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The BACP Ethical Framework for
Good Practice in Counselling & Psychotherapy
This statement, Ethics for
Counselling and Psychotherapy, unifies and replaces all the earlier codes for
counsellors, trainers and supervisors and is also applicable to counselling
research, the use of counselling skills and the management of these services
within organisations. It is intended to inform the practice of each member of
the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
In this statement the term
‘practitioner’ is used generically to refer to anyone with responsibility
for the provision of counselling- or psychotherapy-related services.
‘Practitioner’ includes anyone undertaking the role(s) of counsellor,
psychotherapist, trainer, educator, supervisor, researcher, provider of
counselling skills or manager of any of these services. The term ‘client’ is
used as a generic term to refer to the recipient of any of these services. The
client may be an individual, couple, family, group, organisation or other
specifiable social unit. Alternative names may be substituted for
‘practitioner’ and ‘client’ in the practice setting, according to custom
and context.
This statement indicates
an important development in approach to ethics within the Association. One of
the characteristics of contemporary society is the coexistence of different
approaches to ethics. This statement reflects this ethical diversity by
considering:
- Values
- Principles
- Personal moral
qualities
This selection of ways of
expressing ethical commitments does not seek to invalidate other approaches. The
presentation of different ways of conceiving ethics alongside each other in this
statement is intended to draw attention to the limitations of relying too
heavily on any single ethical approach. Ethical principles are well suited to
examining the justification for particular decisions and actions. However,
reliance on principles alone may detract from the importance of the
practitioner’s personal qualities and their ethical significance in the
counselling or therapeutic relationship. The provision of culturally sensitive
and appropriate services is also a fundamental ethical concern. Cultural factors
are often more easily understood and responded to in terms of values. Therefore,
professional values are becoming an increasingly significant way of expressing
ethical commitment.
Values
of counselling and psychotherapy
The fundamental values of counselling and psychotherapy include a commitment to:
- Respecting human rights
and dignity
- Ensuring the integrity
of practitioner-client relationships
- Enhancing the quality
of professional knowledge and its application
- Alleviating personal
distress and suffering
- Fostering a sense of
self that is meaningful to the person(s) concerned
- Increasing personal
effectiveness
- Enhancing the quality
of relationships between people
- Appreciating the
variety of human experience and culture
- Striving for the fair
and adequate provision of counselling and psychotherapy services
Values inform principles.
They represent an important way of expressing a general ethical commitment that
becomes more precisely defined and action-orientated when expressed as a
principle.
Ethical
principles of counselling and psychotherapy
Principles direct attention to important ethical responsibilities. Each
principle is described below and is followed by examples of good practice that
have been developed in response to that principle.
Ethical decisions that are
strongly supported by one or more of these principles without any contradiction
from others may be regarded as reasonably well founded. However, practitioners
will encounter circumstances in which it is impossible to reconcile all the
applicable principles and choosing between principles may be required. A
decision or course of action does not necessarily become unethical merely
because it is contentious or other practitioners would have reached different
conclusions in similar circumstances. A practitioner’s obligation is to
consider all the relevant circumstances with as much care as is reasonably
possible and to be appropriately accountable for decisions made.
Fidelity:
honouring
the trust placed in the practitioner
Being trustworthy is regarded as fundamental to understanding and resolving
ethical issues. Practitioners who adopt this principle: act in accordance with
the trust placed in them; regard confidentiality as an obligation arising from
the client’s trust; restrict any disclosure of confidential information about
clients to furthering the purposes for which it was originally disclosed.
Autonomy: respect
for the client’s right to be self-governing
This principle emphasises the importance of the client’s commitment to
participating in counselling or psychotherapy, usually on a voluntary basis.
Practitioners who respect their clients’ autonomy: ensure accuracy in any
advertising or information given in advance of services offered; seek freely
given and adequately informed consent; engage in explicit contracting in advance
of any commitment by the client; protect privacy; protect confidentiality;
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 or as soon as possible after such conflicts become
apparent. The principle of autonomy opposes the manipulation of clients against
their will, even for beneficial social ends.
Beneficence: 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. It directs attention to working strictly
within one’s limits of competence and providing services on the basis of
adequate training or experience. Ensuring that the client’s best interests are
achieved requires systematic monitoring of practice and outcomes by the best
available means. It is considered important that research and systematic
reflection inform practice. There is an obligation to use regular and on-going
supervision to enhance the quality of the services provided and to commit to
updating practice by continuing professional 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, lack of
understanding, extreme distress, serious disturbance or other significant
personal constraints.
Non-maleficence: a
commitment to avoiding harm to the client
Non-maleficence involves: avoiding sexual, financial, emotional or any other
form of client exploitation; avoiding incompetence or malpractice; not providing
services when unfit to do so due to illness, personal circumstances or
intoxication. The practitioner has an ethical responsibility to strive to
mitigate any harm caused to a client even when the harm is unavoidable or
unintended. Holding appropriate insurance may assist in restitution.
Practitioners have a personal responsibility to challenge, where appropriate,
the incompetence or malpractice of others; and 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.
Justice: the
fair and impartial treatment of all clients and the provision of adequate
services
The principle of justice requires being just and fair to all clients and
respecting their human rights and dignity. It directs attention to considering
conscientiously any legal requirements and obligations, and 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 and the allocation of services between
clients. A commitment to fairness requires the ability to appreciate differences
between people and to be committed to equality of opportunity, and avoiding
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.
Self-respect: fostering
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. Guarding against
financial liabilities arising from work undertaken usually requires obtaining
appropriate insurance. The principle of self-respect encourages active
engagement in life-enhancing activities and relationships that are independent
of relationships in counselling or psychotherapy.
Personal
moral qualities
The practitioner’s personal moral qualities are of the utmost importance to
clients. Many of the personal qualities considered important in the provision of
services have an ethical or moral component and are therefore considered as
virtues or good personal qualities. It is inappropriate to prescribe that all
practitioners possess these qualities, since it is fundamental that these
personal qualities are deeply rooted in the person concerned and developed out
of personal commitment rather than the requirement of an external authority.
Personal qualities to which counsellors and psychotherapists are strongly
encouraged to aspire include:
Empathy: the
ability to communicate understanding of another person’s experience from that
person’s perspective.
Sincerity: a
personal commitment to consistency between what is professed and what is done.
Integrity: commitment
to being moral in dealings with others, personal straightforwardness, honesty
and coherence.
Resilience: the
capacity to work with the client’s concerns without being personally
diminished.
Respect: showing
appropriate esteem to others and their understanding of themselves.
Humility: the
ability to assess accurately and acknowledge one’s own strengths and
weaknesses.
Competence: the
effective deployment of the skills and knowledge needed to do what is required.
Fairness: the
consistent application of appropriate criteria to inform decisions and actions.
Wisdom: possession
of sound judgement that informs practice.
Courage:
the capacity to act in spite of known fears, risks and uncertainty.
Conclusion
The challenge of working ethically means that practitioners will inevitably
encounter situations where there are competing obligations. In such situations
it is tempting to retreat from all ethical analysis in order to escape a sense
of what may appear to be irresolvable ethical tension. These ethics are intended
to be of assistance in such circumstances by directing attention to the variety
of ethical factors that may need to be taken into consideration and to
alternative ways of approaching ethics that may prove more useful. No statement
of ethics can totally alleviate the difficulty of making professional judgements
in circumstances that may be constantly changing and full of uncertainties. By
accepting this statement of ethics, members of the British Association for
Counselling and Psychotherapy are committing themselves to engaging with the
challenge of striving to be ethical, even when doing so involves making
difficult decisions or acting courageously.
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