ETHICAL ISSUES IN COUNSELLING

 Ethics refers to standards of right and wrong that prescribe what

counsellors ought to do in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to
society, fairness or specific virtue (Stein 1990).
 Ethics are viewed in two ways: principle ethics and virtue ethics.
 Principle ethics: Principle ethics are obligations or action guides i.e.
things a person does. What you do (principles) gives a picture of what
you are (virtue or character). Principle ethics focus on the question of
action i.e. ‘what shall I do?’ In this way principle ethics determine the
conduct that is professionally acceptable. For instance, a counsellor
who is guided by principle ethics is one who has a character of
trustworthiness, self-control, faithfulness, truthfulness, honesty,
respectfulness, prayerful, fairness, competence, confidentiality,
humanness etc.
Virtue ethics form the basis of our beliefs and values at personal,
professional and societal levels. Virtue ethics focus on the question of
character i.e. ‘what shall I be? For instance, in answering this
question, one can become a Christian full of Christian values, a wife
full of values relating to a married lady, one can become a church
leader full of values relating to a leader as prescribed in the Bible. A
counsellor full of virtue is one who is honest, truthful, righteous,
loving, full of mercy, kind, patient, self controlled or fair. Remember
virtue or character portrays a type of person one is.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN COUNSELLING PRACTICES
 A general rule is that ethical practices benefit a client while
unethical practices benefit a counsellor. So when you encounter a
challenge in which to decide whether it is un ethical or ethical to do
something, remember the question: ‘to whose benefit is it?’ If it
benefits the counsellor, then its unethical and if it benefits the client,
then its ethical.
UNETHICAL ISSUES IN COUNSELLING PRACTICES
 Some of the unethical practices in counselling include:
 Sexual issues; sexual issues are further categorized in five practices
as follows:
 Engaging in sexual contact with a client
 Engaging in erotic activity (kissing by mouth, emotional hugging) with
a client
 Allowing a client to disrobe or undress
 Engaging in sex with a trainee counsellor.
 NB: Remember, you can not put coals of fire on your lap and except
not to be burnt. Shun all appearances of evil in relation to sexual
issues.
 Business issues; Three practices pertaining to business issues in
relation to unethical counselling practices have been identified by
Corey (1991) and include:
 Getting paid for referring clients to another counsellor
 Going into business with a client
 Borrowing money from a client.
Issues of confidentiality: unethical practices in this context include:
 Disclosing confidentiality of a client,
 Discussing a client by name with third parties.
 Dual relationship: It is unethical for a client to have two counsellors
on one case at the same time. It is also unethical for a counsellor to
counsel clients where he/she has dual relations i.e. wife, children or
in-laws. The difficult comes in when the counsellor is also emotionally
affected. For instance, if your wife has been raped or insulted, it is
practically impossible to be emotionally stable and counsel her. Your
relationships being her counsellor and her husband will conflict each
other. In fact both of you (wife and husband) at that moment need
counselling. Hence, the need for another counsellor.
 Providing counselling services beyond one’s competence: It is
unethical to provide counselling services in areas where one is not
competent or has no training.
 Meeting one’s needs instead of those of the client: You must refrain
from undertaking any counselling or guidance activity in which your
personal needs are the ones to be met instead of the client’s. In
addition, in case your personal problems are likely to lead to
inadequate performance or harm to a client refrain from going in
such a counselling relationship.
 Touching as part of client-counsellor relationship: Touching is a
complex issue and counsellors need to be honest with themselves
and their clients and they need to be aware of whose needs are
primarily being met in their touching a client. In some cases, victims
of incest, rape or defilement may be resistant to physical contact.
They may be offended and frightened by counsellors’ well intended
touch. Other clients because of their cultural background, may be
very uncomfortable with any physical expressions of concern by a
counsellor. A counsellor must therefore, be sensitive to the needs of a
client.