ETHICAL ISSUES IN COUNSELLING

What are counseling ethics?

The American Counseling Association (ACA) defines counseling ethics as

professional values that serve as “the foundation for ethical behavior and
decision making.” These values enable counselors to maintain professional
2

relationships with clients and provide compassionate care for patients from all
backgrounds.

The ACA’s Code of Ethics lists six essential professional values for
counselors: 2

 Autonomy: Empower clients to take control of their own lives

 Nonmaleficence: Avoid actions that could harm clients and others and
take steps to minimize unavoidable harm
 Beneficence: Positively affect clients and society by helping individuals
improve their mental health
 Justice: Treat all clients with fairness and equality
 Fidelity: Keep commitments and promises made to clients.
 Veracity: Be honest when interacting with clients, colleagues, and
others in professional settings

Examples of ethical issues in therapy

Mental health professionals frequently confront gray areas in ethical

guidelines when interacting with clients and colleagues. Let’s explore two
common areas where counselors face ethical dilemmas.
BREAKING CONFIDENTIALITY IN COUNSELING

According to the ACA, mental health professionals have an ethical duty to

maintain client confidentiality. Counselors can be compelled to break
confidentiality when the client threatens harm to themselves or others. This is
a fairly clear cut example and a counselor would cover this while outlining
counseling services. However, counselors may face less clear-cut ethical
issues when requests are made by outside agencies for patient records. 2

For example, law-enforcement officials may demand access to confidential

patient information. Counselors should release records only if the police have
a court order. Similarly, a parent might request information about a minor
child’s counseling sessions. Counselors should ensure that the parent has
custodial rights before revealing any information. 3

DUAL RELATIONSHIPS IN COUNSELING

A dual relationship occurs when the counselor has two or more roles in a
client’s life. For instance, a counselor might be asked to provide treatment for
a family member or a former romantic partner. 4

The National Board for Certified Counselors recommends that counselors

avoid having multiple relationships with clients to avoid conflicts of
interest. They can refer these clients to another counselor or terminate their
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professional relationship if a dual relationship develops.

Ethical guidelines for counselors

Counselors may need to navigate ethical dilemmas that don’t have obvious
solutions. Mental health professionals can use a variety of approaches,
practices, and techniques to address nuanced ethical issues. Let’s explore
examples of these in greater depth.

INFORMED CONSENT IN THERAPY

A standard when it comes to ethical guidelines, counselors can empower their
clients to give informed consent by providing comprehensive information
about the counseling process. For example, the counselor should discuss the
potential risks and limitations of the treatment with the patient. They should
also disclose their credentials, their fees, their confidentiality policies, and
other relevant information. The client can decide whether to proceed with the
therapy based on this information. 2

Informed consent helps mental health counselors avoid ethical issues by

clearly defining the counselor-client relationship. It also ensures that clients
are willing participants in their therapy and understand their rights.2

SETTING BOUNDARIES IN THERAPY

Counselors can prevent unethical relationships from developing by setting and

maintaining clear boundaries. The ACA prohibits counseling professionals
from providing services to previous romantic partners, for example. Also, a
counselor can’t enter a romantic relationship with a client until five years after
their last session.
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Furthermore, the ACA recommends that counselors exercise caution when

extending their relationships with clients outside their practices. These
precautions help counselors maintain professional client relationships and
avoid violating ethical boundaries. 2

ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODELS

Ethical decision-making models enable counselors to solve intricate ethical

challenges. The ACA’s decision-making model includes these steps: 5

 Gather all relevant information about the ethical issue

 Consult the ACA Code of Ethics for guidance
 Get feedback from colleagues, supervisors, and professional
organizations
 Brainstorm possible solutions
  Weigh the consequences of each option
 Ensure that the chosen option is fair and universal
 Take action

Following a straightforward decision-making model makes it easier for

counselors to think about ethical issues and explain their decisions to others.

COUNSELOR COMPETENCE

Mental health counselors practice ethical behavior by acting only within their
areas of competence. They should provide services only if they have
appropriate education and training. Also, counselors should continually
educate themselves on new developments in their specialty to ensure they
can provide the best care. This practice ensures that counselors don’t harm
clients by maintaining ethical standards and providing only appropriate
treatment. 2

COUNSELOR SUPERVISION

Counselors and counselors-in-training receive clinical supervision from more

experienced practitioners as a part of the path to counseling licensure.
Supervisors provide guidance for ethical issues and help counselors develop
treatment plans if they’re unsure about the best course of action. 4

Like regular counselors, supervisors must follow strict ethical guidelines. For
example, they should intervene if they believe their supervisee may harm a
client, and they should avoid having any dual relationships with supervisees. 4

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP COUNSELLING

Individual/ Group Counseling

Counseling can be done by way of a counselor entering into a counseling relationship with the counselee.
This interaction is one on one and most of the issues discussed are private and confidential.
When to use individual counseling
Mahler (1969) has suggested that one-to-one counseling is best in the following situations:
 When the client is in a state of crisis.
 When confidentiality is essential to protect the client.
 When interpreting tests related to self-concept.
 When the client has an unusual fear of speaking.
 When the client is grossly ineffective in the area of interpersonal relationship skills.
 When the client has very limited awareness of his or her feelings, motivations and behaviors.
 When defiant sexual behavior is involved.
 When the client’s need for attention is too great to be managed in a group.

Advantages

 Best for those who are shy to talk.

 High confidentiality.
 Deep insight into the counselor.
 Easy to follow up.

GROUP COUNSELLING PROCESS

Group counseling provides a unique forum for individuals to make changes in their lives. Unlike
individual counseling groups provide a realistic social setting in which the client interacts with
peers who may be sharing the same or a similar concern and have some understanding of the
problem. The counseling group allows members to be open, honest and frank about their
problems and provide a situation in which it is safe to test ideas and solutions to problems.
Moreover, through the group process and its interactions and sharing of experiences, clients learn
to modify earlier behavior patterns and seek new, more appropriate behaviors in situations that
require interpersonal skills.

Group Size
Ideal size of counseling group is seven or eight members with an acceptable range of five to ten
members. In small group (three or four members), member interaction diminishes, and
counselors often find themselves engaged in individual counseling within the group. On the other
hand, in large groups the intimacy and comfort diminish and groups become less personal and
more mechanical in their process. Larger groups also increase the risks that some members may
be inadvertently overlooked to the extent that their needs are not satisfied.

Group Process
The elements of the group counseling process share much in common with those of individual
counseling. These may be separated into their logical sequence of occurrence.

The Establishment of the Group

 The initial group time is used to acquaint the new group membership with the format and
processes of the group, to orient them to such practical considerations as frequency of meetings,
duration of group, and length of group meeting time. Additionally, the beginning session is used
to initiate relationships and open communications among the participants. The counselor also
may use beginning sessions to answer questions that clarify the purpose and processes of the
group. The establishment of the group is a time to further prepare members for meaningful group
participation and to set a positive and promising group climate. The group counselor must
remember that in the initial group sessions the general climate of the group may be a mixture of
uncertainty, anxiety, and awkwardness. It is not un-common for group members to be unfamiliar
with one another and uncertain regarding the process and expectancies of the group regardless of
previous explanations or the establishing of ground rules.
It is important in this initial stage of group establishment for the leader to take sufficient time to
ensure that” all the groups’ members have their questions and concerns addressed; that they
understand the process and begin to feel comfortable in the group. Of course, the impression that
the group counselor makes in this initial stage is of utmost importance to the smooth and
successful process of the group.

Identification: Group Role and Goal

Once an appropriate climate has been established that at least facilitates a level of discussion,
the group may then move toward a second, distinct stage: identification. In this stage, the group
identity unfolds, the identification of individual roles emerges, and group and individual goals
are established jointly by the counselor and group members and are made operational. All these
develop simultaneously at this stage of the group counseling process. The early identification of
goals in group counseling facilitates the group’s movement toward a meaningful process and
outcomes. Goals are stated in objectives that are not only measurable but are also attainable and
observable and are likely to be realized in view of the group strategies planned. It is also
important in this process that the sub-goals of each individual group member is recognized and
responded to in turn.
Counselors need to be aware of the probable, or at least possible, conflict and confrontation that
may emerge during this stage of the group’s development. Yalom (2005) labels this second
phase “the conflict, dominance, rebellion stage.” He considers it a time when the group shifts
from preoccupation with acceptance, approval, commitment to the group, definitions of accepted
behavior, and the search for orientation, structure, and meaning, to a preoccupation with
dominance, control, and power. The conflict characteristic of this phase is among members or
between members and leader. Each member attempts to establish his or her preferred amount of
initiative and power. Gradually a control hierarchy, a social pecking order, emerges. As members
attempt new patterns of behavior and new approaches to group goals, different perceptions as
well as differences in solutions generated by the individual members may lead to a range of
behaviors from normal discussions to active and open confrontation. In this stage, the counselor
needs to keep the discussions relevant and prevent them group members from making personal
attacks on individuals’ values and integrity. The counselor should also remain alert to the
possibility that silence of certain group member may be a signal of resistance rather than group
compliance. At this stage the group members might express their dissatisfaction with the group
process or leadership when controversial issues are discussed or when there is a difference
between the way a group member sees himself or herself and the way the group stereotypes the
individual, leading to the member’s challenging the reactions or impressions of the rest of the
group. However, when conflicts and confrontations occur, a more cohesive group usually
emerges, resulting in increased openness in communication, consensual group action and
cooperation, and mutual support among the members.

Productivity
As the group achieves some degree of stability in its pattern of behaving, and the members
become more deeply committed to the group, and ready to reveal more of themselves and their
problems productivity process begins. This sets the stage for problem clarification and
exploration, usually followed by an examination of possible solutions. In this regard, the group
counselor clarifies the individual and group concern. This clarification includes a thorough
understanding of the nature of the problem and its causes. Next along with the group members
the counselor identifies what the group desires to accomplish, examines all possible solutions in
terms of their consequences and also whether it is capable of being realized (obtainable). Finally,
the group members employ the chosen solution to achieve the desired outcomes. In this entire
process, by making their own decisions members establish their ownership of the problem and
the chosen solution.

Realization
By the time group members reach this stage they recognize the inappropriateness of their past
behaviors and begin to try out the selected solutions or new behaviors, making progress toward
realizing their individual goals. They take responsibility of acting on their own decisions. The
counselor at this point encourages the sharing of individual experiences and goal achievement
both inside and outside the group. Although success with the new behaviors may provide
sufficient reinforcement for many members to continue, for others a support base of significant
others outside the group needs to be developed in order to help them maintain the change once
the counseling group is terminated.

Termination
Termination may be determined by the counselor or by the group members and the counselor
together’. Termination, like all other stages of the group counseling experience, requires skill and
planning by the counselor. It is most appropriate when the group goals and the goals of the
individual members have been achieved and new behaviors or leanings have been put into
practice in everyday life outside the group. At times the group members resist termination of a
counseling group and continue indefinitely as the counseling group provides a base for
interpersonal relationships, open communication, trust, and support. Therefore, it becomes
important that from the very beginning the group counselor keeps on emphasizing the temporary
nature of the group and establish, if appropriate, specific time limitations and reminds the group,
of the impending termination as the time approaches. Under less favorable circumstances, groups
may be terminated when their continuation promises to be nonproductive or harmful, or when
group progress is slow and long-term continuation might create over dependency on the group by
its members. The point of termination is a time for review and summary by both counselor and
clients. Some groups will need time to allow members to work through their feelings about
termination. Even though strong ties may have developed along with pressures from the group to
extend the termination time, those pressures must be resisted, and the group must be firmly,
though gently, moved toward the inevitable termination.