HBEF3703
Introduction to Guidance and Counselling
Introduction
Counselling is the combination of skill and principle relationship to facilitate self- knowledge, emotional growth and the optimal development of personal resources. Counselling relationships can vary according to demand and need but may be concerned with developmental issues, highlighting and resolving specific problems, making decisions, developing personal insights and knowledge, working through feelings of self-conflict or improving relationships with others. Counselling is the process that occurs when a client and counsellor set aside time in order to find out difficulties which may cause the emotional or stressful feelings of the client. This can enable the client to focus on experiences, behaviour and feelings with a goal to facilitating positive change. This can also be known as relationship of trust. Confidentiality is essential to a successful counselling.
Goals of Counselling
Each individual has respective perceptions of what can be expected for a counseling. The goals can be determined by the counselor and the client together. Below are the five most common goals of counseling:
1. Facilitate behaviour change.
2. Improve the client’s ability to initiate and maintain relationships.
3. Enhance the client’s effectiveness and ability to cope.
4. Promote the process of decision-making and facilitate clients’ potential.
5. General development of the clients.
Steps of Counselling
Counseling is an intervention meant for attitudinal and behavioral change in a desired way. In general, the shift is in right direction which is aimed to make improvement on client's mental and physical condition. A lot of forms of counseling have been developed. However, almost all of them follow a definite course of steps. Generally, these steps are as below:
1. Relationship building – Establish a safe and trustworthy environment between counselor and client.
2. Assessment of problem of client – Help clients to narrate their concerns and issues. It requires active listening on the part of a counselor by paying attention on client's feeling.
3. Transform client’s problem statements into aimed goals – It takes place by setting achievable goals in a time-bound manner by overcoming probable obstacles to goals.
4. Develop an action plan – It requires to set objectives and tasks that client is supposed to do in order to achieve an aimed goal.
5. Review and Feedback – The objective of feedback and review is to provide continuous reinforcement to client for consistent attitude and behavioral change.
6. Termination – A counselor should terminate client and counselor relationship once the counseling process is over.
Responsibilities and skills of A Counsellor
Counselors offer guidance to individuals, families, groups and couples who are dealing with problems that affect their mental health and well-being. Many counselors approach their work holistically which highlights and encourages client’s strengths. The responsibilities of counselors are as below:
• Work with individuals, groups and communities to improve mentally.
• Encourage clients to talk about experience and emotions.
• Examine current issues
• Work with families
• Help clients define goals and plan action
• Develop therapeutic processes
• Refer clients to psychologists and other services
In order to perform in their roles, counselors should enjoy assisting others and possess specific attributes and skills:
Communication Skills
Acceptance
Empathy
Problem-Solving Skills
Rapport-Building Skills
Flexibility
Self-Awareness
Multicultural Competency
Counselors lend a hand to people from all walks of life. They must present multicultural competency besides adopting a multicultural worldview. Multicultural competency means that a counsellor will try to understand their clients regardless of their religious, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic background or political beliefs.
Six Principles of Ethical Conduct
Ethics are a set of moral principles or rules of conduct for an individual or group. Ethics determine the choices that ae made. In counselling, ethics underpin the nature and course of actions taken by the counsellor. Counsellors are expected to behave in an ethical manner. By nature of the profession, counsellors have to act in the best interest of their client. Besides promoting client goals and protecting client rights, counsellor need to assist the clients to maximize the good and minimizing the harm. Ethics including ethical codes and principles aim to balance the power and ensure that the counsellor operates for the best benefit of the client. Certainly it is not for counsellor himself or herself.
Principle of Trustworthy
The first principle is being trustworthy which is honouring the trust placed in the practitioner (also referred to as fidelity). Being trustworthy is seen as the fundamental to understanding and resolving ethical issues. Practitioners who adopt this principle should act in accordance with the trust placed in them. Furthermore, they should also strive to ensure that clients’ expectations have reasonable prospects of being met. They need to honour their agreements and promises. They have to regard confidentiality as an obligation arising from the client’s trust. Restricting any disclosure of confidential information about clients to furthering the purposes for which it was originally disclosed is a must.
Principle of Autonomy
The next principle is autonomy which respect for the client’s right to be self-governing. This principle emphasizes the importance of developing a client’s ability to be self-directing within and out of the therapy. Basically, it includes all aspects of life. Practitioners who respect their clients’ autonomy will ensure accuracy in any information or advertising given in advance of any counselling services offered. They will emphasize the value of voluntary participation in the services being offered. They should also engage in explicit contracting in advance of any commitment by the client. In addition, they have to protect privacy and confidentiality. They will normally make any disclosures of confidential information conditional on the consent of the person concerned and inform the client in advance of foreseeable conflicts of interest. The principle of autonomy opposes the manipulation of clients against their will, even though for beneficial social ends.
Principle of Beneficence
The third is the principle of beneficence. It establishes a commitment to promoting the client’s well-being. The principle of beneficence means acting in the best interests of the client based on professional assessment. Ensuring that the client’s best interests are achieved needs systematic monitoring of practice and outcomes by the best available means. It is very important that research and systematic reflection inform practice. There is an obligation to utilize regular and on-going supervision to improve the quality of the services provided. It also commit to updating practice by continuing sustainable development. An obligation to act in the best interests of a client may become paramount when working with clients whose capacity for autonomy is diminished because of immaturity, extreme distress, serious disturbance, lack of understanding or other significant personal constraints.
Principle of Non-maleficence
Next, it is followed with principle of non-maleficence which is a commitment to avoiding harm to the client. Non-maleficence involves avoiding emotional, financial, sexual or any other client exploitation. Besides avoiding incompetence or malpractice, the practitioners also do not provide services when unfit to do so due to illness, personal circumstances or intoxication. They have the ethical responsibility to strive to mitigate any harm caused to a client even when the harm is unavoidable or unintended. Practitioners have the responsibility to challenge the incompetence or malpractice of others. They must be willing to contribute to any investigation and/or adjudication concerning professional practice which falls below that of a reasonably competent practitioner and/or risks bringing discredit upon the profession.
Principle of Justice
The fifth principle is justice. The fair and impartial treatment of all clients and the provision of adequate services is essentially important. The principle of justice requires being fair to all clients and respecting their human rights and dignity. It directs attention to considering conscientiously any legal requirements and obligations. It also includes remaining alert to potential conflicts between legal and ethical obligations. Justice in the distribution of services requires the ability to determine impartially the provision of services for clients. A commitment to fairness requires the ability to appreciate differences between people and to be committed to equality of opportunity. They need to avoid discrimination against people or groups contrary to their legitimate personal or social characteristics. Practitioners have a duty to strive to ensure a fair provision of counselling and psychotherapy services, accessible and appropriate to the needs of potential clients.
Principle of Self-respect
Last but not least, principle of self-respect fosters the practitioner’s self-knowledge and care for self. The principle of self-respect means that the practitioner appropriately applies all the above principles as entitlements for self. This includes seeking counselling or therapy and other opportunities for personal development as required. There is an ethical responsibility to use supervision for appropriate personal and professional support and development, and to seek training and other opportunities for continuing professional development. The principle of self-respect encourages active engagement in life-enhancing activities and relationships that are independent of relationships in counselling or psychotherapy.
Case Study for Principles of Trustworthy
Mr. Chong was a counselor in a college. During his day in the college, a lot of students have been consulted him for advices. In order to do so, they shared a lot of their personal information to him. Peter is an eighteen-year-old college student who has just graduated from schools. He is waiting for the result of national service. His parents have requested copies of his records from Mr. Chong, his former high school counselor. Besides, the army recruiting officer wants Peter’s records. Mr. Chong insisted to have Peter’s consensus before releasing any records of him in the college. Mr Chong’s act has illustrated the principle of trustworthy. He honours the agreement between Peter and him by restricting any disclosure of confidential information to anyone.
Case Study for Principles of Autonomy
A case study demonstrates an ethical dilemma faced by counsellor in healthcare centre who care for and treat a patient who are placed in a critical situation due to medical life-threatening situations. A 20-year-old, pregnant lady presented to the Emergency Department (ED) in critical condition following a car accident. She exhibited symptoms of internal bleeding and was advised to have a blood transfusion and emergency surgery in an attempt to save her and the fetus. She refused to accept blood and rejected the surgery as well. Her refusal was based on a fear of blood transfusion due to her religion belief. The counsellor respected the patient's autonomy. The principle of autonomy is shown in the scenario. It emphasizes the importance of developing a client’s ability to be self-directing within therapy and all aspects of life.
Case Study for Principles of Beneficence
A client visits a university counseling center with a sleeping disorder. No one of the counselling center has expertise in this area but the client is in need of services. The counselor is aware that he lacks the knowledge and skills to work effectively with the client’s issues, and seeks consultation and supervision from a private practitioner who specializes in sleeping disorders. This scenario illustrates the principle of beneficence. Counselors are obligated to possess appropriate levels of competence in terms of knowledge and skills to work with particular client issues. When no other qualified counselor is available within a particular agency, it is appropriate and the counselor’s ethical obligation to seek consultation and supervision.
Case Study for Principles of Non-maleficence
Taking a case study for example. Jenny had been seeing her counsellor, David, for two years when she was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. As she was extremely stressed and upset on the phone, David visited her at the hospital the following day. Jenny was in horrific pain, and David sat in a chair beside her bed and took her hand when she held it out to him. David offered some words of comfort, and after ensuring that the family would be visiting Jenny soon, he left the hospital. David’s visit to the hospital simply meant that he cared for her and could appreciate the depth of her pain and vulnerability. At the first counselling session with Jenny after her discharge from hospital, David took the first few minutes of the session to discuss his visit to the hospital to ensure that Jenny understood fully its place in the context of the therapeutic relationship. The professional manner in which David conducted himself during the hospital visit and later at the first counselling session allowed David to move the boundaries in all good conscience. His behaviour was appropriate as a professional, in a professional setting, he did not make the mistake of thinking his visit was equal to that of a friend and neither did he behave as a friend. Also, as soon as he was able, he spoke to the client to clarify the visit and remove any possibility of ambiguity or innuendo. David is projecting a principle of non-maleficence. He must avoid at all times, any activities or situations with the client that could cause a conflict of interest.
Case Study for Principles of Justice and Self-respect
Gretchen is a social worker who discovers during counseling that her client, Carly, was sexually abused by her father. Now if Carly was a minor, Gretchen would know that she would have a legal obligation to report this abuse to child protective services. Carly, however, is 24 years old. The laws do not specifically require social workers to report past abuse if the survivor is now an adult. In this case, Gretchen wishes she could report the abuse, as she personally believes that Carly’s father should be held to account for his heinous actions. After several round of counselling, Carly agreed to Gretchen to report the incident as she was worried such incident will happen on others. Without hesitation, Gretchen made police report on the incident. The scenario illustrates the principle of justice. It requires being just and fair to all clients and respecting their human rights and dignity. Other than that, Gretchen also practices the principle of self-respect. The practitioner appropriately applies all the above principles as entitlements for self. This includes seeking counselling or therapy and other opportunities for personal development as required. There is an ethical responsibility to use supervision for appropriate personal and professional support and development, and to seek training and other opportunities for continuing professional development.
Conclusion
Ethics are a group of moral principles. According to the American Counseling Association (also known as ACA), professional values are a way of living out ethical principles. The ACA has published a Code of Ethics to serve as a guideline for professional counselors. Ethics are important in counseling as they protect the welfare of the client and counselors by clearly outlining what is appropriate and what is not.
There must be no harm in the relationship between a counselor and client, either to the client or the counsellor. The ACA guidelines state that the relationship is meant to encourage client growth and development while keeping the client's welfare in mind. This is accomplished through maintaining appropriate records, following counseling plans, obtaining informed consent and avoiding an extraordinary relationships with clients. It is known that romantic relationships are strictly forbidden. Communication between a counselor and client should remain confidential. However, there are also exceptions to confidentiality. Counselors may break confidentiality if they believe the client intends to self-harm or harm others. Counselors must also report if it is required by law or if reported by the client. Other than such circumstances, counselors cannot share information regarding the client without client consent, typically in the form of a written release. Release of confidential information can be devastating to a client, affecting his physical, psychological and social well-being. Such act must be avoid as the most important thing in counselling is to do nothing that will hurt the clients.
Being a counselors, they have a professional responsibility to behave in an open and honest manner when interacting with clients and the public. ACA states that counselors advocate to promote change that improves the quality of life for not only their clients but the public as well. Counselors must also take time to practice self-care. Without proper self-care, counselors risk burnout, which will lead to ineffective which is even harmful to their clients.
In order to practice as a counselor, one must be trained appropriately. All sectors require that counselors be licensed. In addition to required training, counselors must follow the sectors’ guidelines for continuing education and training. This training is intended to keep counselors abreast of new developments in the field, as well as to ensure that the knowledge obtained in a training program is refreshed. As counselors directly apply this knowledge to the treatment of clients, it is important that continuing education be obtained. Misguided or inappropriate application of counseling techniques can be harmful to clients.
Reference
1. Har, N. Y., & Jusoh, A. J. (2015). View on Counseling Ethics among School Counselors in Malaysia. Online Journal of Counseling & Education, 4(4).
2. Arredondo, P., & Toporek, R. (2004). Multicultural counseling competencies= ethical practice. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 26(1), 44-55.
3. Swisher, L. L., Hiller, P., & APTA Task Force to Revise the Core Ethics Documents. (2010). The revised APTA code of ethics for the physical therapist and standards of ethical conduct for the physical therapist assistant: theory, purpose, process, and significance. Physical therapy, 90(5), 803-824.
4. Van Hoose, W. H., & Kottler, J. A. (1985). Ethical and legal issues in counseling and psychotherapy. Jossey-Bass.
5. Bond, T. (2004). Ethical guidelines for researching counselling and psychotherapy. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 4(2), 10-19.
6. Remley, T. P., & Herlihy, B. (2007). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling. Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
7. Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2007). Issues and ethics in the helping professions. Cengage Learning.