ethics counselling essay

Ethics in Counselling Essay

I intend to show an understanding of the ethical framework for good practice in counselling, relating it to practice and also my own beliefs and opinions, how this influences the counselling relationship, I will also show the need for protection of self and client. The importance of having a good ethical framework to work to is essential, it help’s to give guidance to counsellors as well as providing protection for the counsellor and client, the BACP ethical framework considers values, principals and personal morals, covering all three and offering understanding how these can be put to good practice, using empathy is just one that comes to mind, the use of empathy in the counselling relationship an important thing, this shows that you …show more content…

It’s important as a counsellor to be non-judgement of a client whether that be around the age, sex, religion, sexuality, culture, disability the counsellor should remain professional at all times, sticking to the equal opportunities act, but also be true to their own limitations regarding the above, for instance I recently counselled a client who brought up the subject that tested me because what they wished to explore I personally am against, from my own personal feelings and values this really pushed my comfort zone, but I feel I was able to be non-judgemental regarding the situation and supported my client on their exploration of it, for me this was a great achievement and gave me a real sense of how things that cross my own beliefs can crop up, I feel I dealt with the situation in a professional manner, it showed me that it’s with experience that you learn whether or not your own beliefs, values and morals can be pushed aside while helping a client. Supervision works along side this, should something crop up that I felt I could not deal with then supervision would be a great place

Ethical Framework, Limits of Proficiency and the Limitations on Counsellors Compared to Other Professions That Use Counselling Skills

ETHICAL FRAMEWORK, LIMITS OF PROFICIENCY AND THE LIMITATIONS ON COUNSELLORS COMPARED TO OTHER PROFESSIONS THAT USE COUNSELLING SKILLS.

Bacp Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy.

The Ethical Framework is designed to regulate the work of the counselling practitioner in order to safeguard the needs of the client and to ensure that they are being treated with respect and dignity.

The BACP ) Ethical Framework

The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions provides the foundations and guidelines for ethical understanding and good practice in counselling work. This enables a counsellor to practice safely in private practice or within an agency. Different agencies may work with other frameworks, for instance the National Counselling Society (NCS), who support counselling and related therapies, and are closely linked with the NHS. (Nationalcounsellingsociety.org). The BACP framework can’t inform a counsellor of specific rights or wrongs, but outlines the values, principles and moral qualities that a counsellor should adhere to, which helps with guidance and ethical decision making and safeguarding client and counsellor. (BACP, 2015)

Professional and Ethical Issues in Person-Centred Counselling

In order for counselling to be effective and purposeful it must be conducted in an ethical way. The very act of seeking counselling predisposes that the seeker is vulnerable/troubled and needs assurance that the main focus of counselling will be their well-being and promote for them a greater sense of autonomy, and not to serve any other purpose. Therefore the foundation of good counselling must be an ethical relationship, hence the need for an ethical framework. As Tim Bond (2010) states:

Essay on Boundaries and Contracts Within Counselling

To have good ethical practice within counselling it is important that there are boundaries and contracts in place that are agreed to and understood by both the counsellor and the client.

Describe and Discuss Ethical Frameworks Within Which Counselling and Therapeutic Practitioners Work. Include Justification for Observing Codes of Conduct and How Professionalism Is Maintained.

1. Describe and discuss ethical frameworks within which counselling and therapeutic practitioners work. Include justification for observing codes of conduct and how professionalism is maintained.

Essay on How Does Counselling Differ from Other Helping Skills

Professional counsellors are also bound by other ethics such as being non-judgemental and should not exploit their clients in any way. They must be respectful of how their clients choose to live and their right to self-determination. Counsellors must not impose their own thoughts or feeling on other people & should not have any expectations or impose any conditions on their clients. The relationship between counsellor and client should be one of equality. Although, the client may not feel that there is equality, they may feel powerless, as they are seeking help. The counsellor must try and convey a sense of equality and use their skills and knowledge to enable the client to take control of their life and feel empowered.

compare and contrast three core theories of counselling

The British Association for Counselling’s Code of Ethics and Practice for Counsellors states that ‘Counselling may be concerned with developmental issues, addressing and resolving specific problems, making decisions, coping with crisis, developing personal insight and knowledge, working through feelings of inner conflict or improving relationships with others’ (BACP Ethical Framework).

Compare and Contrast Person Centred with Psychodynamic Essay

In the humanistic approach in counselling there is a vital importance that the core conditions between client and counselling are present from

Core Counselling Skills And Processes Gc7408

At times people going through difficulties that needs counselling therapy might sometimes make a negative conclusion about themselves being the source of their problems. Though, getting the clear approach from the counsellor may possibly reduce the worries and stress. For the duration of the 15 minutes DVD recording session I followed the code of ethics and conduct of BPS and counsellors code of ethics by introducing myself, what my role will be, I was able to explain the code of Bps and the ethics code of counsellors by clarifying the concerns surrounding confidentiality and the time arrangement of the session. I also clarified the limitations of the counselling session that she is very free to stop the session at any time, and I also checked her understanding of the contract that is her choice to carry on with the session.

Counseling Records Ethical Essay

Counseling records are created for various purposes. Some are for the client, while others are for the counselor or their employers. The (American Counseling Association Code of Ethics 2014 A.1.b.), states the counselor must maintain records when rendering professional service (Association, 2014). This is from an ethical standpoint and one of the main reason for keeping records. According to Documentation in Counseling Records" by Robert W. Mitchell, he states that “Inadequate records or incompetent personnel who are responsible for entries in the record may be of no consequence until a malpractice suits filed or until a funding source demands a payback.” (Mitchell, 1991) According to Dr. Mitchell the records serves as a legal document and

An Ethical Dilemma in the Counselling Profession Essay

As a counsellor I have an obligation to follow professional standards and apply appropriate behaviour defined by mental health associations. The purpose of this is to prevent harm to clients as well as to define my own professional values.

Essay Issues and Ethics in The "Helping" Professions

• 3 Works Cited

Workers in the helping professions endure a massive amount of ethical and professional issues. These issues affect the practice of counseling and the relationship with the client. The book Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions by Corey, Corey, and Hallanan gives many themes that one will encounter throughout their career. The book also gives possible solutions to problems and stimulates different ways to think about issues. The authors of this book provide good knowledge and information for anyone in the helping professions.

Counseling Ethics Case Study Essay

• 5 Works Cited

In the case study of Gwen, there is one major problem presented. That problem is whether it is ethical for a supervisor to counsel his supervisee. I think that Gwen is going through the grieving process after learning about her mother’s condition and is in a vulnerable spot. She feels like she cannot continue her work with hospice patients because of personal feelings. Ken thinks that Gwen is a great therapist and does not want to see her give up. He also feels like he would be the most effective person to give Gwen counseling, because of their trusting relationship. I think that this would be a bad idea and could cross professional boundaries. The Ethical Guidelines for Counseling Supervisors strongly suggest against a supervisor entering

Ethical Issues in Counselling

In no more than 3,000 words you are required to complete an essay on ethical issues in the practice of counseling, by addressing the following question:

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Following the counseling code of ethics.

Thoughtful and impactful counselors understand that it is critically important to develop a bond of trust and respect with their clients. It is this bond that frees clients to feel as though they can be open and vulnerable without fearing judgment or a betrayal of confidence.

To help professional counselors understand how to safeguard themselves and best serve their clients, the American Counseling Association (ACA) publishes a set of ethical guidelines that promote respect, dignity and just treatment within the context of the counselor and client relationship. This Code of Ethics can assist professionals who are faced with ethical dilemmas in counseling by offering a detailed set of protocols to help guide their course of action.

Keeping a Code of Ethics

The ACA Code of Ethics outlines various ethical scenarios for counselors and offers guidelines for navigating ethical dilemmas in counseling. 1 If you find yourself faced with a delicate situation in your work as a counselor, these guidelines can help you assess how to appropriately and effectively serve your clients and your profession.

The Counseling Relationship: Counselors must keep the welfare of the client in mind and establish boundaries that make the client-counselor relationship clear. This means that clients need to understand the counseling process and have clearly established counseling goals. Records should be safeguarded and recorded in an accurate and timely manner. Professional boundaries should always be maintained, and a romantic or sexual relationship should never occur between counselors and clients. Session fees should be affordable for the client, and they should be made clear from the start.

Confidentiality and Privacy: Counselors need to safeguard the individual rights and privacy of their clients. Trust is the cornerstone of the counseling relationship, and counselors are responsible for maintaining a trustworthy partnership. Clients should be made aware if information about them has to be shared with others outside the counseling relationship, and only essential information should ever be revealed to outside parties. Counselors are required to disclose client behaviors that indicate the potential for self-harm or harm to others. Lastly, if sessions are to be recorded or observed, counselors must first get the permission of their client.

Professional Responsibility: All counseling practices and treatments should be grounded in research and accepted practice. The ACA also encourages counselors to offer pro bono work as a part of their professional activity. In order to stay abreast of the practice, counselors must understand the need for continued education and maintain awareness of changing practices and procedures in the field.

Relationships With Other Professionals: How professional counselors interact with their peers will influence what services their clients have access to. Counselors must strive to provide clients with the most comprehensive clinical and support service available, which means that they should have a basic knowledge of which additional services are available locally. All positive working relationships with colleagues should be grounded in respect, even if professional approaches differ.

Evaluation, Assessment and Interpretation: Without an accurate assessment of a client’s presenting situation, the individual may not receive appropriate treatment. Professional counselors must understand the context of the client’s beliefs, behaviors and cultural background . In giving a diagnosis, counselors must carefully consider whether the associated treatment and potential outcomes will do more harm than good to the client.

Supervision, Training and Teaching: Whether you are a counseling student or instructor, boundaries within your professional relationships are also important to ethical counseling behavior. Supervisors must maintain a professional relationship with their students, whether sessions are electronic or face-to-face. Teachers and supervisors must aim to be fair, honest and accurate when assessing students or supervisees. Counselor educators and supervisors must apply pedagogically sound instructional models. In addition, counseling educators should actively work to recruit and retain a diverse body of students in support of a commitment to improve diversity in the counseling field.

Research and Publication: Benefits to clients will only be realized if important research advancements in the field of counseling are shared with practitioners. Professionals have an ethical obligation to contribute to that knowledge base whenever possible and to keep aware of its current advancements.

Distance Counseling, Technology and Social Media: Current trends in technology have changed the field, and today, face-to-face interaction isn’t always necessary. While distance counseling has removed roadblocks to counseling services for some, it also comes with new and evolving ethical considerations. Counselors have to understand new platforms and resources in order to determine whether they will better serve their clients. These new service delivery formats also bring increased concerns for confidentiality and privacy that professionals should be mindful of. And it may seem obvious, but confidential information should never be shared on social media.

Resolving Ethical Issues: Ethical dilemmas must never be ignored, for the good of the client, the counselor and, ultimately, the profession itself. Not only should professional counselors follow a strict personal code of ethics in their work, they should also hold peers accountable to high ethical standards. The best practice is always to be proactive and take action, and, if necessary, cooperate with any investigations into wrongdoing.

Facing an Ethical Dilemma

When challenges arise, the way forward may not immediately be clear. Start by separating facts from assumptions, bias, hypotheses or suspicions. Determine if the problem is an ethical, professional, clinical or legal problem (or a combination). Review the professional literature, especially the ACA Code of Ethics, to see if guidelines for addressing the problem are provided there. Consult with other professional counselors to get input on resolving the situation. Online resources are also available for contacting state and national professional associations.

Remember, your action or inaction in any situation involving ethics will impact all parties involved, so let the foundational principles of counseling guide your decisions:

• Autonomy: Counselors should encourage and enable clients to take control of the direction of their own lives wherever possible
• Nonmaleficence: Counselors’ chosen action or inaction should never intentionally cause harm
• Beneficence: Mental health and well-being should be a priority for the good of the individual and for society more broadly
• Justice: Counselors should treat all people fairly and equitably
• Fidelity: Counselors should honor all personal and professional commitments, promises and responsibilities

To help determine if your chosen course of action is the correct one, test it according to the principles of justice, publicity and universality, as outlined in the “Practitioner’s Guide to Ethical Decision Making” from the ACA. 2 First, would you treat another person in the same situation the same way? Secondly, would you want your behavior in resolving this situation reported to the press? And finally, would you recommend this solution to another counselor facing a similar ethical dilemma? When you’ve decided on a strategy, be sure and set an appointed time to follow up and evaluate whether your actions achieved their desired effects.

Take a deep dive into the professional, ethical and legal matters you may encounter in counseling, and explore unique concentrations in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling , with the Online Master of Education in Counseling from William & Mary.

• Retrieved on October 24, 2018, from counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf2
• Retrieved on October 24, 2018, from counseling.org/docs/default-source/ethics/practioner-39-s-guide-to-ethical-decision-making.pdf?sfvrsn=f9e5482c_1

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10 Ethics in Counseling Psychology

Melba J. T. Vasquez Independent Practice Austin, Texas

Rosie Phillips Bingham Student Affairs University of Memphis Memphis, Tennessee

• Published: 18 September 2012
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This chapter focuses on the contributions that counseling psychology has made to the evolution of professional ethics. Kitchener’s moral principles and Meara, Schmidt, and Day’s (1996) virtue ethics are examples of contributors whose work has influenced the ethics discourse. Changes to the 2002 American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct are discussed, as are mechanisms for accountability and key areas of concern for psychologists. Counseling psychology’s unique contribution to social justice as an ethical imperative is addressed, and an ethical decision-making model is suggested. Finally, future directions in ethics, especially in regard to the social milieu, are described, including the direction of ethics training.

In this chapter, we discuss the evolution of the American Psychological Association (APA) ethics codes, including an overview of counseling psychologists’ contribution to the ethics discourse, such as Kitchener’s ( 1984 , 2000 ) moral principles and Meara, Schmidt, and Day’s ( 1996 ) virtue ethics. Throughout the chapter, we discuss changes to the APA 2002 Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. We describe the mechanisms for accountability, and identify key areas of concern based on the areas of most common violation by psychologists. We suggest a decision-making model for use with ethical dilemmas. We also discuss counseling psychology’s unique contribution to social justice as an ethical imperative, and describe several of the aspirational guidelines that have been developed in large part through the contributions of various counseling psychologists. The final section identifies our concluding thoughts on key dilemmas yet to be fully addressed in the ethical realm of professional responsibilities and ethics education.

Counseling Psychologists and the Ethics Codes

The influence of counseling psychologists on the development of the last couple of revisions of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (1992, 2002) has been significant, although counseling psychologists were not involved in the early development of the ethical discourse for various reasons. The Division of Counseling Psychology was founded in 1943, as Division 17 of the American Psychological Association with the name of Division of Counseling and Guidance. The first tentative draft of an APA ethics code occurred in 1951. The early drafters of the code were operating in a climate that questioned the need for an ethics code (Hall, 1952 ). The APA Ethics Committee was founded in 1938, 46 years after the APA was founded. Given the increasing ethical questions and dilemmas in the profession, the APA Council of Representatives adopted the first official Ethical Standards for Psychologists in 1953. The current Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA, 2002 ) is the tenth revision, and was amended in 2010.

During the development of the first APA Ethics Code, counseling psychology was very inwardly focused on establishing itself as a discipline, to the extent that it even concerned itself with finding an appropriate name. The professionals of the time worked to distinguish counseling psychology from clinical psychology and to establish it as a viable discipline. Several national counseling psychology conferences, including the 1951 Northwestern Conference, the 1964 Greystone Conference, and the 1987 Atlanta Conference, firmly solidified counseling psychology as a legitimate field of study in psychology. During the conferences, there appears to have been minimal attention paid to discussions of ethics.

Although there are no reported major publications on ethics from these early counseling psychology conferences, there were discussions of issues that would have bearing on the content of later ethics codes and guidelines. As early as the Northwestern Conference in 1951, the discourse referred to the need for counseling psychologists to be concerned with culture (APA, 1952). The Greystone Conference was specifically charged to examine emerging diversity in the field (Thompson & Super, 1964 ). Participants of the 1987 Atlanta Conference identified five major areas of concern, including the call for more multicultural research and the integration of diversity, gender, and multiculturalism throughout the curricula and training. In 2001, the Houston Conference on counseling psychology firmly and definitively staked a claim in the discipline’s commitment to social justice and acknowledged the implications of that commitment. In addition to the general focus of helping individuals with emotional and psychological problems, Bingham ( 2002 ) surmised that counseling psychology had these four foci: multiculturalism, because culture is important and there is more than one culture; social justice, because of the emphasis on development and growth and environmental/ situation influences; vocational issues, because counseling psychology has long held vocational issues as one of the core components of the field; and fostering human strengths, because counseling psychology unequivocally proclaims a focus on “healthy aspects and strengths of clients.” These were some major themes that have been addressed in more recent versions of the ethics code, which includes diversity issues such as sexual harassment and unfair discrimination.

Although the counseling psychology conferences did not address ethics per se, several counseling psychologists have promoted key concepts in the field of ethics. Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ) provided a framework for understanding ethical, legal, and professional issues for counseling psychology. Their framework for discussing these issues through the lens of human services, research, teaching/training, and public policy provided a useful method for effectively writing about and discussing ethics across the rather broad counseling psychology specialty. The Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ) contribution served as an ethics educational tool for counseling psychologists and as a reminder that counseling psychology was a young field, struggling for credibility and legitimacy. The authors clarified certain areas, such as the difference between privileged communication and confidential communication. In their roles as educators for counseling psychologists, they also highlighted portions of the Ethics Code that dealt with matters such as informed consent, confidentiality with clients and research subjects, sexual exploitation and sexual harassment, research subjects and the role of deceit and debriefing, and so on.

It is interesting to note that the Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ) contribution reflects some of counseling psychology’s struggle for identity and legitimacy in the early years. In several sections in which the authors highlighted the ethical concerns for clients and students, they also offered cautions that the consequences of certain behaviors could adversely affect counseling psychology as a whole. For example, Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ) cautioned, “If the belief developed that counseling psychologists misled subjects in their research, doubts might also arise over their treatment of clients in counseling relationships. This clearly is to be avoided, both for the sake of the individual and the profession at large” (p. 69). Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ) also talked about the “reputation and credibility of counseling psychologists” when they discussed the role and ethics of placebo treatments in research.

Evidence that counseling psychology was a young field was reflected in the Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ) statements that very few counseling psychologists were called as expert witnesses. Fretz and Mills ( 1980 ) indicated that, throughout the 1970s, counseling psychology was fairly closed and insular. These statements may explain why the Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ) contribution was written in such a way that it served almost as a primer on ethics.

During the time that Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ) were concerned with writing about ethics for counseling psychologists, it is important to note that at least two other substantive developments were taking root in the field. One focused on women. The Division 17 Ad Hoc Committee was formed in 1970. The committee developed a set of principles for counseling and therapy with women (Farmer, 2002 ), Also at the close of the 1970s, the Division adopted a position paper on cross-cultural competencies (Sue et al., 1982 ). These two documents represented the cementing of part of counseling psychology’s identity and its focus on multiculturalism and social justice. These two documents were significant contributions, and serve as forerunners to the APA’s development and adoption of guidelines in these two areas: The APA Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists (APA, 2003 ), and the APA Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Girls and Women (APA, 2007 ). Counseling psychologists were key authors in the development of these and other important guidelines, which provide guidance in the provision of the highest quality of care. Such guidelines are important because they have implications for ethical standards to speak to competence and admonitions against discrimination.

In 1992, Fretz and Simon ( 1992 ) summarized views that indicated a maturing of counseling psychologists on matters of ethics. The discussion moved toward what it means to be an ethical person, rather than focusing more narrowly on the codes that provided the essential rules about ethical conduct. By 1992, the APA Ethics Code had been through several revisions, including those that ended APA’s restrictive practices on advertising. However, other challenges to the 1981 code resulted in the courts’ ruling that the code was so ambiguous that it was difficult to apply. So, although the mindset of counseling psychologists had undergone an ethical maturing process, the code was about to experience a major revision.

Perhaps Fretz and Simon ( 1992 ) could depart from the more explanatory focus on the content of the Ethics Code because Hall ( 1987 ) had reported that 85% of all APA accredited programs had some form of ethics education. Welfel and Lipsitz ( 1984 ) maintained that knowledge was not enough to produce an ethical psychologist. Furthermore, Fretz and Simon ( 1992 ) reported that there had been significant increases in the number of ethics articles and books being published. More significantly, a number of counseling psychologists had begun to make notable forays into the ethics literature. Kitchener and Anderson ( 2000 ) suggested that “The intensified involvement of state legislatures to regulate psychology, the increased number of civil suits filed against psychologists, and the public’s increased awareness and expectations that psychologists act ethically calls for the profession to see good counseling, research, and training as impossible without good or virtuous ethical behavior” (Kitchener & Anderson, 2000 , p. 75).

Several counseling psychologists have indeed made significant contributions to the literature on psychological ethics. Karen Kitchener ( 1984 , 2000 ) adapted the Beauchamp and Childress ( 1979 ) conceptualization of principle ethics for decision making in medicine to the field of psychology. Beauchamp and Childress conceptualized the principles of autonomy, nonmalefience, beneficence, and justice as well-established standards for bioethical medicine in the United States. Kitchener ( 1984 ) added the principle of fidelity and applied those to psychology ethics. Since then, those principles have shaped the general principles of the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychology and Code of Conduct (1992, 2002). These principles are particularly helpful in resolving ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas evolve when ethical principles sometimes compete against each other, or an ethical principle may conflict with law. Kitchener ( 1984 , 2000 ) suggested that a critical-evaluative level or moral reasoning could be developed by applying the five ethical principles as a foundation for ethical decision making in psychology. These principles are often used in society to establish policy, such as in the court system. The APA 2002 Ethics Code was reorganized so that the introductory General Principles are more consistent with these bioethical principles. Thus, we see that counseling psychology has had an enduring impact on the APA Ethics Code.

Meara, Schmidt, and Day ( 1996 ) have also had an impact on the conceptualization of ethics in psychology. They described how virtue ethics focuses on character traits and nonobligatory ideals that facilitate the development of ethical individuals. They suggested that these were complementary ethical perspectives that helped provide a coherent structure for enhancing the ethical competence of psychologists and counselors and the level of public trust in the character and actions of these professions and their members. Virtue ethics, rooted in the narratives, aspirations, and ideals of specific communities, can be particularly helpful to professionals in discerning appropriate ethical conduct in multicultural settings and interactions.

Meara and her colleagues (Meara, Schmidt, & Day, 1996 , Jordan & Meara, 1990 ) moved the ethics discussion beyond codification, rules, and regulations to a focus on the person, rather than on cognitive analyses such as those embodied in the principled ethics described by Kitchener. Jordan and Meara ( 1990 ) championed a message about the kind of ethical persons counseling psychologists should be. Such discussions led Fretz and Simon ( 1992 ) to assert that training programs would need to move beyond the mere teaching of ethics content to more foundational discussion of ethics philosophy and ethical decision-making models. Another implication has been validation of the attention to the selection of students into the field of counseling psychology. That is, that character is a critical element in ethical behavior and that the selection of future psychologists should assess for those aspects of character that support ethical behavior.

Like Schmidt and Meara ( 1984 ), Fretz and Simon ( 1992 ) highlighted ethical issues that were receiving considerable attention at the close of 1980s. These issues included informed consent in supervision, research, and professional writing. Furthermore, as the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic burst onto the scene, new problems of confidentiality arose regarding the relationship, obligations, and responsibility of the counseling psychologist to an HIV-infected client who maintained a physical relationship with a person to whom the client had not disclosed his or her HIV status. Fretz and Simon ( 1992 ) also raised issues of a client’s right to end his or her own life. These authors were making it clear that ethical issues were becoming more nuanced and complex. In addition, the number of cases being referred to the APA Ethics Committee experienced a steep rise. It seemed that counseling psychologists and clients were becoming more ethically sophisticated and more aware of problems in the field. Fretz and Simon ( 1992 ) also conveyed their understanding of the increasing importance of cultural diversity and the implication of cultural competence as a key ethical requirement.

In 1992, the Ethics Code underwent a major revision. This revision occurred in part because consumers and psychologists were beginning to understand the complexities of psychological relationships, raising more questions about the impact of psychologists’ behaviors and their consequences in psychotherapy, research, educational, and other business settings. There was growing diversity in the U.S. demographics and in the clientele seeking psychological services. These changes occurred at a time when society was becoming more litigious. The number of cases brought before the APA ethics committees and state psychology boards increased, and the number of suits filed against psychologists rose dramatically. Additionally, more psychologists were objecting to sanctions being imposed by ethics bodies. Change was needed. The 1992 revision of the ethics code was designed to be a utilitarian document that would provide simple, straightforward, and direct guidance to psychologists (Canter, Bennett, Jones, & Nagy, 1994 ). Principled ethics, like those espoused by Kitchener, were deemed ambiguous and therefore were separated out as aspirational and not enforceable. The code then delineated a series of topically divided declarative statements that would act as enforceable standards.

Kitchener and Anderson ( 2000 ) raised the question of whether such a collection of standards could help an individual become a truly ethical counseling psychologist. They argued for the inclusion of virtue ethics in the training of counseling psychologists. Virtue ethics had been proposed by Meara ( 1996 ) to examine the characteristics, emotions, motivation, prudence, and moral habits of individuals. Kitchener and Anderson maintained that “Moral behavior is complex; these philosophical and psychologically sophisticated models are necessary to understand it” (p. 72.) Of course, such models were considered far too complex to include in an ethics code.

But Kitchener and Anderson ( 2000 ) advocated for counseling psychologists to at least include such training in educational programs and then research their effectiveness. The authors seemed to be concerned about the fact that no such research was being conducted in psychology. They did report on Bebeau’s (1994) work with dental students, whose data indicated that moral sensitivity and reasoning can be improved with training. Kitchener and Anderson believed that such research is necessary for counseling psychology students because data suggests that, even after an ethics course, students will still make serious errors in deciding on ethical issues (Fly, vanBark, Weinman, Kitchener, & Lang, 1997 ). Furthermore, they pointed to the increasing complexity of multiple relationships; the complication of competence, bias, and justice at the intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender; and even the problems of confidentiality in various settings as examples of why a simple compendium of utilitarian standards was insufficient in today’s psychological environment. Kitchener and Anderson ( 2000 ) made such a compelling argument for virtue ethics that it was clear that the ethics code would shortly require another revision.

Werth, Cummings, and Thompson ( 2008 ) provided an overview of select ethical and legal issues affecting counseling psychologists, including risk management and competence. They focused on the APA Ethics Code, professional regulations, state statutes, and federal laws. They emphasized the importance of consultation and exposure to the literature in order to monitor competence and biases in every professional situation. Werth et al. and other counseling psychologists cited here challenged the profession to view ethics as more than a codification of rules and regulations. They demonstrated that ethics must be pervasive in all that psychologists do, if they are to be competent and accountable.

Thus, counseling psychologists have contributed to the discourse and direction of professional ethics in psychology. Considerations of key professional obligations are integrated into the fabric of counseling psychology teaching, training and supervision, our publications, and in the research and practice of psychology.

Mechanisms of Accountability

Four major mechanisms hold psychologists and other mental health professionals accountable to an explicit set of professional standards and legal requirements, including professional ethics committees, state licensing boards, civil malpractice courts, and criminal courts. Although considerable overlap exists, each of these mechanisms may use different formulations of standards. Our profession has a social contract with society, based on attitudes of mutual respect and trust, that the discipline will do everything it can to assure that its members will act ethically in conducting the affairs of the profession within society. The “contract” implies a commitment to place the welfare of society and individual members of the society above the welfare of the discipline and its professionals. So, psychologists have a higher duty of care to members of society than the general duty of care that all members of society have to each other, including taking care that psychologists not abuse power, and in fact use it to help others. This is the basis on which mechanisms of accountability are established; that is, to be committed to ensuring that professions meet minimal standards as their members carry out their work, and that those who are served by professionals are protected from harm in the case of incompetent, negligent, and/or unscrupulous practitioners (Pope & Vasquez, 2007 ). Counseling psychologists may have an even higher duty of care because of our emphasis on social justice. A commitment to social justice implies that the discipline is intentional and purposeful in its attention to issues of relationships, justice, and fairness for all individuals. So, although the accountability mechanism ensures that the profession meets minimal standards, the social justice emphasis suggests that counseling psychologists must challenge themselves to go beyond these minimum requirements.

The APA Ethics Code and Areas of Concern

Pope and Vasquez ( 2007 ) reported a compilation of data from the major areas of most frequently reported disciplinary action as described by the APA Ethics Committee, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), and the APA Insurance Trust. Based on those data, we will describe issues involved in the following categories: multiple relationships, including sexual intimacy/sexual misconduct and nonsexual boundary violations; confidentiality; insurance and fees; record keeping; child custody; and terminations.

Multiple Relationships: Sexual Misconduct and Nonsexual Boundary Violations

Sexual intimacies with current clients/patients have been explicitly prohibited since the 1977 APA Ethics Code; however, the standard of practice prior to that inclusion precluded a sexual relationship between therapist and client. The prohibition had been indirectly implied by other standards before that time (Pope &Vasquez, 2007 ). Several of the general principles and standards in the 2002 Ethics Code prohibit sexual relationships and involvements with clients and students.

General Principle A, Beneficence and Nonmalefience, states that, “psychologists strive to benefit those with whom they work and take care to do no harm” (APA, p. 1062). Psychologists are cautioned to avoid inflicting intentional harm and not to engage in actions that risk harming others. Ethics Code Standard 10.05 most directly addresses sexual intimacies with current therapy clients/patients, and 10.08 prohibits sexual intimacies with former therapy clients and patients for at least 2 years after termination of professional services. Even then, the burden is on the psychologist to demonstrate that no exploitation exists, based on several factors. Standard 10.06, a new standard in the 2002 Ethics Code, prohibits sexual intimacies with relatives or significant others of current therapy clients/patients, and 10.07 prohibits therapy with former sexual partners. Other standards relevant to the prohibition include 3.04, Avoiding Harm, and 3.08 Exploitative Relationships. In addition, Ethics Code Standard 7.07 prohibits sexual relationships with students and supervisees over whom psychologists have or are likely to have evaluative authority.

The evidence is clear that sexual contact with clients/patients and students has a high potential for harm, partly because the power differential and influence that psychologists possess result in exploitation of the vulnerabilities of those with whom they work (Pope & Vasquez, 2007 ). It also harms the public image of psychologists, and the prevalence of sexual involvement of mental health providers with clients/patients has resulted in an increasing criminalization of this behavior in over half of the states in the United States (Haspel, Jorgenson, Wincze, & Parsons, 1997 ). Sex with clients is the highest risk behavior in which a psychologist can engage. The behavior is risky in terms of the reported harm to clients/patients, as well as in the risk to the psychologist. At one point, sexual impropriety constituted over half (53.2%) of all costs of violations for professional liability insurance for psychologists, although a recent APA Insurance Trust evaluation reported that the percentage of claims for sexual misconduct had decreased, based on a “snapshot” review of the data (Bruce Bennett, personal correspondence, December 19, 2005). Hopefully, this means that psychologists have taken to heart the risks such relationships pose to clients and to themselves.

Self-awareness is a key to avoidance. We all have to accept the fact that psychologists can become emotionally and sexually attracted to a client. In one survey, 87% of all therapists (95% of men, 75% of women) reported that they have been attracted to their clients, at least on occasion (Bernsen, Tabachnick, & Pope, 1994 ; Pope, Keith-Spiegel, & Tabachnick, 1986 )). Social psychological literature informs us that “proximity” is the most salient variable predicting who gets together with whom. The skill of managing romantic/sexual feelings toward clients throughout the course of therapy can help identify inappropriate feelings of attraction toward clients.

A complicating issue is that, although the Ethics Code does not prohibit nonsexual touching, risk management strategies encourage psychologists to be cautious about how easily touch can be misunderstood as a sexual overture by some clients/patients, perhaps particularly those with a history of incest or other similar violations. Cultural and theoretical orientations also inform this behavior; for example, some clients and therapists have cultural or other orientations that allow for nonsexual hugs, handshakes, or other forms of affectionate communication. Because of cultural variations in behavior around matters such as touching, it is recommended that psychologists must be knowledgeable about relevant guidelines (for example, the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Girls and Women, APA, 2007 , and the Multicultural Guidelines, APA, 2003 ) that provide further direction on appropriate therapist behavior.

It is important to note that “sex therapy” does not include romantic or erotic interaction between the therapist and client/patient, although it may involve communication about explicitly sexual information, instructions, or readings. Psychologists must still be cautious because clients/patients may perceive comments as erotic, without regard to the psychologist’s intent. The use of sexual surrogates is controversial, but if the psychologist endorses the use of surrogates, the surrogate may never be the psychologist.

Judgments about nonsexual dual or multiple relationships are more complex for all psychologists. The new Ethics Code acknowledges that not all multiple or dual relationships are problematic, or avoidable. These behaviors are not specifically prohibited. Instead, in Standard 3.05, Multiple Relationships, psychologists are warned to avoid relationships that, “could reasonably be expected to impair the psychologist’s objectivity, competence, or effectiveness in performing his or her functions as a psychologist, or otherwise risk exploitation or harm to the person with whom the professional relationship exists”

(APA, 2002 , p. 1065). Authors of the code tried to indicate the risk factors and situations that can lead to risk of harm. However, “Multiple relationships that would not reasonably be expected to cause impairment or risk exploitation or harm are not unethical” (APA, 2002 , p. 1065). It is important to note that most risk management guidelines would strongly discourage even the appearance of a conflict.

Kitchener ( 2000 ) relied on social role therapy to explain the problems with multiple role relationships. Responsibilities, needs, and expectations are very different with a business partner than with a client, for example. Trying to maintain two different roles with someone, especially a client, increases the potential for misunderstanding and harm because the incompatibility of all these expectations is higher. As the obligations of different roles diverge, the potential for divided loyalties and loss of objectivity increases. As the power and prestige difference increases, so does the potential for exploitation and lowered objectivity and autonomy of the consumer.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality, privacy, and privilege are three overlapping concepts. In almost all states, privilege belongs to the client. Confidentiality, considered a primary ethical obligation, is a commitment to clients, research participants, and others that private information will not be divulged without their consent. This obligation is embedded in the moral principles of autonomy, fidelity, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. Individuals have the right to make decisions about those with whom they wish to share private information and those from whom they wish to withhold it (Kitchener, 2000 ).

With some exceptions, only the client can permit the therapist to release records to others. Psychologists sometimes have the obligation to ascertain whether the client is clear about the potential consequences of the release of such records, but the client holds the legal privilege. Psychologists have the ethical and legal obligation to maintain the confidentiality of records, including after the death of a client. Privacy speaks to the responsibility to share only that information that is vital to the purpose of the release of the information, such as to managed care utilization reviewers, when one has the client’s signed release to do so. Key topics related to confidentiality are the exceptions to confidentiality, coping with subpoenas and compelled testimony, and the obligation of informed consent.

Exceptions to Confidentiality

One of the common conflicts or dilemmas that arises from the two moral principles of nonmalefience and autonomy occurs in the situation in which the right to privacy and confidentiality conflicts with the restriction that autonomous rights do not extend to infringing on the autonomous rights of others. Several limits to confidentiality exist, and it is the psychologist’s responsibility to inform clients of those limits. Exceptions to confidentiality encompass situations in which the client is a danger to self or others (e.g., the Tarasoff decision, including the duty to warn and/or protect a third party from a threatening client) and the legal responsibility to report child, elderly, or disability abuse. Limits of confidentiality generally exist if the client files suit against the therapist for breach of duty, or if a court order requires disclosure.

Bongar ( 1992 ) suggested that suicidal clients are the most stressful of all clinical endeavors. A national survey found that psychologists responded to the loss of a patient to suicide in a manner akin to the death of a family member. Psychologists have a greater than 20% chance of losing a patient to suicide at some time during their professional careers. Psychiatrists have a 50% chance of losing a patient to suicide. Rudd, Joiner, and Rajab ( 2001 ) identified a trend of increasing attention to the assessment and treatment of suicidal behavior. This reflects a heightened level of awareness of the complexity of the issues—clinical, ethical, and legal—facing clinicians when working with suicidal patients. Most would argue that the main goal of suicidal therapy (therapy for suicide prevention) is to defuse the potentially lethal situation, and that to hold to the principle of confidentiality is contradictory to a basic tenets of an ethical psychotherapeutic relationship and the principle of helping clients.

Bongar ( 1992 ) suggested that therapists have a professional duty to take appropriate affirmative measures to prevent patients from harming themselves, including communicating with families about the specifics of a patient’s case, attempting to ameliorate toxic family interactions with the patient, or mobilizing support from the family and significant others. However, the scope of the disclosure should be limited to what is necessary to provide appropriate care; thus, for example, disclosures made in good faith while seeking a civil commitment for the patient would largely be protected.

Psychologists also have ethical and legal obligations to address the situation if a client is a danger to others. The nature of the legal obligations varies from state to state, and it is critical for practitioners to be familiar with the requirements of their state practice laws. In 1974, the California Supreme Court issued an opinion stating that California therapists have a duty to warn potential victims of their patients’ threats of violence ( Tarasoff  I), rather than simply doing something with the client, such as hospitalization or arrest. Two years later, the Court revised its opinion to state that California therapists have a duty to protect potential victims if their clients are dangerous ( Tarasoff II). This legal responsibility conflicts with the obligation to maintain confidentiality. An additional issue is that the prediction of dangerousness is still a problematic one for most therapists. Various states are increasingly adopting the duty to protect, but with variations in some of the specifics. Some states indicate that mental health providers may warn or protect potential victims, or take other actions such as notifying officials. It is vital that each therapist become familiar with the requirements and obligations of his or her jurisdiction.

Coping with Subpoenas or Compelled Testimony for Client Records or Test Data

The concerns involved with coping with subpoenas or compelled testimony for client records or test data was addressed by APA’s Committee on Legal Issues (American Psychological Association Committee on Legal Issues [APA COLI], 1996 ). Members of COLI prepared an article in response to a large number of inquires. As a general principle of law, all citizens are required to provide information necessary for deciding issues before a court; the trier of fact is a judge or jury. The basic assumption is that the more relevant information available, the fairer the decision. Subpoenas (legal commands to provide testimony) or subpoenas duces tecum (legal commands to appear and bring along specific documents) are issued to obtain relevant material. A psychologist must respond to a subpoena in a timely matter, but the request may be modified or made void or invalid if the client chooses not to provide a release. Federal law and most state jurisdictions allow the client to prevent confidential material from being communicated. However, a court order to provide testimony or produce documents must be honored regardless of client’s preference, or the psychologist may be held in contempt of court. So, if a client provides a release, or if a court order is issued, psychologists are required to release therapy notes, process notes, client information forms, billing records, and other information, unless the psychologist engages in attempts to quash the order.

Strategies for dealing with subpoenas include verifying whether it is enforceable. A recommendation is to have an attorney review it and to contact the client in question to ensure that he fully understands that he is putting his entire file into the public record. Often, the client wishes the records to be released. In either case, the psychologist must obtain a written consent and make sure that the client understands the purposes and scope of disclosure. A psychologist may wish to negotiate with the requester and/or may also wish to seek a ruling from the court, preferably through the client’s attorney, or with the psychologist’s attorney.

In addition to requests for compelled testimony and subpoenas for client records, test data may also be requested. The Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment of the APA published a “Statement on the Disclosure of Test Data” that was then incorporated as an addendum into the same article that addressed strategies for dealing with subpoenas (APA COLI, 1996 ). The statement was developed as a result of confusion regarding what is ethical and/or legal in the release of test data. A release from a client did not at the time resolve the potential confidentiality claims of third parties, such as test publishers, and psychologists continued to hold obligations to withhold test data or protocols. Such dilemmas have been very controversial in a number of cases, especially when courts want to see items related to IQ testing of particular populations. Attorneys sometimes misuse test data, for example, by selecting specific responses to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Index (MMPI) and asking questions about the client’s/patients specific responses to specific items (e.g., “I have engaged in strange sexual behaviors,” asked of a sexual harassment complainant). The Task Force for revisions of the 2002 Ethics Code struggled with this issue more than any other. Forensic psychologists tended to want protection/support for withholding test data; other practitioners wanted to avoid the expense of hiring attorneys to protect test publishers and the validity of the tests, since the information is readily available through libraries and other sources. The new Standard 9.04, Release of Test Data, defined test data as “raw and scaled scores, client/patient responses to test questions or stimuli, and psychologists’ notes and recordings concerning client/patient statements and behavior during an examination. Those portions of test materials that include client/patient responses are included in the definition of test data .” The APA Ethics Code ( 2002 ) Standard 9.04 Release of Test Data essentially states that psychologists may provide test data upon client/patient release, or may refrain from doing so if they judge that substantial harm, misuse, or misrepresentation of the data may occur.

Informed Consent

Related to the issue of confidentiality is the issue of informed consent. Emerging issues in informed consent include duty to assess and protect against client dangerousness (to self and others), obligations to third parties (third-party payers, managed care, etc.), and issues of deception. The primary moral principle underlying the obligation to obtain informed consent involves the promotion of autonomy. Any procedure performed on or on behalf of a patient without his or her consent diminishes the patient’s autonomy or capacity to act in a free and self-determining manner. Therefore, giving the person an opportunity to make a choice emphasizes his or her autonomy.

Pope and Vasquez ( 2007 ) suggested that information provided during the consent process will differ according to the professional service, whether it is an assessment, psychotherapy, forensic evaluation, or the like. They suggested the following questions to address in a form, as well as on an ongoing basis (informed consent is an ongoing process):

Does the client understand who is providing the service, the clinician’s qualifications , and whether supervision is involved?

Does the client understand the reason for the initial session (self-initiated, court-or physician-referred)?

Does the client understand the nature, extent, and possible consequences of the services the clinician is offering?

Does the client understand the degree to which there may be alternatives to the services provided by the clinician?

Does the client understand actual or potential limitations to the services (a managed care plan’s limitation of four to six sessions unless a major mental illness diagnosis is given); does the client understand how services may be terminated?

Does the client understand fee policies and procedures, including information about missed or canceled appointments, use of fee collection services, etc.?

Does the client understand policies and procedures concerning access to the clinician, to those providing coverage for the clinician, and to emergency services? For example, under what conditions, if any, will a therapist be available by phone between sessions?

Does the client understand limits to confidentiality in situations involving partner, family, or group psychotherapy? Does the client understand the conditions under which the clinician might be required to disclose information to an insurance company, utilization reviewers, the police, child protective services, the courts?

The information should be presented in a language reasonably understandable to the client/patient. Consent may be written or oral, but in any case, must be documented by the psychologist. Psychologists who are “covered entities” under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) must also provide clients/patients with written information (Notice of Privacy Practices) about their rights regarding the use and disclosure of their health information, including information about their rights to access to their protected health information (PHI), excluding psychotherapy notes. Other information should include explanations of the uses and disclosures of the PHI, their individual rights, and the psychologist’s legal duties in regard to the PHI. The APA Practice Directorate and APA Insurance Trust have developed authorization model Notice of Privacy Practice forms to be compatible with the laws governing practice in each state; these are available at http://apa.org/practice and http://apait.org/hipaa .

Custody Evaluations

Professionals get into trouble with child custody evaluations in a number of ways. The paramount obligation in custody evaluations is to assess and report factors that affect the best psychological interests of the child. Moral principles involved include Principle A, Beneficence and Nonmalefience, which involves helping others and doing no harm, and Principle B, Fidelity, which involves honest communication and obligation to fulfill certain functions. Principle E, Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity is involved because the therapist must respect parental rights to share in the raising of their children. Generally, a forensic child custody expert is employed to evaluate all persons involved. The biggest error psychotherapists make is to testify on behalf of their client, and to make negative comments about the other parent without ever having seen, diagnosed, or assessed that other parent. It is not recommended that psychotherapists (as opposed to objective child custody evaluators) serve as the evaluator, since objectivity will always be a challenge in such cases.

According to Ackerman and Ackerman ( 1997 ), 90% of divorce custody situations agree to a restructuring arrangement. However, when a dispute occurs, the court must help to determine the relative allocation of decision-making authority and the physical contact each parent will have with the child. The courts typically apply a “best interest of the child” standard in determining this restructuring of rights and responsibilities. Psychologists are thus called upon to provide a competent, objective, impartial assessment. Often, in these disputes, one of the two parties will be unhappy with the results and blame the psychologist. Therefore, those who are called upon to testify and/or who provide assessment services for child custody evaluations must be clear about duties and responsibilities. Although specific instructions about custody evaluations are not provided in the ethics code, several principles apply. The APA Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Divorce Proceedings (APA, 2004 ) provide helpful guidance.

Insurance and Fee Problems

Insurance fraud is a major area of violation, including billing insurance for services delivered by others; billing insurance for missed sessions; waiving copayments (this may be an option on an individual basis in most states, but not as a rule, and the option may have a requirement to inform the third party); billing couple, family, or group sessions as individual sessions; falsifying diagnostic categories to fit reimbursement criteria; and changing the date of the onset of the client’s episode or the beginning of therapy to fit third-party reimbursement criteria, to try to prevent denial of services based on preexisting condition. Often, well-meaning therapists try to provide financial relief by, in effect, colluding with a client to violate the client’s contract with his insurance company. Although continuously frustrated by insurance companies, psychologists must fight those battles in the legislature through organizational advocacy efforts—or potentially end up in trouble with insurance companies and the law. Such dilemmas are also a therapeutic issue in that, if this ethic is violated, psychologists model and communicate lack of respect for the role of honesty and fidelity in relationships.

It is critical to ensure the accuracy of billings and payments. Record keeping and documentation from a billing and payment frame of reference may include the reflection of transactions with private insurance companies, managed care companies, government entities including Medicare and Medicaid, individual client billing, organizational billing, and forms of presenting services rendered, date of service, treatment, diagnosis, and other information requested. Accurate and understandable records that can explain the essential elements of services rendered are an excellent protection against misinterpretations of services and resulting difficulties in billing questions and payment. The amount and type of information included in records for billing and payment can be challenging to determine. Psychologists may be asked for information for billing purposes that would not otherwise be included in the record and which the psychologist may think is detrimental to the welfare of the client. Therefore it becomes necessary for the psychologist to accurately provide details for billing purposes while at the same time not including statements that would potentially harm the client.

Record Keeping

Several obligations are involved in the new clear requirement to maintain records. The APA ( 2002 ) Ethics Code Standard 6.01 requires for the first time that records be kept in written form. The Committee on Professional Practice & Standards (COPPS) of the APA published guidelines regarding the maintenance of records in 1993 and updated them in 2007. The Guidelines were revised by the COPPS, partly to incorporate the HIPAA guidelines; these new guidelines were approved by the APA Council of Representatives in 2007.

The content of psychotherapy notes should minimally include identifying data, dates of services, types of services, fees, any assessment, plan for intervention, consultation, summary reports, and/or testing reports, supporting data, and any release of information obtained. It is also recommended that a record be made of any unusual struggles and dilemmas that surface during the therapeutic process as part of an overall risk management strategy. The HIPAA legislation allows for two sets of notes: one with basic information, and another set with the therapist’s process notes. Notes for psychotherapy group, family, and relationship therapy should also be kept. Complications regarding confidentiality can surface. Most recommend that group therapy notes be kept per individual, in order to maintain confidentiality of other group members should the records be requested.

The Freedom of Information Act (1966) is a law requiring that U.S. government agencies release their records to the public on request, unless the information sought falls into a category specifically exempted, such as national security, an individual’s right to privacy, or internal agency management. This typically means that clients legally have access to their records. Various options are provided by therapists—reviewing notes in a session(s) for therapeutic benefit is one option, as is the provision of a summary. Ultimately, if clients choose to obtain their notes, they can do so. However, most jurisdictional administrative practice laws have a clause that allows psychologists to withhold notes if they may be deemed harmful to the client.

States, provinces, and territories vary in the period of time that psychologists are required to maintain records. The revised APA Record Keeping Guidelines (2007) suggest retaining full records for no less than 7 years after the last date of service delivery for adults or until 3 years after a minor reaches the age of majority, whichever is longest, or the number of years required by one’s licensing board, whichever is longest. Jurisdictional licensing boards, other state and federal laws, and institutional requirements may determine the length of time that psychologists must keep records. Psychologists should always retain the complete record to comply with the more stringent of the applicable requirements. Psychologists may legally destroy their records after that time, but psychologists may at times wish to keep some records longer than the length required, for example, in situation in which records may be sought to illuminate some future legal issue, or when a minor may have long-term developmental difficulties.

It is wise to make arrangements for the storage of records when leaving one’s practice, and/or in case of disability or death. Arrangements should be made so that, in the case of death, someone, preferably a mental health professional, knows how to access information about current clients and notify them. With clients’ permission, some psychologists make reciprocal arrangements with colleagues to exchange lists of patients’ names, phone numbers, and information about their treatment. In case of death or incapacitation, the covering therapist would notify patients/clients, and serve as a referral person or “bridge therapist” for continuation of care, and to deal with the death or incapacitation of the therapist. Some therapists arrange for a notice to be placed in the newspaper, informing former clients of the death and letting them know who holds their records.

Terminations

Terminations are an important part of the therapeutic process, and there are ethical responsibilities to termination appropriately. Research indicates that 30% to 57% of all psychotherapy patients drop out prematurely (Garfield, 1994 ). Premature termination is a vexing problem and a subject of research investigation (Vasquez, Bingham, & Barnett, 2008 ). Some clients/patients simply stop coming, despite the recommendation of a “pretermination counseling process,” and do not get the benefit of that process. Multiple factors influence how long a client/patient remains in psychotherapy. What are those factors, and what can be done to facilitate successful separations and psychotherapeutic terminations?

Vasquez, Bingham, and Barnett ( 2008 ) provided practice recommendations for helping to ensure the clinically appropriate and effective termination of each client.

At the beginning of psychotherapy, and throughout the treatment, psychologists have responsibilities to provide informed consent about psychotherapy. That is, clients/patients should be educated about the process of psychotherapy, including the factors involved in deciding when to stop. Ending therapy usually depends on the nature of the case, the condition of the client/patient, the evolution and attainment of goals as set forth by the client/patient and psychotherapist, and the client’s/patient’s financial situation (either personal or managed care limitations).

Ethical responsibilities include the responsibility to terminate when the client/patient no longer needs the service, isn’t benefiting, or is being harmed by the service (APA 2002 Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct Standard 10.10a). Psychologists are also required to make reasonable efforts to provide pretermination counseling and suggest alternative service providers as appropriate (APA Standards 10.10c, 10.09 and 3.12). A new APA Ethics Code standard indicates that therapists have the right to terminate psychotherapy when threatened (10.10b). It is probably not appropriate to terminate when a client is in crisis. Some clients are able to easily announce that they are ready to stop coming, or that their employer has switched insurance providers, and that they’d like the current psychologist’s help to choose their next therapist from their new provider list. Others may be panicked at the notion of stopping without appropriate preparation.

The issue becomes complex if the psychotherapist perceives that the treatment is progressing well, and the client/patient either is not clear about how long to continue, or no longer wishes to continue, but has difficulty raising the issue. Often, these clients just stop coming. They either indicate that they will call to schedule the next appointment, or cancel and do not reschedule. In addition, many people currently utilize psychotherapy in short installments, “stop out” for a while, and later return to either the same practitioner, or to another. A key psychotherapeutic strategy is to review the presenting concerns, goals, and progress from time to time. This helps clarify how much has been accomplished, as well as what still needs to be addressed, and whether the client/patient and psychotherapist collaboratively wish to continue or not. When clients who seem successfully engaged in psychotherapy stop coming, a note or call to provide them with options can yield helpful and interesting information.

Counseling Psychology’s Unique Contribution of Social Justice As an Ethical Imperative

Counseling psychology has a long history of interest and commitment to social justice and multicultural issues (Ivey & Collins, 2003 ), and it has moved to the forefront to join community and liberation psychologists in engaging more systematically in social justice work (Goodman et al., 2004 ; Vera & Speight, 2003 ). Goodman et al. ( 2004 ) conceptualized the social justice work of counseling psychologists as scholarship and professional action designed to change societal values, structures, policies, and practices, such that disadvantaged or marginalized groups gain increased access to these tools of self-determination. Goodman et al. ( 2004 ) drew upon an ecological model of social analysis to propose that social justice work occurs on three different levels, including the micro level (individuals and families); the meso level (including communities and organization); and the macro level (including social structures, ideologies, and policies). The authors also proposed several tenets, derived from feminist and multicultural counseling theories and including ongoing self-examination, sharing power, giving voice, facilitating consciousness raising, building on strengths, and giving clients with the tools to work toward social change. The authors provided an illustration of a thoughtful process for developing, managing, and evaluating a faculty-led collaboration with community-based projects as a training experience in social justice.

An application of the micro level is the emphasis on cultural competence in the psychotherapeutic process. Cultural competence is no longer a marginal topic of interest, and cultural competence in today’s mental health care environment requires far more knowledge and sophistication on the part of the professional. It is becoming part of the mainstream fundamental knowledge and skill set required for effective practice. Therefore, multicultural competency is a core social justice value, as well as an ethical responsibility. Diversity training in general should be more incorporated into the fabric of training programs, continuing education, and life-long learning for psychologists (Vasquez, 2009 ).

Vera and Speight ( 2003 ) argued that counseling psychology’s operationalization of multicultural competence must be grounded in a commitment to social justice that includes an expansion of professional activities beyond counseling and psychotherapy. Vera and Speight ( 2003 ) suggested that engaging in advocacy, prevention, and outreach are activities critical to social justice efforts. They suggested that grounding teaching and research in collaborative and social action processes are ways to expand roles.

Toporek and Williams ( 2006 ) believe that even the most recent 2002 APA Ethics Code needs to be revised because it does not provide enough guidance for the social justice philosophy of counseling psychologists. The 2001 National Conference on Counseling Psychology advocated for social justice as a primary foundation of the field. The Social Justice Ethics Work Group from the conference defined social justice as:

A concept that advocates engaging individuals as co-participants in decisions which directly affect their lives; it involves taking some action, and educating individuals in order to open possibilities, and to act with value and respect for individuals and their group identities, considering power differentials in all areas of counseling practice and research. (Blustein, Elman, & Gerstein, 2001 , p. 9)

Toporek and Williams ( 2006 ) argued that, implied in this definition, are the themes of respect, responsibility, and action. They then looked at the ethical issues of competence, multiple relationships, informed consent, and the do-no-harm tenet through the social justice principles of respect, responsibility and action. The authors concluded that, although attention to these issues was implicit in some of the 2002 APA Ethics Code principles, the language was not explicit enough and therefore did not provide enough guidance to counseling psychologists. For example, because a social justice approach would dictate that a counseling psychologist should intervene on behalf of a client to end discrimination or oppression, the client and therapist could work together outside the counseling office and the traditional counseling hour. The client and counselor could inadvertently end up in a dual relationship, and the client may not be fully informed of the possible consequences of such action or alliance. Toporek and Williams argued that the APA Ethics Code did not provide enough guidance to the therapist about how to make a virtuous social justice–oriented ethical decision.

Toporek and Williams ( 2006 ) did advise that more guidance could be found in other codes, such as those of the Association of Black Psychologists and the National Association of Social Workers. These codes go far beyond those of the APA code in directing psychologists about advocacy matters. The NASW Ethics Code 6.04 even states, for example, that “Social workers should engage in social and political action.…” (NASW, 1996 ). At best, the APA code relegates such strong statements to the nonenforceable aspirational principles section of the ethics document. Structural limitations, such as the APA’s tax status as a c(3) is limiting in that regard; NASW maintains a c(6) tax status, which allows for more political advocacy.

Counseling psychologists may find more help by reviewing the various practice guidelines that are designed to help practitioners across specializations to provide ethically competent service. The guidelines include the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Girls and Women (APA, 2007 ); Guidelines for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients (APA, 2000 ); Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice and Organizational Change for Psychologists (APA, 2003 ); and Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults (APA, 2004 ). All of these guidelines tend to have social justice themes, and counseling psychologists were intimately involved in drafting most of these documents. The guidelines for practice with girls and women, for example, were spearheaded by a joint group from the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17) and the Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35), and the guidelines for practice with racial/ethnic minorities by a joint task group from Division 17 and the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45). These guidelines tend to have a social justice emphasis that addresses issues of marginalization, discrimination, and oppression for certain groups, and the responsibilities that psychologists have to monitor those concerns in their work with clients. In the introduction to the guidelines for girls and women, for example, is the statement that “the changing and increasingly complex life experiences of girls and women and the intersection of their gender roles with ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, SES etc. demonstrate compelling evidence and need for professional guidance for helping psychologists (a) avoid harm in psychological practice with girls and women, (b) improve research, teaching, consultation, and psychotherapeutic and counseling training and practice; and (c) develop and enhance treatment efforts, research, prevention, teaching and other areas of practice that will benefit women and girls” (see http://www.apa.org/about/division/girlsandwomen.pdf ). So, while Toporek and Williams maintain that the APA Ethics Code does not provide sufficient guidance for ethical decision making, guidelines such as those listed above can be used to enhance a psychologist’s ethical decision-making process and competence in providing the highest standard of care to members of certain groups.

Decision-making Models

Using the APA Ethics Code and all of the guidelines listed above, can one arrive at an ethical decision? Clearly Jordan and Meara ( 1990 ) and Kitchener and Anderson ( 2000 ) would argue that one must combine knowledge gleaned from all of the standards, principles, and guidelines with one’s virtuous character. Kitchener ( 2000 ) suggested that information about the situation and one’s ordinary moral sense leads to an immediate level of impressions, but that a critical-evaluative level of decision making, including ethical rules (codes, guidelines, laws) combined with foundational ethical principles and ethical theory is important. Kitchener proposed the following five foundational moral principles as essential to making virtuous ethical decisions:

Autonomy  : Psychologists must make free decisions, understand the consequences, and treat others in the same way. This means a fundamental respect for the rights of others to make choices, unless those choices infringe on the rights of others.

Nonmalefience  : Above all psychologists must not do harm. This generally means neither inflicting intentional harm nor engaging in actions that risk harming others.

Beneficence  : Psychologists must strive to do good or benefit others. At its core, psychology is committed to contributing to the health and welfare of others.

Justice  : Psychologists must treat all fairly and equally and be concerned with issues of social justice.

Fidelity  : Psychologist must strive for truth, honor, faithfulness, and loyalty. Fidelity is at the core of the fiduciary relationship between psychologists and the people with whom they work.

Models for ethical decision making tend to list steps that an individual might follow when a dilemma arises. The Ethics Resource Center ( http://www.ethics.org/decision-making-model.asp ) uses a six-step model entitled The PLUS Decision-Making Model. PLUS is a mnemonic for Policies, Legal, Universal, and Self. PLUS is applied at steps 1, 3, and 6. At step 1, the problem is identified and the therapist asks whether there are policy issues, legal issues, universal principles, and values to consider, especially of his or her professional organization. In addition, the therapist considers self issues of rightness, goodness, or fairness. At step 2, the therapist lists alternative solutions to the dilemma. Step 3 requires that the therapist evaluates the alternatives using PLUS questions. Step 4 asks for a decision. Step 5 is implementation, and step 6 is an evaluation of the decision, again using PLUS questions. This model further advises the use of empathy, patience, integrity, and courage.

Other decision-making models essentially follow the same step-wise pattern (Bersoff, 1995 ; Canter et al., 1994 ; Clabon & Morris, 2004 ; Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 1998 ). Psychologists often argue that knowing the Ethics Code, their jurisdictional administrative and practice laws, and guidelines provide a good starting point for making an ethical decisions. They sometimes add a step that suggests consulting with a trusted colleague, ethics expert, or mental health attorney on the matter. These two suggestions would fit in well with any of the decision-making models that were reviewed for this chapter. Welfel ( 2002 ) proposed a ten-step model that begins with becoming ethically sensitive as the first step and includes, at step 7, consultation with a supervisor or respected colleague. Houser, Wilczenski, and Ham ( 2006 ) declared that few if any of these decision-making models have been empirically investigated or grounded in theory. They argued that one thing missing from the models is context. Houser et al. ( 2006 ) asserted that ethic codes and ethical models are generally lists of rules and principles that are stated as if they exist in a cultural vacuum. They believe that, to make ethical decisions, ethical decision-making models must be situated in a cultural context and there must be a general understanding of various worldviews. Also, the ethics must have some theoretical underpinnings.

Basically, it is important for counseling psychologists to develop a plan for ethical decision making before an ethical dilemma occurs. We recommend these steps:

Regularly review the APA Ethics Code and be knowledgeable and/or review your jurisdictional rules. It is helpful to refer to relevant guidelines as endorsed by the APA.

Define and understand the ethical dilemma. Why is the situation problematic? What principles, rules, laws, or obligations are at issue? One’s theoretical orientation may sometimes enter into the conceptualization of the problem, and sometimes it is important to try to distinguish between a therapeutic issue/dilemma and whether the dilemma potentially reaches the threshold of a potential ethical and/or legal violation.

Understand the key moral principles in psychology, as described above, and apply those principles.

Determine alternative solutions. If the options increase the potential for harm, the psychologist should increase vigilance and attention. Whose interests are involved in the problem? What would be the positive and negative consequences of each choice?

Consult with others to help clarify the issues. Ethics experts and/or ethics bodies can be helpful. Consider whether there is a need for legal advice from lawyers who specialize in mental health law.

Decide on a solution based on the code, the culture, your moral principles, and your understanding of probable consequences. Document the process and the results. Keeping track of the process through documentation can help one remain clear about the elements of the problem, the options and potential consequences, the guidance provided by others, and the rationale for the decision.

Clabon and Morris ( 2004 ) claim that making good ethical decisions helps to build character. Hopefully good character helps to make virtuous ethical decisions.

Concluding Thoughts on Ethical Dilemmas and Ethics Education

Counseling psychologists have had significant input into the evolution of professional ethics in psychology, and we provided a brief summary of those contributions. In addition, we described the various methods of accountability in our profession, and identified key areas of vulnerability for psychologists in ethical practice, including multiple relationships, confidentiality, custody evaluations, insurance and fee problems, record keeping, and terminations. Finally, we described the role of counseling psychology in promoting social justice as an ethical imperative. The following section identifies our concluding thoughts on key dilemmas yet to be fully addressed in the ethical realm of professional responsibilities and ethics education.

The social milieu affects the ethics code. Over time, society has dealt with cultural and legal issues such as discrimination, sexual harassment, divorce. These topics influence changes in the ethics code, and the code changes as society changes. With the advent of the World Wide Web, the Internet, e-mail, listservs, blogs, and chat rooms, social issues and conditions are communicated far more rapidly and therefore pressure may emerge for the ethics code to change more frequently.

For example, during the United States’ war with Iraq, serious questions were raised about the role psychologists should play in the interrogation of detainees from the war, especially if individuals were being held in places considered illegal. The United States entered into war against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2002, and into war with Iraq in 2003. As a result of these wars, many individuals were imprisoned or “detained” at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Abu Ghraib, in Iraq. Subsequent to their detainment, numerous allegations were made of detainee abuse and illegal detention. Questions arose regarding the role of psychologists in assisting the government in questioning detainees, providing psychological services to these individuals, and consulting with the government about these matters; it was even questioned if it was legal for psychologists to work in some of these facilities. Psychologists and members of the public turned to the APA Ethics Code and the Ethics Committee for guidance. Some thought they found answers in the code; others thought the code was left wanting. Counseling psychologists were actively involved on the APA governing bodies, the Council of Representatives, and the Board of Directors as the organization grappled with ethical, legal, and professional questions about the detainee issue. Some were involved in the actual intervention to ensure that interrogations were conducted in safe, moral, and effective ways (James, 2008 ).

The answer to whether or not the code provided sufficient guidance is beyond the scope of this chapter. However, the situation did shine light on the need for guiding ethical principles and standards, and the need for effective ethical decision-making models and processes. Psychologists and members of the public demanded that the ethics code provide much more direction about the role of psychologists. Their demands led to a referendum on the matter. The APA Public Affairs Office released this announcement about the APA members’ approval of the petition resolution on detainee settings (September 17, 2008 from http://www.apa.org/releases/petition0908.html ):

The petition resolution stating that psychologists may not work in settings where “persons are held outside of, or in violation of, either International Law (e.g., the UN Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions) or the U.S. Constitution (where appropriate), unless they are working directly for the persons being detained or for an independent third party working to protect human rights” was approved by a vote of the APA membership. The final vote tally was 8,792 voting in favor of the resolution; 6,157 voting against the resolution. To become policy, a petition resolution needs to be approved by a majority of those members voting. Per the Association’s Rules and Bylaws, the resolution became official APA policy as of the Association’s August 2009 annual convention. The approval of the petition resolution represented a significant change in APA’s policy regarding the involvement of psychologists in interrogations. The petition resolution limits the roles of psychologists in certain defined settings where persons are detained to working directly for detainees or for an independent third party to protect human rights, or to providing treatment to other military personnel. This resolution expanded on the 2007 APA resolution, which called on the U.S. government to ban at least 19 specific abusive interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, that are regarded as torture by international standards. The 2007 resolution also recognized that “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment can result not only from the behavior of individuals, but also from the conditions of confinement,” and expressed “grave concern over settings in which detainees are deprived of adequate protection of their human rights.” APA will continue to call upon the Department of Defense and Congress to safeguard the welfare and human rights of detainees held outside of the United States and to investigate their treatment to ensure the highest ethical standards are being upheld.

The question remains as to whether and how the ethics code reflects the dictates of the referendum and how quickly the code can change if necessary. These situations are likely to become even more prevalent as members of the profession look to the Ethics Code and relevant policy development for guidance.

Several other key dilemmas and issues are yet to be fully addressed in the profession, and thus comprise “future directions.” Those include the use of the Internet or other electronic communication methods, practicing across jurisdictional boundaries, distance learning, testing for continued competencies for initial licensure, and for expansion of practice into emerging areas.

The use of telecommunications and information technology to provide assessment, diagnosis, and intervention (psychotherapy, forensic and consultation services) information has increased in the past few years. Yet, clear guidelines have not been developed. Pope and Vasquez ( 2005 ) suggested the importance of confidentiality in considering the location of computers, as well as the use of “strong” passwords, encryption (software that adds an extra layer of protection and safeguards), firewalls (software or hardware to help prevent break-ins), and other technological safeguards. Other challenges include the importance of being aware of standard ethical, regulatory, and legal obligations if work crosses jurisdictional boundaries. Questions asked by DeMers, Van Horne, and Rodolfa ( 2008 ) include: How will an emergency be handled? What are the limits of confidentiality? How are the HIPAA regulations (1996) applicable? How are charges and payments handled? Will professional liability insurance cover practice across jurisdictional lines? How will a complaint be handled?

Distance education has rapidly expanded, and this has implications for the definition of quality assurance and regulation of student performance. The APA ( 2006 ) Accreditation Guidelines and Principles require that each student serves a minimum of 3 full-time academic years of graduate study, at least 2 of which must be at the institution from which the doctoral degree is granted, and at least 1 year of which must be in “full-time residence or the equivalent thereof” (p. 10). This requirement is assumed to allow for faculty and supervisors to assess student competence. The dilemma of providing greater flexibility in meeting residency requirements versus the obligation to assess student competency is an ethical challenge and responsibility to be faced by psychology education in the future.

Assessment of competency has been an issue and theme in the profession for the past few years. The Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) sponsored a Competencies Conference that focused on the identification of the mutually agreed upon set of competencies underlying professional psychology practice (Kaslow et al., 2004 ). One of the issues is whether a competency-based approach to the assessment of progress through training and readiness for practice, as well as for expansion of practice into emerging areas, might be applied. Continuing education and life-long learning for the ethical requirement to maintain and develop competence is a goal embraced by professionals. The potential requirement of some kind of demonstration of competence in the knowledge, judgment, and technical and interpersonal skills relevant to a therapist’s job throughout his or her career is more controversial (DeMers et al., 2008 ).

What is the future role of education in ensuring that counseling psychologists receive quality ethical training and that programs produce ethical psychologists? The future of the teaching of psychological ethics will continue to evolve, as psychology evolves as a growing field. Ethics education requires the ability to help learners “think well about doing good” (Kitchener, 2000 ). For example, vignettes and case presentations help us all think through dilemmas. The reality is that a particular dilemma may have a different outcome depending on various factors (e.g., therapist factors, client factors, theoretical orientation, etc.). Teaching the distinctions and overlaps, for example, between ethics and the law, ethics and values, ethics and professional behavior, ethics and conscience are important to promote critical thinking and understanding (Kitchener, 2000 ). Promoting knowledge of ethical theory, foundational ethical principles and values, ethical rules, and related laws in order to develop a critical evaluative judgment that involves evaluation, analysis, and reasoned judgment are important tasks of ethics education.

Meara and her colleagues, who emphasize virtue ethics, seem to suggest that educational programs must seek to select ethical students to be a part of each incoming class. The challenge is that there is no evidence that psychologists know how to select ethical individuals. There is some evidence to suggest that one can improve ethical decision making. It could be that programs must be more intentional in training those skills. Forrest, Elman, Gizara, and Vacha-Haase ( 1999 ) suggest various issues involved in evaluating and ensuring the competence and professional behavior of trainees in professional psychology training programs and internships. This is a start in the academy’s responsibility in ensuring the production of ethical, competent professionals.

Most state licensure laws now require that psychologist obtain some hours of ethics training during each licensure reissue period. Such practice suggests that educational programs might want to consider offering more ethics training. It may be that we should seek to have ethics education integrated into most of the courses that are taught, rather than the addition of one course on legal and ethical issues. Ethics could be included in counseling theories courses, marriage and family courses, multicultural courses, and more. We encourage more intentional training experiences at all levels of training and for life-long learning.

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Further Reading

Campbell, L., Vasquez, M. J. T., Behnke, S., & Kinscherff, R. ( in press ). APA ethics code commentary and case illustrations . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Fisher, C. B. ( 2003 ). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Knapp, S., & VandeCreek, L. ( 2003 ). A guide to the 2002 revision of the American Psychological Association’s ethics code . Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

Nagy, T. F. ( 2005 ). Ethics in plain English: An illustrative casebook for psychologists (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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Ethics in Counselling

Understanding the ethics in counselling.

In this section we explore ethics in counselling.

The word 'ethics' comes from the Greek word ' ethos, ' which means character and is concerned with exploring the concepts of right and wrong .

At the time of writing this, counselling is not regulated by the UK government. No single ethical body oversees counselling and psychotherapy in the UK.

The reason for this is that counselling is to some extent a 'diverse' profession and due to the differing perspectives and approaches in counselling and psychotherapy, therapists have tended to choose ethical bodies which align themselves to the modality of therapy they practice, and the training courses they have undertaken.

Membership is voluntary although employers would expect that counsellors they employ would be members of an ethical body, students who are in practice should also be members.

One such organisation,   The British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapy founded (BACP)  in 1977 ( like most ethical bodies)   sets a code of standards  that counsellors abide by and are known as a  Code of Ethics  in the case of the BACP  this is split into  two distinct headings:

• Good practice

Ethical bodies have three main functions:

(1)  to provide information on counselling and psychotherapy services and set standards which give the general public confidence in the profession.

(2)  a route to complain if they feel dissatisfied with the service they have received from a counsellor.

(3)  if the complaint is upheld then a therapist can find themselves receiving a 'sanction'.

A sanction  can be a directive to   undertake more training, submit a report to an ethical committee explaining how they have altered their practice so the same problem doesn’t arise again.

In extreme cases, counsellors can be 'struck off ' which means their membership of the organisation is terminated.

Ethical bodies also provide support to counsellors and psychotherapists in form of well-researched information,   continued professional development,  training courses, and a  collective voice  when dealing with the government of the day and any legislation they propose.

They also set down the limits of confidentiality  which can differ from say that of a doctor. For instance, at the time of writing this guide if a Doctor treats a patient who has a knife or a gunshot wound they would be ethically obliged to report this to the police, a counsellor or psychotherapist is under no ethical obligation to do this.

The legal obligations of your counsellor are covered in the section  'Counselling & The Law"

Although the BACP is perhaps the most well known from the public’s point of view, there are a number of ethical bodies that issue codes of practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy  in the UK these are:

• British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies  (BABCP)
• British Psychoanalytic Council  (BPC)
• College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists  (CORST)
• Counselling & Psychotherapy in Scotland  (COSCA)
• Addiction Professionals (formerly known as SMMGP and FDAP )
• Health and Care Professions Council  (HCPC)
• Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy  (IACP)
• United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy  (UKCP)
• The National Counselling Society  (NCS)

This list is not exhaustive, and it is possible for a Counsellor/Psychotherapist to be a member of more than one organisation.

Ethical Conflict

Sometimes conflicts arise when a counsellor is working on two ethical codes of practice. For instance, the UK the General Medical Council the ethical body for doctors, states:

“You should inform the police quickly whenever a person arrives with a gunshot wound or an injury from an attack with a knife, blade or other sharp instrument”

A counsellor working under the BACP code of ethics has no such constraint and may keep the client's confidentiality.

If a counsellor finds themselves working under two conflicting guidelines, the solution is to make a contract with the client which covers all the necessary exceptions to confidentiality. At that point, a client can make an informed decision if they wish to proceed with therapy.

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Ethics of Confidentiality

Through the years a number of events have shaped the expectations of both professional bodies and the general public to how Counsellors and Psychotherapists manage areas such as confidentiality and how different agencies share information, this is sometimes referred to as a multi-disciplinary approach.

One event in question was the case in the United Kingdom of Victoria Climbie. Victoria was a nine-year-old child who, in 2000, died as a consequence of being systematically abused by her Aunt and Uncle.

Victoria had been seen by a number of professionals both in healthcare and educational settings before her death, who had noted her injuries and failed to act or contact other partner agencies to ascertain the cause of the injuries or to raise an alarm.

Her death shocked the nation and was widely reported in the media at the time, an inquiry in to the failings of the professionals involved in the case was chaired by Lord Lamming and paved the way for an upgrading of legislation known as the Children’s Act which came in to law in 1989 and was revised as a consequence of this case in 2004.

The outcome of the enquiry was that agencies involved in healthcare, work to an accord called the  Caldecott principles , which allows professionals to share information, balancing confidentiality, the law and the agencies policy and procedures when making any decision regarding disclosure of information.

Counseling Ethics Code: 10 Common Ethical Issues & Studies

Despite their potentially serious consequences, ethical issues are common, and without preparation and reflection, many might be violated unwittingly and with good intentions.

In this article, you’ll learn how to identify and approach a variety of frequently encountered counseling ethical issues, and how a counseling ethics code can be your moral compass.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains:

Counseling & psychotherapy ethics code explained, 7 interesting case studies, 3 common ethical issues & how to resolve them, ethical considerations for group counseling, a take-home message.

Most of us live by a certain set of values that guide our behavior and mark the difference between right and wrong. These values almost certainly influence how you approach your work as a counselor .

Following these values might feel natural and even intuitive, and it might feel as though they don’t warrant closer examination. However, when practicing counseling or psychotherapy, working without a defined counseling code of ethics is a bit like sailing a ship without using a compass. You might trust your intuitive sense of direction, but more often than not, you’ll end up miles off course.

Fortunately, there are a variety of professional organizations that have published frameworks to help counselors navigate the challenging and disorienting landscape of ethics.

Members of these organizations are often recommended or required to adhere to a framework, so if you belong to one of them and you’re not familiar with their respective code of ethics, this should be your first port of call. However, these ethical frameworks are also often available online for anyone to read, and so you don’t need to join an organization to adhere to its principles.

Each organization takes a slightly different approach to their code of ethics, so you may find it useful to view several to find one that resonates best with your practice. As an example, the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (2018) has a framework that emphasizes aspiring to a variety of different values and personal moral qualities.

Those values include protecting clients, improving the wellbeing and relationships of others, appreciating the diversity of perspectives, and honoring personal integrity. Personal moral qualities include courage, empathy , humility, and respect.

These values and qualities are not meant to be strict criteria, and there is no wholly objective way to interpret them. For example, two counselors might display the same legitimate values and qualities while arriving at different conclusions to an ethical problem. Instead, they reflect a general approach to how a counselor should think about ethics.

Nevertheless, this approach to ethics may be overly prescriptive for you, in which case a looser and more general framework may be better suited to the nature of your practice. Most professional organizations recognize this, and there is a set of foundational principles that feature widely across different frameworks and refine the collection of different values and qualities described above into simpler terms.

These principles are autonomy , beneficence, non-maleficence, fidelity, justice, veracity, and self-respect (American Counseling Association, 2014; British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2018). They are largely consistent across frameworks aside from some minor variations.

• Autonomy is the respect for a client’s free will.
• Beneficence and non-maleficence are the commitment to improve a client’s wellbeing and avoid harming them, respectively.
• Fidelity is honoring professional commitments.
• Veracity is a commitment to the truth.
• Justice is a professional commitment to fair and egalitarian treatment of clients.
• Self-respect is fostering a sense that the counselor is also entitled to self-care and respect.

Putting these principles into practice doesn’t require a detailed framework. Instead, as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (2018) recommends, you can simply ask yourself, “ Is this decision supported by these principles without contradiction? ” If so, the decision is ethically sound. If not, there may be a potential ethical issue that warrants closer examination.

Regardless of whether you navigate using values, qualities, or principles, it’s important to be prepared for how they might be challenged in practice. As explained above, these are not intended to be strict criteria, and it’s good to foster a healthy amount of flexibility and intuition when applying your ethical framework to real-life situations.

You might also interpret challenges to other principles. There is no correct or incorrect interpretation to any of these cases (Cottone & Tarvydas, 2016; Zur, 2008).

For each, consider where you think the problem lies and how you would respond.

A counselor has been seeing their client for several months to work through substance use issues. A good rapport has been formed, but the client has not complied with meeting goals set during therapy and has not reduced their substance use.

The counselor feels they may benefit from referring the client to a trusted colleague who specializes in helping individuals with substance use issues who are struggling to engage with therapy. The counselor contacts the colleague and arranges an appointment within their client’s schedule.

When the client is informed, the client is upset and does not wish to be seen by the colleague. The counselor replies that rescheduling is not possible, and they should consider the appointment a necessary part of therapy.

Beneficence

A counselor working as part of a university service is assigned a client expressing issues with their body image. The counselor lacks any knowledge in working with these issues, but feels as though they may help the client, given the extent of their experience with other issues.

On reflection, the counselor decides to contact a colleague outside the university service who specializes in body image issues and asks for supervision and advice.

Non-maleficence

A counselor developing a new exposure-based form of anxiety therapy is working with a client with severe post-traumatic stress. There is promising evidence suggesting the therapy is effective for reducing mild anxiety, but it is unknown whether the therapy is effective in more extreme cases.

As a result, the counselor recognizes that this client in particular would provide a particularly valuable case study for developing the therapy. The counselor recommends this therapy to the client.

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A client with a history of depression and suicidal ideation has been engaging successfully with therapy for the last year. However, recently they have experienced an unfortunate coincidence of extremely challenging life events because of their unstable living arrangement.

The counselor has noticed problematic behaviors and thought patterns emerging, and is seriously concerned about the client’s mental health given the history.

In order to have the client moved from their challenging living environment, they decide to recommend that the client be hospitalized for suicidal ideation, despite there being no actual sign of suicidal ideation and their client previously expressing the desire to avoid hospitalization.

A school counselor sees two students who are experiencing stress regarding their final exams. The first is a high-achieving and popular student who is likable, whereas the second is a student with a history of poor attendance and engagement with their education.

The counselor agrees that counseling is appropriate for the first student, but recommends the second student does not attend counseling, instead addressing the “transient” exam stress by directing their energy into “working harder.”

A counselor is assigned a teenage client after both the client and their family consent to therapy for issues with low mood. After the first session together, it is apparent that the client has been withholding information about their mental health from their family and is showing symptoms typical of clinical depression.

The counselor knows that their client is a high-performing student about to enter a prestigious school and that the client’s family has high hopes for the future. The counselor reassures the family that there is no cause for serious concern in order to protect them from facing the negative implications of the client’s condition.

Self-interest

A counselor is working with a client who is a professional massage therapist. The client offers a free massage therapy session to the counselor as a gesture of gratitude. The client explains that this is a completely platonic and professional gesture.

The counselor has issues with close contact and also feels as though the client’s gesture may not be entirely platonic. The counselor respectfully declines the offer and suggests they continue their relationship as usual. However, the client discontinues therapy abruptly in response.

Ethics in counseling

Ethical issues do not occur randomly in a vacuum, but in particular situations where various factors make them more likely. As a result, although ethical issues can be challenging to navigate, they are not necessarily difficult to anticipate.

Learning to recognize and foresee common ethical issues may help you remain vigilant and not be taken unaware when encountering them.

Informed consent

Issues of consent are common in therapeutic contexts. The right to informed consent – to know all the pertinent information about a decision before it is made – is a foundational element of the relationship between a counselor and their client  that allows the client to engage in their therapy with a sense of autonomy and trust.

In many ways, consent is not difficult at all. Ultimately, your client either does or does not consent. But informed consent can be deceptively difficult.

As a brief exercise, consider what “informed” means to you. What is the threshold for being informed? Is there a threshold? Is it more important to be informed about some aspects of a choice than others? These questions do not necessarily have a clearcut answer, but nevertheless it is important to consider them carefully. They may determine whether or not your client has given sufficient consent (West, 2002).

A related but distinct challenge to informed consent is that it is inherently subjective. For example, your client may have as much knowledge about a decision as you do and feel as though they fully understand what a decision entails. However, while you have both experience and knowledge of the decision, they only have knowledge.

That is to say, to some extent, it is not possible for your client to be informed about something they have not actually experienced, as their anticipated experience based on their knowledge may be wholly different from their actual experience.

The best resolution to these issues is to avoid treating informed consent like a checkbox that needs to be satisfied, where the client is required to ingest information and then give their consent.

Instead, encourage your client to appreciate the importance of their consent, reflect on their decision, and consider the limitations of their experience. In doing so, while they may not be able to become fully informed in an objective sense, they will achieve the nearest approximation.

Termination of therapy

Another time of friction when ethical issues can surface is at the conclusion of therapy , when the counselor and client go their separate ways. When this termination is premature or happens without a successful resolution of the client’s goals, it is understandable why this time is difficult.

This can be a challenging transition even when therapy is concluded after a successful result. Like any relationship, the one between a counselor and client can become strained when the time comes for it to end.

Your client may feel uncertain about their ability to continue independently or may feel rejected when reminded of the ultimately professional and transactional nature of the relationship (Etherington & Bridges, 2011).

A basic preemptive action that can be taken to reduce the friction between you and your client during this time is ‘pre-termination counseling,’ in which the topic of termination is explicitly addressed and discussed.

This can be anything from a brief conversation during one of the concluding appointments, to a more formal exploration of termination as a concept. Regardless, this can give your client the opportunity to acclimatize and highlight any challenges related to termination that may be important to explore before the conclusion of therapy.

These challenges may involve features of your client’s background such as their attachment history, which may predispose them toward feelings of abandonment, or their experience of anxiety, which may influence their perceived ability to cope independently after therapy.

If you already have knowledge of these features of your client’s background, it may be worth considering these potential challenges well in advance of the termination of therapy.

Online counseling

Remote forms of therapy are becoming increasingly common. This has many obvious benefits for clients and counselors alike; counseling is more accessible than ever, and counselors can offer their services to a broad and diverse audience. However, online counseling is also fraught with commonly encountered ethical issues (Finn & Barak, 2010).

As remote practice frequently takes place outside the structured contexts more typical of traditional counseling, ethical issues commonly encountered in online counseling are rooted in this relative informality.

Online counseling lacks the type of dedicated ethical frameworks described above, which means e-counselors may have no choice but to operate using their own ethical compass or apply ethical frameworks used in traditional counseling that may be less appropriate for remote practice.

Research suggests that some online counselors may not consider the unique challenges of working online (Finn & Barak, 2010). For example, online counselors may feel as though they do not have the same responsibility for mandatory reporting, as their relationship with their clients may not be as directly involved as in traditional counseling.

For online counselors who are aware of their duty to report safeguarding concerns, the inherent anonymity of online clients may present a barrier. Anonymity certainly has the benefit of improved discretion, but it also means a counselor may be unable to identify their client if they feel they are threatened or otherwise endangered.

Online counselors may also be unclear regarding the limits of their jurisdiction, as qualifications or professional memberships attained in one region may not be applicable in others. It can often seem like borders do not exist online, and while to some extent this is true, it is important to respect that jurisdictions exist for a reason, and it may be unethical to take on a client who you are not licensed to work with.

If you work as an e-counselor, the best way to resolve or preemptively prepare for these issues is to acknowledge they exist and engage with them. A good place to start may be to develop a personal framework for your practice that has a plan for issues of anonymity and confidentiality, and includes an indication of how you will report safeguarding concerns.

In a group setting, clients may no longer feel estranged from society or alone in their challenges, and instead view themselves as part of a community of people with shared experiences.

Clients may benefit from insights generated by other group members, and for some individuals, group counseling may literally amplify the benefits of a one-to-one approach.

However, group settings can also bring unique ethical issues. Just as some groups can bring out the best in us, and a therapeutic context can foster shared insights, other groups can become toxic and create a space in which counter-therapeutic behaviors are enabled by the implicit or explicit encouragement of other group members.

Similarly, just as some group leaders can inspire others and foster a productive community, it is also all too easy for group leaders to become victims of their status.

This is true for any relationship in which there is an inherent imbalance of power, such as traditional one-to-one practice, but in a group context, the counselor is naturally invested with a greater magnitude of influence and responsibility. This can lead to the judgment of the counselor becoming warped and increase the risk of overstepping ethical boundaries (Mashinter, 2020).

As a group counselor, first and foremost, you should foster a diligent practice of self-reflection to ensure you are mindful of the actions you take and remain alert to any blind spots in your judgment.

If possible, it may also be useful to examine ethical issues related to your authority by referring to another authority, in the form of supervision with one of your colleagues.

Finally, to prevent counter-therapeutic dynamics from developing within your group of clients, it may be useful to develop a clear code of conduct that emphasizes a commitment to group beneficence through mutual respect (Marson & McKinney, 2019).

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Take a structured approach to preparing for and dealing with ethical issues, whether this is referring to a framework published by a professional organization or simply navigating by a set of core values.

Prepare for the most common types of ethical issues, while also keeping an open mind to the often complex nature of ethics in practice, as well as the specific ethical issues that may be unique to your practice. Case studies can be a useful tool for doing this.

If in doubt, refer to these five steps from Dhai and McQuiod-Mason (2010):

• Formulate the problem.
• Gather information.
• Consult authoritative sources.
• Consider the alternatives.
• Make an ethical assessment.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• American Counseling Association. (2014). Ethical & professional standards . Retrieved July 22, 2021, from https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/ethics
• British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. (2018). BACP ethical framework for the counselling professions . Retrieved from https://www.bacp.co.uk/events-and-resources/ethics-and-standards/ethical-framework-for-the-counselling-professions/
• Cottone, R., & Tarvydas, V. (2016). Ethics and decision making in counseling and psychotherapy . Springer.
• Dhai, A., & McQuoid-Mason, D. J. (2010). Bioethics, human rights and health law: Principles and practice . Juta and Company.
• Etherington, K., & Bridges, N. (2011). Narrative case study research: On endings and six session reviews. Counseling and Psychotherapy Research , 11 (1), 11–22.
• Finn, J., & Barak, A. (2010). A descriptive study of e-counselor attitudes, ethics, and practice. Counseling and Psychotherapy Research , 10 (4), 268–277.
• Marson, S. M., & McKinney, R. E. (2019). The Routledge handbook of social work ethics and values . Routledge.
• Mashinter, P. (2020). Is group therapy effective? BU Journal of Graduate Studies in Education , 12 (2), 33–36.
• West, W. (2002). Some ethical dilemmas in counseling and counseling research. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling , 30 (3), 261–268.
• Zur, O. (2008). Bartering in psychotherapy & counseling: Complexities, case studies and guidelines. New Therapist , 58 , 18–26.

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I was recently at a social gathering where a former chemical dependency group counselor also attended. I tried to be polite, however I felt stalked. I was speaking with another person at the event, and he was within earshot of the conversation and hijacked my intent and the conversation. I had to literally seek an escape route. Before the event was over, he knocked my food from my plate and then ran to take the seat intended for me. This person knew that I am a retired professional and had access to my mental and physical health files. To say I was triggered is an understatement. What else could I have done in the moment to protect my psyche from the collateral damage that his inappropriate behaviors caused me? Is there any recourse? Do I now have to avoid the venue for fear he may show up there again and harass me further? Thank you in advance for your prompt attention.

I’m truly sorry to hear about your distressing experience. No one should ever feel cornered or unsafe, especially in social settings. In the moment, prioritizing your safety and well-being is paramount. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, consider:

– Seeking Support : Approach a trusted friend or event organizer to stay with you, making it less likely for the individual to approach. – Setting Boundaries : Politely yet firmly assert your boundaries if you feel safe to do so. Let the person know their behavior is unwelcome. – Seeking Professional Advice : Consider discussing the situation with a legal professional or counselor to understand potential recourse.

Remember, you have every right to attend venues without fear. If you’re concerned about future encounters, perhaps inform the venue’s management about your experience.

Warm regards, Julia | Community Manager

Thanks for the reminder that group counseling is also a whole different thing compared to a more typical counseling session. I’d like to look for professional counseling services soon because I might need help in processing my grief. After my dog died a month ago, it’s still difficult for me to get on with my life and get on with life normally.

https://www.barbarasabanlcsw.net/therapy-with-me

Thanks the topic is well explained have learnt alot from it

Very informative article. I particularly enjoyed the case studies on the ethical principles

Thanks a lot

Ngini Nairobi, Kenya

very useful article .thank u very much. from… Sri Lanka

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Social, Legal & Ethical Issues in Counselling - A Reflection

The most important function of counselling is to provide a service to the client that promotes the client’s autonomy and development which must take priority in the relationship within an ethical framework. Having good intentions is not good enough as the counsellor’s awareness of the relationship into which the client and counsellor enter together and awareness of the impacts between the two people on each other is what facilitates the effectiveness and outcome (Bond, 2010). The counsellor themselves is an instrument and their willingness to be a real person in the relationship (Corey, 2001).

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288 Counseling Essay Topics & Sample Papers on Counseling Topics

Welcome to our list of best counseling research topics and essay ideas! Here, we’ve collected plenty of current issues to write about. It doesn’t matter if you’re a college student or a psychology professional: you will definitely find suitable counseling topics for your project here!

🔝 Top 10 Counseling Research Topics for 2024

🏆 best counseling topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good counseling topics for essays, 🥇 most interesting counseling topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy counseling essay topics, 🔎 school counseling research topics, 💡 research topics for counseling students, ❓ research questions about counseling.

• Cultural Competence in Counseling
• Importance of Empathy in Counseling
• CBT Techniques and Their Effectiveness
• Use of Social Media in Counseling
• How Counselors Support LGBTQ+ Clients
• Best Practices for Effective Group Therapy
• Mindfulness and Meditation in Counseling
• Confidentiality and Boundaries in Counseling
• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy in Counseling
• Strategies for Working with Clients with Trauma
• Transcription of Counseling Session The purpose of this paper is to present the analysis of the verbatim transcription of a session with the client along with discussing the theoretical framework and providing reflection.
• Psychological Science: Counseling Essay (Theory of Counseling) Another important aspect is the counseling process; this depends on the individual counselor and client and the urgency of the issue in question.
• Importance of Counseling Skills Essay As earlier mentioned, counseling is a vocational process that requires a lot of passion and application of certain skills by a counselor, in order to achieve success. Therefore, I foresee struggle to master the skill […]
• The Significance of Lifespan Development in the Practice of Counseling Psychology The physical aspect of lifespan development is one of the important ones: it is related to the growth and development of the body and changes in the body and the brain.
• Comparison of Codes of Ethics: The American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association Both the Psychologist and the counselor abide to the same codes of conduct with regard to terminating their services to a client.
• Mental Health Counseling Admission Essay The decision to apply for the clinical counseling in mental health program was mainly influenced by an internship that I had at the Carter Center of Mental Health.
• Counseling Session Transcription: Kenry Lambert Case The investigation of the given cases presupposes the creation of the specific theoretical framework that can be applied to the case to help the student to eliminate undesired behaviors and achieve success in socialization.
• What Theory or Theories of Counseling are Observed in the Film Good Will Hunting? It is crucial to state that there are too many therapists who refused to work with Will Hunting because of a number of reasons, the main of which was the character’s contempt to them.
• Accountability and Outcome in the Counseling Profession A client involvement in the therapy process will determine the therapy outcome in addition to quality of the treatment choice. For a counselor, it is crucial to approach this process with honesty and responsibility in […]
• Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test II in Counseling The reliability of the given test refers to the fact that graphic movements are marked by the highest degree of regulation, and the violations of the mechanisms of spatial analysis and synthesis are primarily reflected […]
• Counseling Assessment Reliability and Validity In order to determine the level of content validity, one has to examine whether the scale is developed appropriately in that he/she has to examine items such as the level of reading necessary to understand […]
• Ethics in Group Counseling According to Crespi, it is important for the counselor and learners to learn the legal principles that guide the process of counseling by governing the standards to be observed by the counselor and the client.
• Psychoanalytic Therapy Approach in Group Counseling This system of interpretation and therapeutic treatment of psychological disorders is also known as the “talk therapy” as it is based on the intercourse of the Analysand and the Analyst who listens to the patient’s […]
• Therapy and Mental Health Counseling: Speech The scholars emphasize that, unlike medications, therapy is a journey that requires awareness and acceptance of the change to heal from stress and trauma.
• Theory of Counseling: Solution Focused Therapy It is usually designed to aid the client to picture him/herself in a realistic future that is different to the present and past and when the problem the client is experiencing is non-existent.
• Counseling: Strengths and Weaknesses Directive counseling presupposes a counselor’s choice of topic, the interpretation of a client’s responses, and recommendations that aim to impact a client’s decision-making.
• Mental Health Counseling Licensure and Certification in Florida The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the requirements and provisions for mental health counseling licensure and certification in Florida and discuss their impact on the public.
• Cultural Bias in Counseling Practices Among other factors, cultural biases result from the fact that most of the counseling practices were created in the context of the dominant Euro-American culture.
• Counseling Practice in Organization This presents itself as prime situation where a counselor is needed in order to get to the heart of the matter, identify what the employee truly wants to do and create some form of action […]
• Mentoring and Counseling The counselor together with the client use the experiences of the client that took place in the past and taking place in the present to address challenges that are present and those that might happen […]
• Features of Assessment During the Counseling Process Also, it interprets the primary presenting concern, which is the change in the behavior of the client and the consequences of this change, and personal details of the client.
• Mental Health Counseling Settings One advantage of a private practice is that decision-making is free from the influence of government agencies, charities, and other groups. However, a government agency setting is likely to have countless bureaucracies that would hinder […]
• A Critical Review of the Counseling Modalities The advantage of this therapy is that the relationship between the clients and the counseling is friendly and intimate and that it is more eclectic than other approaches of therapy.
• Career Guidance and Counseling Additionally, significant contributions in career guidance and counseling have helped develop career guidance and counseling. Davis introduced guidance and counseling in public schools in 1907.
• The Essential Qualities and Knowledge for Effective Counseling During the conversations the counselor should look at the client in the eyes because this will build a sense of trust in the client.
• Strength-Based Approach to Counseling: Pros and Cons These people cannot rely on their strengths, as they need other people to care for them, which is against the central principles of the strength-based approach. Additionally, I will use the strength-based approach to those […]
• The Problems of Adolescents: The Importance of Counseling The result is that, many young people are involving themselves in activities that are meant to send a statement of independence and freedom to their parents and the society as a whole.
• Counseling and Social Work Challenges Also, it may be important to try to work with different people and assess the impact that individual differences have on the work results.
• Counseling Session With a Seventh-Grade Student The counselor is trying to analyze the student’s behavior without scolding and criticizing her. The professional is aware of the fact that her family environment is stressful and makes an effort to change it.
• Professional School Counseling: Interview Reflection This means that the school counselors utilize the statistics to illustrate the effect of the school counseling program on the overall enhancements and student success.
• Spiritual Discernment and Vocational Counseling Spiritual discernment is the ultimate secret weapon that can be used by Christians who are interested in drawing closer to the Lord as they progress in life as it guides them to make the most […]
• The American Counseling Association: Code of Ethics The relations between the consultant and the client are based on trust, the foundation of which is the preservation of confidential information and privacy – they are discussed in the second section.
• Eye Contact, Active Listening, and Nonverbal Empathy in Counseling Process The reason for it is that it helps to understand people better and be able to establish strong and meaningful connections.
• Case Conceptualization: Counseling Adolescents There is a possibility that other psychological problems may be the cause of her behavioral changes, but based on her age, it is more likely that teenage problems are setting in.
• Group Counseling: Change in Relationships The specified analysis is possible due to the use of the Thinking, Feeling, and Behaving Model, which allows one to explore the affective and emotional domain of the participants.
• Counseling: Poor Attention and Communication Skills First of all, the issue of low concentration can be addressed through games connected to the use of one’s memory and attentiveness.
• Multicultural Career Counseling Method These steps are to establish a rapport of the cultural relationship, identify the career issues, assess the impact of the cultural variables, develop the goals of the counseling, make the appropriate interventions, make a decision, […]
• The Practice of Counseling in the US and Indian Culture Owing the varied nature of the constituents of this culture, there is a large and continually expanding evolution of the Indian culture especially as regards religion, beliefs and societal values that is quite influential to […]
• Managing Resistance in Correctional Counseling In the setting of corrective counseling, the client’s resistance to treatment may look different and manifest itself in a range of resistance, from passivity and ignorance to open confrontation with the counselor.
• Personal Values and Counseling Sessions However, non-verbal clues may reveal the personal values of the counselor to the patient. Counselors should pay special attention to trying to avoid the impact of their personal values on the counseling process and advice […]
• Group Counseling Session in Personal Reflection The opening was consistent with the group’s purpose, and my use of tone and volume was appropriate for the setting; however, I think that I showed little evidence of self-reflection or self-correction.
• Crisis and Trauma Counseling In the event that death occurs, the bereaved find it difficult to accept the loss at first, but when it dawns on them that it is true they have lost a loved one, anger takes […]
• Life After Sexual Abuse. Counseling Intervention The latter implies the analysis of the problem from the perspective of a sexual abuse survivor who has experienced the lack of attachment in infancy and, therefore, is incapable of handling the issue of their […]
• Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling The author adds that the counselor needs spiritual maturity in a bid to get the client to the same level of maturity.
• Group Counseling in the Schools According to the article, the practice is extremely beneficial for the learners since in the course of group interaction they help each other to cope with some personal traumas and learn from each others’ mistakes.
• The Importance of Premarital Counseling Before Marriage It is thus essential for couples contemplating to enter into a binding contract to go through premarital counseling program in order to get skills and knowledge on how to maintain their marriage.
• Jay E. Adams: A Theology of Christian Counseling Due to the fact that man is dependent on his creator, it can, therefore, be concluded that there is significant need for the use of theology in counseling.
• Marfan Syndrome in Genetic Counseling The two generation hierarchies above and one generation hierarchy below the Anne’s generation was pooled and presented in the chart as below: Firstly, the typical clinical symptoms attributed to MFS were sorted from the description […]
• Biblical Concepts for Christian Counseling It is important to underline the issue that the Bible is the background for Christian counseling, while the counseling itself is an integral part of Word ministry.
• Counseling Interview in Family and Relationship Therapy My choice of questions for the interviewees on matters related to life, relationship and family will be designed as linear and systematic questions to aid in formulating an assessment.
• Sexually Abused Child’s Treatment and Counseling I developed a lot of interest in the case and, therefore, decided to explore it by seeking a deeper understanding of the problems being experienced by the boy.
• Counseling Ethics in 5-Step Decision-Making Model The failure to meet various needs of clients and the inability to perform according to the level of professional expertise interferes with the course of assessment and treatment.
• Cultural Diversity in Counseling: Multiculturalism as an Important Part of Our Lives This limits the counselor’s ability to learn religious and spiritual beliefs of other cultures in regards to religious beliefs and values.
• Drawing a Care-Seeker Through Phase One in Pastoral Counseling My traits will help me inspire a guy to independently search for the meaning and value that he lost with his mother and sister.
• About Counseling Cross-Culturally To reflect the relevance and objectivity of the author, it is possible to provide one of the examples from the study.
• Work-Based Counseling in Companies The employees need to be frequently monitored and their issues solved for the organization to be productive. The employer should be in a position to understand that the employees are not machines that need to […]
• Burnout and Staff Turnover: Substance Abuse Counseling The counselor explains the rules and procedures to the patient, monitors the patient’s performance, and participates in the use of sanctions to obtain patient compliance.
• ‘Psychology, Theology and Spirituality in Christian Counseling’ by Mark McMinn Psychologists’ work is to guide people into unraveling the reality of life by pushing them to discover the self in a bid to get to the bottom of their own troubles.
• Marci: Analysis of a Counseling Situation Therefore, it will be reasonable to assume that the case in point is the exact representation of what is defined in the DSM-V as a dual diagnosis, with the elements of a “substance-related diagnosis” and […]
• A Major Challenge to Counseling the Culturally Diverse McCoy argues that this might be caused by unfamiliarity on how to express their emotions and how to reveal their problems to a person they are not sure of the reaction; in this case, the […]
• Personal Theory of Counseling Many scholars have come up with various theories that try to explain the nature of human behavior and the factors that cause the differences in the same.
• Christian Counseling for Children Nevertheless, the parent and the institutional counselors should stay close to the children in order to take the required action in case a child is going through an acute problem.
• Abortion Counseling and Psychological Support One recurrence is a woman’s lack of autonomy which can directly pressure the decision to have an abortion. Women may be driven by a number of influences and ideological factors to have a certain level […]
• Modern Psychological Counseling Application of the latest psychological research to the development of psychosocial assistance, notably service-recipient-facing treatments and methods of implementation, is a feature of modern psychotherapy.
• Intercultural Counseling: Cultural Competence in Therapy With African Americans As a result, the researchers came to the conclusion that cultural competency is an effective tool counselors can apply as it correlates with positive well-being outcomes and overall satisfaction with the assistance.
• Power and Privilege in Intercultural Counseling The book looks at the concept of power and its role in change and considers the politics of change, analyzing the different forces that can block or promote it.
• Challenges and Approaches to Family Counseling The main aim is to address issues affecting the health and functioning of the family, such as communication. However, a counselor should assess the danger posed to other family members and address it immediately.
• Counseling and Teaching: Comparative Discussion Hence, in this scenario, an individual can become dissatisfied with the results of the working relationship and cooperation due to the inconsistencies and a lack of proper comprehension of differentiating roles of teachers from counsellors.
• Theoretical Approaches to Counseling Children Notably, several organizations provide treatment for children and can be listed as follows: Autistic Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean Kids and Families Therapy Organisation, and The Children’s Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.
• Social Justice in Counseling Psychology The other barrier which is likely to arise in the process of integrating social justice in the workplace is legal and ethical issues.
• Clinical and Counseling Psychology It is essential to evaluate the many cultural-clinical psychology distinctions that might result in cultural change since psychology encompasses a variety of topics, including psychological diseases, cognitive growth, and psychological maturity.
• Addressing Single Parents’ Needs in Professional Counseling In conclusion, after reading the article, I understood the need to reinforce the positive aspects of being a single parent while adequately addressing the adverse impact such a state has on one’s psyche.
• Self-Care Strategies or Interventions for Counseling Professionals The purpose of the project is not only to describe counseling obligations and challenges but identify the strategies and prove the possibility of their implementation today.
• Psychological Counseling and Psychotherapy First of all, counselors need to be trained to develop an awareness of the existence and characteristics of cultural differences in understanding, communication, values, and lifestyles of people of different groups.
• Counseling Program Reducing Cognitive Distortions The focus of this project will be on the use of group counseling based on the utilization of the positive psychology approach. As a result, this population is prone to the development of anxiety and […]
• Counseling for Family Conflicts Resolution Family conflicts are considered in the project, and it is expected that the intervention will lead to a decreased incidence of the given phenomenon.
• Cultural Diversity in Counseling Counseling is a challenging profession that requires one to be able to relate and appeal to people from different backgrounds. This approach would help evoke an understanding of how belonging to a specific culture changes […]
• Code of Ethics in Clinical Mental Health Counseling For instance, the ACA’s ethical values involve upholding human development by using the multicultural method to support the potential, worth, and dignity of people in their cultural and social settings.
• Cultural Differences in Counseling Therefore, I think that being sensitive and responsive to cultural differences in people requires a little interest in the topic and a willingness to examine their personality on the subject of cultural assumptions.
• Sexual Orientation in Counseling As a result, LGB individuals should receive treatment that takes into account their co-occurring mental health needs and provides continuity of care within drug and alcohol rehab.
• Cooper Mental Health Counseling Advertising The goal of the campaign will be to attract the maximum number of clients to the psychological counseling clinic. The call to action in the case of this advertising campaign will be a call to […]
• Premarital Counseling Discussion One of the critical aspects of preventing a crisis that can lead to a divorce is ensuring good communication between a couple.
• Genetic Counseling, Its Role, and Candidates In such cases, the benefits of such testing can be better explained to enable other family members to be tested and determine any other possible genetic problems.
• Parenting Counseling in the New York City Community Overall, Cap4Kids has developed a wide range of resources and opportunities for children and their parents, thus, addressing the parenting issues that New York City community members are likely to experience presently.
• Counseling Clients With HIV-AIDS Thus, the central recommendation for human service professionals counseling clients with HIV/AIDS is to allow time for the shock of the news to sink.
• Researching of Rape Counseling On the other hand, the male victim assaulted by a stranger in the washroom will not have a fear of pregnancy, and there will be no need to take contraceptives.
• The Reasons for Genetic Counseling According to Abacan, “genetic counseling is the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease”.
• Pastoral Counseling in the Military In turn, the standards of the Christian Church will help me to remain patient and understanding of the needs of soldiers so that they could progress in their spiritual development.
• Counseling Intervention Ethical Concerns In order not to bring more harm to the issue, counseling specialists should properly weigh possible outcomes and the consequences of the intervention.
• Humanistic Approach to Career Counseling A professional counselor can be helpful in choosing the right path to a job and when it is frustrating and disappointing. Faith: Well, it is a good day, and I decided to visit you.
• Counseling Suffering Clients Therapists should pay attention to the characteristics of the restructuring of the spiritual worldview: a person can either discard his religious beliefs and plunge into a crisis, get hung up on it, or assert his […]
• Counseling of a Client With Heroin Addiction Although he has a son, he does not maintain any relationship with him, and his son does not try to communicate with Dante. First, the client did not address this aspect and was unwilling to […]
• Mental Health Counseling and Ethical Standards Relevant codes contribute to following the necessary rules to communicate and interact with clients and meeting the standards of professional collaboration.
• A Loss of a Family Member and Counseling He was disturbed by his friends’ lack of empathy and was bitter and angry about the loss of his mother. The patient demonstrates normal cognition in view of the fact that he is oriented in […]
• Guiding and Counseling Practices in England and Nigeria Guidance and counseling based on a cognitive approach are brief in structure and nature and center on solving the root problems of the young people.
• Group Counseling With Adolescents The study emphasizes that the response of the leader and group members to individual change talk plays a special role in such sessions.
• A Career in Counseling Psychology Therefore, the work of a counselor in psychology seems to be one of the most appealing options from the perspective of professional growth.
• Chapter 24 of “Affirmative Counseling With LGBTQI+ People” by Ginicola et al. The overarching purposes of behavior therapy implemented in a trauma-informed approach is to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment in trauma survivors.
• Psychodynamic Theoretical Approach to Counseling and Psychotherapy The basis of all assumptions of the psychodynamic theory is rooted in the notion of all behavioral issues originating from the unconscious part of the mind.
• Career Counseling for People With Disabilities To sufficiently research, the issue of career counseling for individuals with disabilities in the academic press, a list of journals that offer such information was developed.
• Stages and Skills of Counseling Counseling is a collaboration between the client and the counselor to discuss and solve the existing mental problems. I believe that parts of counseling in which I am adept are establishing relationships and defining the […]
• The Use of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Rehabilitation Counseling In this regard, cognitive-behavioral programs provide for clarification of the characteristics of the patient’s psychological state and assistance in their awareness, a brief appeal to the origins of the formation of the patient’s psychological problems, […]
• Theories and Applications of Counseling and Psychotherapy Counseling is a kind of psychological assistance aimed to overcome the problems of a mental and emotional nature.
• Counseling on Mental Health & Disorders in Children Victims of bullying are helpless to an assortment of negative results. Tormented teenagers are bound to encounter long-haul harm to confidence and feeling of depression.
• Counseling on Euthanasia and End-of-Life Decision The immediate dynamic killing is a clinical demonstration coordinated to the hardship of life, while a doctor helped self-destruction is a demonstration of the doctor where he gives the patient a medicament for taking life.
• Counseling on Bone Marrow Transplantation History and Process The National Marrow Donor Program is a not-for-profit association that works the Be The Match Registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and umbilical rope blood units in the United States.
• Adolescent’s Counseling About Health Amy is the representative of late adolescence, and she understands that her everyday choices and habits affect her health and are necessary to be managed consciously.
• An Orientation to Group Counseling Counseling groups help address psychological issues without causing massive changes to one’s personality. Psychotherapy groups allow focusing on a certain psychological concern.
• The Importance of School Counseling Program The counseling program will help to relate educational success with career success, development, and more positive environment will be created.
• Genetic Counseling – Tay Sachs Disease In this case, there is a 25% likelihood of passing the gene to their children. This would be effective in preventing further passing down of the disease to their offspring.
• Genetic Counseling Analysis To take a detailed family history, I would start with gathering the information about the consumers. Finally, I would ask about the members of the family who have already passed away and clarify the cause […]
• Counseling and Education Session in Type II Diabetes Patients will be educated about the glycemic index and its effect on their blood sugar Patients will learn to count their carbohydrates. Patients will set up their goal and the timeframe to achieve it.
• Developing Multicultural Counseling Competencies They then have to know the available tools for this evaluation, to create and more importantly, to be certain about the constancy and validity of the grading of these tools.
• HIV Counseling and Testing: Lifetime Treatment Program Some of the possible intervention that can be adopted by the clinicians in order to improve adherence include the encouragement of the patients to be in contact with people of their age who will encourage […]
• Notion of Counseling: Personality Assessment Techniques Projective tests, on the contrary, are conducted by specialists in order to guide the examinees through the process with questions that help identify the features of one’s personality that are invisible to the patient.
• The Counseling Dynamics Between a White Client and a Counselor of Color Another barrier is in perceiving the counselor of color as a super minority therapist, which means that a White client might think that the professional is specialized in working for a specific group.
• Counseling Process: Trustworthiness and Expertness Multicultural interactions in the given field can be observed through a wide range of dimensions, where both counselor’s and client’s ethnic background can shape the dynamics of the overall interaction.
• Systemic Oppression & Traditional Counseling Ethics My response in the past would be in favor of the law because I was not fully aware of the cultural aspects of counseling.
• School Counseling: A Challenge, an Opportunity That’s why I chose to pursue this career I feel it is a great opportunity to aid the young, and being a part of this process is equally challenging and rewarding.
• School Counseling Specialization It calls for the specialist to analyze all of the aspects of the client’s life and develop interventions based on the issues identified in each of them.
• Ethics in the Counseling Profession: Personal Case Empathetic- this is one of the strengths when it comes to counseling skills Genuine- I realized that I am in a position to tell the affected person the truth even if it is not that […]
• Counseling Theories in the Management of Alcoholics The amount of alcohol he needs to get drunk has been increasing over the years and he spends much of his income on alcohol.
• The American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association Websites The intention of this research is to diffuse the result of Information Communication Technologies and the internet mostly for the coming age’s competitiveness of the two counseling websites. This adds to the links that are […]
• Counseling Principles and Paradigms in Practice It is the inability of Angela to adopt to her new situation of joblessness, not having a boyfriend of her choice and the fear of facing her parents and siblings that makes her experience what […]
• Methods Used by Psychoeducational Groups for Counseling Therapy The main group objectives include the following points: Applying results of the literature review to the design of counseling sessions. Integrate different theories and methods into the structure of counseling sessions.
• Clinical Counseling Psychology: Research and Statistics This paper will examine on clinical counseling psychology and the roles of research and statistics in clinical counseling psychology. Research in clinical counseling psychology helps the health care providers in investigating the efficiency of their […]
• Concept Problem of School Counseling What is the role of the professional school counselor in your school? The role of school’s professional counselors is to indulge in sophistically sounding but utterly meaningless rhetoric, in regards to the sheer importance of […]
• Developmental School Counseling and Pupil Services The Data collected from the instruments will be used to develop a system for determining patterns and the trends within the school environment.
• Client Experiences of Counseling and Treatment Interventions To illustrate the use of qualitative research designs and methods of analysis, a study of family members’ views of family therapy is briefly described. A small fee was paid to the families in recognition of […]
• Intentional Interviewing and Counseling The reason for her being in counseling is that her life has deteriorated to the point of being in a state of crisis.
• International Students’ Attitude and Counseling Service For instance the students from Vietnam students are reluctant to seek counseling help due to the stigma associated with mental problems.
• Book Critique “Substance Abuse Counseling” As it can be judged by the title of the book, the individualized approach to the client should stand in the center of the system of substance abuse counseling.
• Self Disclosure in the Counseling Process The component parts of the organization are in many ways subordinate to the primary goals, even though on a day-to-day basis there may be enormous competition among individual organizational members and among structural subunits of […]
• Achieving Success in a Counseling Session I have experienced that the most favored solutions pertain to situations where the client is open to resourcefulness and motivation, which further depends on the competence level of the counselor or therapist and whether there […]
• Five Moral Principles of ACA vs. Seven Virtues of Christian Counseling It is clear, however, that the ACA principles advocate a higher degree of autonomy while Christian counseling suggests that the counselor should suffer from the client, not just feel for them.
• Ethical Issues of Counseling: Abortion and Divorce Personal values and beliefs, world views, and attitudes of both a counselor and a client have a great impact on the therapeutic relationship and effective treatment.
• Postmodern Psychology and Counseling It is a way of self-actualization and self-realization of the person. The internal biological human nature is a specific characteristic of the mankind.
• Personality Assessment in Counseling The origin of personality traits is investigated, as well as their role in biological and social processes and the consequences they have for a person’s health.
• Grief Counseling With Multicultural Clients The grievance process is to help the griever to accept the loss and move on with their lives. Firstly, the client should be able to accept the loss and adjust to the changes in their […]
• The Influence of Contraceptive Counseling on Adolescent Women’s Use of Contraception The understanding of the given terms is critical for the improved understanding of the selected problem and how it affects the health of the nation.
• Genetic Counseling Preventing Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension The hypothesis is that PAH specialists possess low knowledge and understanding of the benefits of genetic testing and counseling in regards to PAH treatment.
• Certification in Substance Abuse Counseling Therefore, the presence of tolerance to alcohol is clear from the interview. In summary, the assessment generated substantial evidence that the client has a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or […]
• Mental Health and Grief Counseling Issues One of the objectives of grief counseling is getting an individual to the last and most important stage of the process where someone accepts the reality of the loss they experienced. This would play a […]
• Counseling Model Review and Analysis The rational emotive behavior theory plays a dominant role in the foundation of the basic philosophy of the model because it prioritizes the dysfunctional feelings and behaviors as the core of therapy.
• School Counseling Group Functions Analysis By articulating the issues during the individual sessions or group meetings, the counselor will be able to single out the particular problems of each child and will make corrections in the plan to meet the […]
• Counseling Profession: Examining the Current State of the Profession A counselor needs to adhere to the standards of service and make sure that the client is receiving the recognition that they deserve.
• Job Loss and Career Counseling Strategies Key components of the assignment the introduction, the discussion on the subjects’ stages of career development, the identification of job loss consequences, recommendations for appropriate assessment and counseling strategies, and considerations of client advocacy.
• Effective Group Work Counseling for Academic Success Also, behavioral changes can be evaluated to check the impact of group counseling on students’ self-perception and their position in a class, which is crucial for adolescents.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Professional Counseling The main duty of a counselor is to offer services to deal with specific issues affecting a patient and enhancing individual growth.
• Positive Outcomes in Breastfeeding Women Who Receive Counseling Admittedly, if a nurse handles postpartum women in his or her daily practice, it is imperative that he or she possesses scientific and technical knowledge of the challenges and particularities of breastfeeding.
• Ethical Principles and Concepts in Counseling The notions of privacy, confidentiality, and privilege are central to the process of counseling and have to be adhered to so that rapport could be established between a patient and a counselor.
• Counseling and Professional Ethics in California Professional ethics is a system of moral standards and moral principles inherent in a certain professional community, which performs the functions of regulating the interaction of specialists in the professional environment, determining the individual’s attitude […]
• Career Counseling Program for Disadvantaged Youth Moreover, the lack of understanding of why they are doing the things that they are told to do might decrease their motivation and engagement.
• Empirically Supported Relationships in Counseling In counseling, this variable is essential since it helps to reduce the power distance between therapists and their clients. There is a strong link between the background diversity of clients and the attainment of better […]
• School Counseling & Problem Conceptualization The ultimatum that the parents of the student present to Janeen may further affect her mental health. The possible reaction of the student’s parents to her gender concerns is unknown.
• Support Group Counseling Session Under Observation The focus for the session was substance withdrawal to help the clients realize the importance and the process of abandoning the behavior.
• Certification in Clinical or Counseling Psychology The main drawback of pursuing a doctorate degree is the time required for one to complete the education and obtain it.
• Clinical and Counseling Psychology as Career Fields The subject matters of the common clinical psychology are the common factors of the psychology of the patient and of the health care professional; the psychological peculiarities of the patient and the doctor; the influence […]
• Counseling Competencies and Developing Strategies This paper highlights a few strategies of enhancing my proficiency and competence as a counselor in a bid to have an upper hand in the crowded field of counseling.
• Professional Competencies in General Counseling In order to be an effective counselor, I need to place my feelings on the periphery and focus on the clients’.
• Women’s Emotional Health: Counseling Approaches
• Counseling Research: Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed Methods
• Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy
• Counseling Theoretical Approaches
• Counseling in the Initial Stages of Psychopharmacological Intervention
• Group Counseling, Leadership and Facilitation
• Counseling Services in K-12 Schools
• Counseling and Psychotherapy of Work Dysfunctions
• Drug Abuse Diagnostics in Counseling
• “School Counseling Video EP” Evaluation
• Clinical and Counseling Psychologist’s Interview
• Addiction Counseling and Certification in Arizona
• Group Counseling for Children of Addicted Parents
• Patient Empowerment: Education and Counseling
• Counseling and Therapy for Couples: Family Resilience
• Breastfeeding Counseling for Low-Income Latino Population
• Rehabilitation Counseling for Older Disabled Adults
• Child Counseling and Parenting Problems
• Counseling: Attention Deficit and Its Functional Impact
• Pre-Discharge Medication Counseling Implementation
• Coercion in Counseling of Addicted Clients
• Pre-Mental Health Counseling Assessment for Child
• Active Listening Skill Essene in Counseling
• Wellness and Counseling in Family Systems Therapy
• Wellness in Theoretic Modeling and Counseling Practice
• Career Counseling Program for High-School Students
• Counseling Profession in Special Education
• The Counseling Services Value in Dubai Public Prosecution
• Disaster Response and Counseling Evaluation
• Counseling Job Seekers’ Communication Theories
• School Counseling Programs and Student Achievements
• Counseling Ethics in Tarasoff vs. Regents Case
• Rehabilitation Counseling Associations’ Membership
• School Counseling Specifications
• Genetic Testing & Counseling and Their Value
• Self-Efficacy in On & Offline Counseling Programs
• American Counseling, Ethical and Cultural Issues
• Anxiety Evaluation in Rehabilitation Counseling
• Counseling Native Americans vs. White Population
• Case Management and Rehabilitation Counseling
• Wellness Concept in Counseling
• Psychology and Theology in Christian Counseling
• Professional and Barter Relationships in Counseling
• Personal Frameworks and Boundaries in Counseling
• Counseling Ethical Codes and Diversity Issues
• Personal Counseling and Development Theory
• Counseling Process and Communication Ethics
• Counseling Low Self-Esteem and Decision Making
• Counseling Theories on Elementary School Students
• Motivational Counseling and Interviewing Techniques
• Multicultural Counseling Importance and Challenges
• Counseling Psychology: Career Choice
• Implicit Expectations in Rehabilitation and Counseling
• Counseling and Mentorship Program for Hispanic Children
• School Counseling in the Modern Day USA
• Psychological Counseling Using Behavioral Theory
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Theories of Counseling
• The Practice and Training of Counseling Psychologists
• Adlerian Theory in the Group Counseling
• Psychology Issues: Health Counseling
• Anger Management Counseling and Treatment of Domestic Violence by the Capital Area Michigan Works
• Advantages of Group Counseling
• Effective Mental Health Counseling
• Counseling Jewish Women: A Phenomenological Study
• “The Counseling Profession’s Relationship to Jews and the Issues That Concern Them: More Than a Case of Selective Awareness”
• Multicultural Counseling and the Orthodox Jew
• Addiction Counseling and Psychosocial Crisis in Elderly
• Biblical Word Study: Counseling and Addiction Categories
• Drug Addictions Counseling: Assessment and Diagnosing
• Predicting Premature Termination From Counseling Using the Butcher Treatment Planning Inventory
• Attachment Dimensions and Adolescence Drug Addiction in Relation to School Counseling
• Counseling in the Workplace
• Counseling Techniques Used to Help an Unemployed Client
• Houston Texas School’s Counseling Program
• Counseling Psychology in Dealing With Divorce
• The Role of Hispanic Americans in Counseling
• Ethical Decision-Making Tools: Chemical Dependency and Counseling
• Group Counseling and Ethics
• Evaluation of Anger Management Counseling and Treatment of Domestic Violence by the Capital Area Michigan Works
• Adventure Based Counseling
• Theories of Addiction: General Counseling Methods
• Prayer in Christian Counseling
• Multicultural Counseling Theory and Multicultural Counselors
• Importance of Group Counseling
• Premarital Counseling
• Medical Model Versus Counseling Model
• Pre Marriage Counseling: One Year Before Getting Married
• Contributions in Psychological Clinical Counseling
• Which Factors Contributed to the Development of Counseling Psychology?
• What Are the Types of Counseling?
• What Is the Difference Between Counseling and Therapist?
• Who Was the First Psychological Counselling?
• How Is Active Listening Used in Counseling?
• When Is It More Appropriate to Use Group Counseling?
• How Competent Is Christian Counseling?
• What Are the Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Counseling?
• Why Is It Important to Talk to a Premarital Counselor Before Getting Married?
• In Which Crisis Situations Is Counseling Recommended?
• How Is Counseling Culturally Sensitive?
• What Is the Most Popular Counseling Theory?
• How Are the Diagnosis and Treatment Planning in the Counseling?
• What Factors Affect the Effectiveness of Counseling?
• Can Counseling Be Unethical?
• What Are the Basic Skills Needed in Counseling?
• How Does Counseling for Children Differ From Counseling for Adults?
• What Ethical and Legal Dilemmas Can Arise in Counseling?
• In Which Situations Is It Advisable to Turn To Family Counseling?
• How Is Counselling Different From Coaching?
• What Is the Essence of Genetic Counseling?
• What Is the Significance of Counseling for an Individual and Organization?
• What Are Some of the Major Challenges Facing the Counseling Profession Today?
• How Many People Are Allowed in Group Counseling?
• What Are the Geological and Psychological Foundations of Counseling?
• What Is the Role of HR in Employee Counseling?
• What Issues Does High School Counseling Address?
• How to Improve the Legal Level of Consulting?
• What Does Integrative Mean in Counselling?
• What Are the Challenges of Multicultural Counseling of American Indians?
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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IvyPanda . "288 Counseling Essay Topics & Sample Papers on Counseling Topics." February 26, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/counseling-essay-topics/.

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