10-12 Refference with intext in Haravrd format

Reflective Diary about why counselors need to follow an ethical code and what the implications in the profession are?

The role of a counselor is very critical in the lives of the people, and hence the importance of an ethical code in the profession increases manifold. As a counselor it is not only about being truthful to the customer or the personal counselor is treating but also to the profession he or she is following. So we will try to understand the fine line between being truthful and ethical in the following discussion.

Let’s start with why a person would go to a counselor? What forces a certain individual to do so? No one loves to visit a counselor what whatever purpose may it be. Some situation in life which is undesirable forces to take such a step. So, when this person visits the counselor, the first and foremost thing that is kept in mind is that the mental situation of the concerned individual is not perfect. Hence that person is to be treated with respect and gently; this is where the ethical part begins. Unlike other professions, a counselor can never treat a client as just a client; the counselor got to be aligned with the person mentally. This is where ethics begin.

Since this relationship between the person who is coming to a counselor and the counselor is very private and sensitive, it is their duty to keep the overall thing secret forever. This secrecy should not be only bound ed by the terms of the law but also by the ethics of the counselor. This is the slight difference between ethical and been truthful. On the premise of being truthful, a counselor may divulge certain information staying on the correct book of laws but being ethical will prevent him or her from doing so.

Also telling the problem that the client is facing in the way the client understands is very much appreciated in the profession of the counselor. A normal person would not understand certain terms and terminologies which are being used in this profession and hence it is very important to make them realize through what they’re actually going through, what among them is right what is wrong and what should not be done. Ethics also comes into the decision being taken whether the counselors would involve the family members or loved ones into the overall matter to make the client better.

The implications of the profession are very intense. It decides the future course in the life of a human being. Every decision being taken however small it may be has a huge implication into the minds of the client, and the problematic part is that the implications might not always be tangible, there’s a huge intangible part to it.

As a result, every counselor puts a huge amount of importance on promoting the ethical way in which he conducts his practice. Because once you lose your confirmation towards ethics, you completely lose the belief of your clients. There are multiple ethics committees in multiple countries that create rules for the counselor to uphold. Every professional counselor generally follows the conducts of one such ethical committee.

Even though there are multiple committees doing the same the general basis of ethics generally stems or root into these few basic principles

Respect for autonomy

This stems from the fact that the client is completely free to decide which decision and way he wants to go. It is on his free will whether he wants to continue the sessions, if he wants to discuss a different topic for this session or if he wants to discuss something of momentary importance in that session and it is the ethical duty of the counselor to take the decision with utmost importance and give back suggestions or ideas that will best help the client. This mainly stems from on the fact that if the counselor refuses ever to let the client decide something on his will, it will soon degenerate to a mechanical relationship and the client will soon stop feeling uncomfortable, and the whole idea of the session will fail

Non – Maleficence

This idea is based on giving more importance to the ethics of the business than the innate human nature of the physician. Even though the counselor may see some unhealthy elements in the nature of the conduct of the client, he/she will not let that affect his judgment and decision but will give the right decision regardless. In the absence of this, the clients of criminal tendencies who could have been helped to mend their paths will be discouraged and thus will be a direct hindrance to the basic usefulness of the counselors

Beneficence

This is based on the most basic nature that each session that the person is taking with the counselor should somehow benefit the client. The counselor should make a conscious effort to make sure that the client is actually going in a positive direction. With a lack of this basic ethical principle, the seating will soon change into money earning event with no improvement happening to the client

Justice

This principle is based on the non-discriminatory route that the counselor should take while treating any of the clients. He should never be affected by the race, color or creed of the client. This principle helps the counselors to be fair to all and keep the doors open for everyone

Fidelity

This is maybe the most important ethical characteristic that counselors need to follow. Whatever is being said between the counselor and the client remains only between them no matter what it is. The implication that it has is that it creates the confidence of the client to be completely free with the counselor and make these sessions truly meaningful

At the end of the day, the whole job of the counselor is based on ethics. A counselor who falters from being a strong ethical image in front of his clients will soon lose his standings and his clientele.

REFERENCE LIST

AIPC (2018). ‘Ethical Desicsion Making Process . Retrieved on 24th February 2019

Retrieved from:

https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/ethical-decision-making-process/

Counselling Connection (2018). ‘Ethics and Ethical Codes’ . Retrieved on 24th February 2019

Retrieved from:

https://www.counsellingconnection.com/index.php/2009/12/08/what-are-ethics/

American Counselling Association (2016). ‘ACA:Code Of Ethics’ . Retrieved on 24th February 2019

Retrieved from:

https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

Treur, Tamas (2016). ‘Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide

’ . Retrieved on 24th February 2019

Retrieved from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2249822/

National Counselling Society (2016). ‘The Code of Ethics’

’ . Retrieved on 24th February 2019

Retrieved from:

https://www.nationalcounsellingsociety.org/about-us/code-of-ethics/