you disclose his/her status to the other?
• Father has a child with his daughter. His wife is now
taking care of the grand daughter. Should she sue for
incest? He is the sole breadwinner.
• Husband is battering his wife. She is petrified of him. He is
the breadwinner. Should you inform the police?
• Look at the suggested 8 steps to decision making
after the discussion. See pg. 39
Six basic principles of ethical decision making
Autonomy
• This refers to encouraging or allowing the client to choose their own direction.
Encourage also, clients’ growth and development as recommended by ACA
guidelines.
• Euro-American cultures encourage individualism and autonomy. What about
African and Asian cultures? How do you encourage autonomy while respecting
the client’s culture? Counselors are ethically supposed to foster independence as
opposed to dependence. The counselor should not interfere with the client’s life
by making decisions for them.
Non maleficence
• This refers to avoiding doing harm, which includes
refraining from actions that risk hurting the client.
Any conflict of interest should be avoided to
protect the client. For example seeing an alleged
rapist and the victim, demanding a hug from the
client.
• The counselor should be sensitive to cultural
differences to avoid mislabeling clients, especially
when using diagnostic assessment and treatment
procedures.
Beneficence
• This is promoting the good of others, or thinking of the
greater good. Again, respecting culture here is also
important. E.g. the Vietnamese e.g. in the course text
page 17 of rage-aholic dad who burnt the son. How do
you as a counselor help the daughter live with him?
Justice or fairness
• This means providing equal treatment to all people
regardless of age, race, disability, ethnicity, disability,
socioeconomic status, cultural background, educational
background, etc. It also includes giving all people access
to counseling service when they need them. Treat clients
fairly in relation to others.
Fidelity
• This has to do with fulfilling your responsibility and
promises, e.g. confidentiality “no one will know even if
you break it”.
• As a counselor you should make honest promises and
not lie. These promises should also be kept. All these
have to do with creating that nurturing therapeutic
relationship to help clients grow. Do not deceive or
exploit clients.
Veracity
• This means truthfulness, especially when you want to
tape- record sessions, use diagnostic tests, or discuss
billing arrangements etc. For all these, the client’s
consent is needed.
Class work
• In groups of 5, discuss the following ethical principles of counseling.
• Fidelity
• Autonomy
• Beneficence
• Non maleficence
• Justice
• Self respect
• Unconditional Positive Regard UPR
• Congruence
3. The Right of Informed Consent
• It is important to get the consent of the client by
informing them about what you intend to do. This
information might include:-
o Confidentiality and its limitations
o Goals of counseling
o Client and counselor responsibilities
o Qualifications and background of counselor
o The fees
• We need to strike a balance so that we do not give
the client too much information or too little e.g.
informing a minor you will need to consult with
their parents after they have disclosed their
intention to have an abortion.
• Providing for informed consent promotes the active
participation and cooperation of the client.
Dimensions of Confidentiality
• This is what the trust in the relationship is built on.
It is both a legal as well as ethical issue
• During supervision disclose as little about person’s
identity as possible, e.g. name, gender
• Legally, you are bound to maintain confidentiality
and at the same time expected to break it to warn
and protect others from acts of a dangerous client
and also to protect suicidal clients.
Ethical Issues in Multicultural perspective
• Culture is sometimes looked at as the fourth force in
counseling.
• The first was psychoanalysis, t
• The second cognitive behavioral approaches and t
• The third the humanistic approaches.
• Have current theories outlived their usefulness?
Contemporary theories cannot be easily adapted to a
wide range of cultures.
• Culture and environmental variables also help us to
understand individuals.
Are Counselling and Therapy Culture- bound
• Most are from Euro-American cultures
• They embrace individualism and assert
that individuation is the foundation of
maturity. Do you agree?
• Asian perspective is for
interdependence and losing oneself in
the cosmos. What about African?
N/B
• What works for one client will not work for all.
• Focus both on the individual and also the environmental factors.
Ethical Issues in the Assessment
• The assessment should be for the client and not to be used against
the client. E.g. Institutions can demand you compel your client to
take a test so that they can ‘pigeonhole’ the client. The will
“justify” any punitive action that they take against the client.
Psycho diagnosis helps in the analysis of a
client’s problems. Diagnosis begins in the
intake interview and continues throughout
the duration of therapy
The “Bible” or “Koran” for helping in
making diagnostic assessment is the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
• Care must be taken to consider ethnic and cultural
factors in assessment and diagnosis e.g. Schreiber
(1995) British Journal of Medical Psychology tells of
an Ethiopian diagnosed as psychotic for referring to
a “snake in her leg” when she actually meant
problems with her mother in law. The doctors
treating her took this idiomatic expression literally.
• Look at Guidelines for use of tests Pg 54-55
Dual Relationships in Counseling Practice
• Definition
• “ Dual (or multiple) relationships, either
sexual or nonsexual, occur when counselors
assume two (or more) roles simultaneously
or sequentially with the client.” Corey (2001)
P46
• Look at ways to minimize the risks P46
Multiple or Dual Relationships
• Not inherently unethical
• Must be managed ethically to protect client’s well-being
• Examples of nonsexual dual relationships include
socializing or starting a business venture with a client,
bartering services for goods, or borrowing money
• Sexual relationships with current or former clients are
exploitive and can result in serious harm
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy -
Chapter 3 (13) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning
Multiple or Dual Relationships
• A few helpful questions:
• Will my dual relationship keep me from confronting
and challenging the client?
• Will my needs for the relationship become more
important than therapeutic activities?
• Can my client manage the dual relationship?
• Whose needs are being met?
Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy -
Chapter 3 (14) ©2013 Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning
Guidelines for Ethical Practice
• Look at this. Actually a summary of what we have been discussing- P
47-48 ten points
