Ethical Standards in Counselling

Counseling is a process that involves the interaction between the client and the counselor. In this case, a client refers to anyone who requires counseling services (Lee, 2018). Counseling involves a dual relationship between the practitioner and the patient. The client who seeks counseling services may be an individual, an organization, or a group of people. The dual relationship implies that there are multiple roles between the practitioner and the client. In the counseling context, the practitioner has the mandate to ensure that he satisfies the needs of the client.

Counselling operates on confidentiality terms. By confidentiality, it means that some information is always regarded to be private and persona. Some counseling situations involve personal issues that the client may not want other people to know. Privacy can enable the client to say everything regarding his or her situation provided that the confidentiality of that information is guaranteed (Zyromski et al., 2018).

Therefore, the practitioner should assure the client that any information regarding his condition will not be shared with anyone apart from the two of them. This can be done by organizing private meetings. Ideally, the meeting should not be held in public since such places can induce curiosity in some people to investigate what they were discussing.

The use of informed content is also embraced in counseling services. Knowledgeable content implies that before the information is obtained from the source, prior permission should be granted. The consent should be given by the person who bares the information or whom the information concerns. In this case, the practitioner should seek permission from the client if he wants to use the client’s personal information. Therefore, the content is always free from unwanted content.

Before the counseling process begins, the practitioner should develop and use a disclosure statement. Such statements outline the conditions, rules, and regulations for the conduct of the transaction (Kolog and Montero, 2018).  The rules and regulations guide both the client and the practitioner on what to do and what to avoid. The main reason for coming up with a disclosure statement is to ensure the smooth running of the service.

The terms and conditions provide the limiting factors which should not be crossed by the two parties. For instance, the statement may ensure that there will be no meetings or services on Sunday’s. Therefore, organizing service on a Sunday will automatically be against the terms and conditions of the counseling services.

In modern society, almost all groups of people have their rights and obligations. The practitioners should ensure the protection of the client’s rights as far as their interaction is concerned (Brown et al., 2017). One of the rights of the client is to receive human care with respect and consideration. Social care means that the client should be treated as an average person, regardless of his condition. By doing so, the practitioner is likely to satisfy the desires of the client in terms of counseling. The client also has a right to privacy as far as his health condition is concerned. The client can decide not to share his health condition with anyone.

Depression and stress are some of the things which can make someone seek counseling. Any activity or disorder which affects the mind can be solved through counseling. Depression involves the condition when someone is feeling abnormalities in his mind, such as the inability to sleep. On the other hand, stress is a situation where something disturbs someone’s mind such that he cannot stop thinking about it. Such a condition is likely to influence someone’s thinking and memory capacity of the individual.

Counseling is one of the critical issues which should be handled with care. Nobody should do counseling. Professional compliance is one of the factors which should be shown by every practitioner who intends to do counseling services (McLain and Lewis, 2018). Being that such services need technical knowledge and skills, no one should engage in counseling activities without professional certification.

Professionalism involves having adequate knowledge, skills, and the ability to do tasks. Counseling is known to have different work, which includes critical decision making. Therefore, the practitioner should be a good decision-maker. In other words, the practitioner should be that person who has studied a course in counseling.

Notably, decision making is one of the essential aspects which should be practiced at any time (McMahon, 2016). Practitioners will have to decide at any time during the counseling process. The counselor may decide to give the client a maximum of one month to check his recovery status. During such a period, the practitioner may also allow the client to engage in other activities, which could boost the degree at which they participate in different aspects of life. Therefore, practitioners should ensure that they make effective decisions that can lead to the improvement of the client’s condition.

The society consists of different people. Other factors, such as gender, can categorize this difference. In some cases, dealing with women is not the same as the ways of dealing with men. Additionally, people are from different backgrounds. Cultural backgrounds influence human behavior. People who were raised in a particular environment are likely to have some similar behavior. This shows that the practitioners have a hard task of ensuring that they cooperate with the patients. For the practitioners to do this, they have to employ multicultural counseling, which enables them to operate effectively.

The main reason for establishing counseling services is to provide good intentions to the clients. In this case, good intention involves the aspect of meeting the needs of the client. However, counseling tends to follow specific codes of conduct and procedures of good ethical policies. The codes of conduct are also included to enable the smooth running of the services.

Additional etthical standards should also be encouraged by practitioners to ensure sufficient articulation of roles in the counseling service. Due to these facts, there are set rules and ethical principles which govern the conduct of practitioners in the counseling department. These ethical standards prove that good intention is not enough.

The first principle is respect. Respect involves acknowledging that someone is worth and that he or she should not be undermined. The practitioners should not despise or look down upon the client regardless of their condition. Respect occurs in two ways such that the client should respect the practitioner and everything which entails the counseling process. Additionally, compliance is accorded to the client such that the practitioner does according to the will of the client. Respect enables someone to feel valued and ends encouraged. This can enable the client to feel free to share any relevant information regarding their condition.

Respect should be embraced in all instances of counseling service. Communication between the two parties should show respect (Wubbolding, 2017). Ideally, communication is one of the best determinants of a relationship between the client and the practitioner. The client should address the practitioner with respect to each occasion. A client who speaks rudely is likely to face challenges when it comes to the help of the practitioners. Counselors tend to be encouraged by the behavior of the client. Therefore, a polite and kind client is likely to receive good results from the service. Respect is useful in any form of interaction.

The other principle of excellent counseling standards is competence. Competence is a term used to describe the extent to which an individual or a group is qualified to do a specific job. As far as counseling is concerned, the practitioner should ensure that he is competent in his dealings. The competency of the practitioner can be measured by his ability to deliver qualified services to the client. A competent practitioner is that who performs his roles with dignity. A skilled counselor tends to have good intentions of helping the client. The client can know whether the practitioner is competent or not by merely assessing his dealings.

Competency is also attributed to professionalism. Many professionals tend to encourage competent practices in their work. In any organization, the management assists its employees to be responsible in all matters which they deal with. A qualified employee does not hide anything from the employer. Consequently, a skilled practitioner is likely to help the client without hiding some information from him.

All information related to the client’s heal condition should be made aware to him. For instance, the practitioner should tell the client the side effects which are associated with his condition. A competent practitioner will also adhere to the rules and regulations of counseling.

Responsibility is another principle that should be encouraged by both parties. The practitioners should ensure that the roles which are mandated to them are articulated effectively. One of the responsibilities of the practitioners is to ensure that the client is satisfied (Belskaya et al., 2016). This satisfaction can only be granted when the client’s condition normalizes. For example, a client who had a problem with stress should show some improvements in his engagements. The practitioners should have the ability to know that the client’s condition is improving or deteriorating.

If the client’s condition is changing negatively, the practitioners should adopt new strategies of helping the client. Such instances can be brought about by improper handling of the client. Clients should be handled with care for them to know that they are valued. That feeling can make the clients forget some issues such as stress. Practitioners tend to do as per the requirements of the disclosure statement as well as the desires of the client. In some cases, the client may demand something that the practitioners have to do by all means to protect the client from any form of injury.

The client also expects responsibility. The client should be responsible for adhering to the rules and regulation which govern the counseling service. Therefore, the clients should ensure that whatever they deal in is following the provision of the set rules and regulations. Clients are also responsible for conveying all relevant information to the practitioner. The practitioners rely on the information provided by the client to offer practical assistance. If the clients decide to hide some relevant information about their condition, the practitioners may not address their problems adequately. Therefore, clients should know their responsibilities as fat as counseling is concerned.

Additionally, responsibility comes with roles. The burden of the practitioners can be gotten from the job description and the knowledge and skills which they have. For one to be considered as a qualified counselor, he or she must have enough qualifications in the relevant field (Pope and Vasquez, 2016). For example, they should have gone through education up to a certain level, which is recommended. The responsibility of the practitioners also depends on their level of education. Those who hold doctorate and PHDs in counseling are likely to deal with more complex situations.

On the other hand, those who have a bachelor’s degree in the relevant field are likely to engage in less complicated issues. The responsibility of the client also depends on his condition. Some clients have complex problems that need attention and proper handling. Such situations should be done by qualified practitioners who can understand the clients’ situation. Counselors should also have the ability to investigate more about the clients’ condition. They should try to link the clients’ symptoms with the related disorder that the client might be suffering from.

In some cases, the client might not know what he is going through, but he can explain the changes in his body or interactions. Therefore, practitioners should be able to identify the disorder. For example, the client may explain that he is having difficulties sleeping; hence the practitioner can associate the problem to depression.

Another principle is integrity. Integrity is a term used to describe a situation where things are done at the right time and by the right persons. In a counseling service, the practitioners should embrace integrity in their dealings (Welfel, 2015). One way to embrace integrity is to do the right thing according to the set provisions. Practitioners should perform their roles effectively. An integral person is likely to avoid instances that may cause problems in the organization.

In some cases, the practitioners are employed by an organization such as a healthcare facility. Therefore, they tend to be integral since it is one of the requirements of the employees. Every organization promotes integrity amount the staff through adopting rules and regulations, which govern the conduct of the employees. Integrity can also be exercised in simple things, such as being truthful to your words. Practitioners should do whatever they promise to the clients.

Integrity can also be embraced by being a good example. In this scenario, the practitioners should be good examples as far as their roles are concerned. For the clients to emulate the practitioners, they must show good examples. For instance, if the practitioner is telling the client to embrace what he is doing, absolutely it should be a positive thing. Practitioners should not negatively influence clients. In other words, they should be good ambassadors of their teachings. For example, a drunkard practitioner cannot instruct the client to stop drinking. Therefore, clients can only emulate good practices from practitioners.

Good intentions without ethical standards are dangerous in regards to counseling services (Capuzzi and Staufer, 2016). Regardless of the practitioners’ plan to improve the condition of the client, they should embrace excellent ethical standards. The standards show the level of maturity and professionalism of the practitioners.

The counselors who have good knowledge of ethical standards are likely to address different situations that may arise in the counseling process. Ethical standards also help practitioners to understand their roles and responsibilities. Ethical standards should be embraced by all practitioners in the counseling field to encourage professionalism and relevance of the services.

For the counseling process to meet its intended need, the practitioners should work towards satisfying the requirements of the ethical standards (Hull et al., 2016). Today, there are different Ethical Codes of Professional associations that are mandated to oversee the implementation of various ethical standards.

In the counseling field, both practitioners and the clients should embrace excellent ethical standards to promote good cooperation between the two parties. A practitioner who does not adhere to the principles of ethical conduct is likely to cause problems. For instance, he may not be able to handle the client with care regardless of having good intentions of offering assistance.

In conclusion, good intentions are insufficient and dangerous in counseling unless the practitioner embraces excellent ethical standards. This notion can be explained in this essay. The essay has discussed the relevant moral principle which should be put into practice by every practitioner who intends to help the client.

Respect and integrity are some of the ethical standards which should be embraced by all practitioners to ensure that they are in good terms with the client. Responsibility is also one of the essential factors which the practitioners should adhere to. Additionally, practitioners should not only depend on having good intentions but also focus on the ethical standards in counseling.