The Code of Ethics for CounselorsREPORT BY: MS. LOVELY JOY B. BUSTOS

A. Qualifications and Competencies of

Counselors

1. KNOWLEDGEGuidance counsellors should seek to possess and integrate the following competencies in knowledge of:

1.1 Major theories of counselling and psychotherapy; 1.2 Major theories of the functioning and leadership of experiential groups; 1.3 Life span developmental psychology and its relationship to counselling; 1.4 The main factors underlying personal development; 1.5 Contextual and systemic factors that affect human functioning, including social, biological and family factors;

1.6 Factors affecting wellbeing and distress; 1.7 The nature of human and cultural diversity with reference to such factors as age, class, race, gender, ethnicity, levels of ability, language, spiritual and religious beliefs, educational achievement and sexuality; 1.8 Current professional developments relevant to practice settings; 1.9 Research underlying effective practice.

1. KNOWLEDGEGuidance counsellors should seek to possess and integrate the following competencies in knowledge of:

2. THE COUNSELLING RELATIONSHIPGuidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies when working with client(s):

2.1 Explain the scope of practice and attend to clients’ expectations of counselling including the responsibilities of both the guidance counsellor and client in the counselling relationship; 2.2 Explain confidentiality and its limits and obtain informed consent where required; 2.3 Be able to contract and set boundaries appropriately; 2.4 Develop the ability and the confidence to establish and maintain a collaborative, congruent and effective relationship with the client informed by a theoretical framework;

2. THE COUNSELLING RELATIONSHIPGuidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies when working with client(s):

2.5 Demonstrate core conditions of the counselling relationship (empathy, genuineness and unconditional positive regard)2.6 Employ an eclectic and balanced approach to assisting clients by attending to sensations, feelings, thoughts and behavior; 2.7 Demonstrate a range of individual and group counselling and communication skills such as active listening, clarifying, focusing, paraphrasing, questioning, probing, reflecting feelings, and goal setting; 2.8 Pay attention to the significance of non-verbal communication and respond appropriately;

2. THE COUNSELLING RELATIONSHIPGuidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies when working with client(s):

2.10 Have the confidence to challenge clients when it is appropriate to do so, and to be challenged in turn; 2.11 Recognize and manage conflict in the client counsellor relationship; 2.12 Monitor the quality of the client-counsellor relationship on an ongoing basis; 2.13 Be able to provide clients with accessible explanations about their approach and techniques;

2. THE COUNSELLING RELATIONSHIPGuidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies when working with client(s):

2.14 Demonstrate an ability to appropriately support clients on a range of issues such as bereavement, bullying, health issues, relationship issues, suicide and self-harm, transitional difficulties, stress, personal/sexual identity and peer pressure; 2.15 Facilitate clients in identifying options, making decisions, resolving difficulties and making a personal life plan; 2.16 Identify and respond to clients’ vulnerabilities, strengths, resilience and resources;

2. THE COUNSELLING RELATIONSHIPGuidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies when working with client(s):

2.17 Demonstrate an awareness of and sensitivity to the unique familial, social, cultural, and economic circumstances of clients and their racial/ethnic, gender, age, physical, and learning differences; 2.18 Be aware when losing grounding and take appropriate action (which may include re-grounding, seeking supervision, or referring the client to other professionals); 2.19 Recognize when to conclude counselling and facilitate effective closure process.

3. COUNSELLING SKILLSGuidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies in the process of working with client(s):

3.1 Employ a mode of counselling, with both individuals and groups that is based on a framework of counselling theory and lifespan developmental psychology; 3.2 Work within their level of skill and knowledge in addressing the concerns of clients; 3.3 Be able to prioritize issues, structure and summarize a session, and review the process of counselling periodically with the client; 3.4 Monitor progress toward goals; 3.5 Assist clients in developing a sense of awareness and self-worth;

3. COUNSELLING SKILLSGuidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies in the process of working with client(s):

3.6 Develop an ability to assist individuals and groups to deal with conflict; 3.7 Take into consideration culturally relevant resources for use with clients. 3.8 Identify community resources relevant to client needs. 3.9 Be able to remain grounded in the presence of client distress (including grief, fear, shame and anger); 3.10 Evaluate overall outcomes and the practitioner’s role in the process.

4. PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL ATTITUDES AND PRACTICE Guidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies in professional practice:

4.1 Recognize the professional responsibility of the guidance counsellor to engage with ongoing supervision; 4.2 Demonstrate evidence of evaluating and enhancing their counselling practice by engaging in ongoing supervision, proportional to the counselling workload; 4.3 Develop and implement methods to assess the overall effectiveness of their counselling role; 4.4 Be open to ongoing reflection and dialogue on their own life narrative and its impact on the counselling relationship and have dealt with, and continue to deal with on an ongoing basis, major unresolved issues in their own lives through appropriate means.

4. PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL ATTITUDES AND PRACTICE Guidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies in professional practice:4.5 Take note of the philosophy/mission of the institution where they are working and develop a professional philosophy consistent with this setting; 4.6 Demonstrate knowledge of the professional standards, policies, and practices which govern practice in their work setting; 4.7 Engage in appropriate continuing professional development on an ongoing basis; 4.8 Recognize their own personal and professional limitations and act appropriately to seek supervision or professional support;

4. PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL ATTITUDES AND PRACTICE Guidance counsellors should seek to exercise the following competencies in professional practice:

4.12 Establish secure, effective and ethical systems for maintaining the confidentiality of client records; 4.13 Establish procedures to deal effectively with client crisis and emergency situations; 4.14 Resolve ethical dilemmas in a manner consistent with professional standards; 4.15 Comply with any legal requirements governing the practice of counselling.

B. Qualifications and Functions of the

Guidance Counselor

Qualifications of the Guidance Counselor

1. Maintain proper certification and license as required by the Department of Public Instruction. 2. Possess the ability to work with students, parents, faculty, administrators, and the community. 3. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the developmental guidance process and career development theory. 4. Possess the ability to generate, analyze, and synthesize data about the behavior, progress, and needs of students individually and with groups.

The guidance counselor shall: (Function)

1. Interpret student information to students, parents/guardians, and teachers. 2. Arrange for and coordinate visits from outside speakers; 3. Maintain a working relationship with personnel of other agencies providing student services such as social workers and parole and probation officers; 4. Maintain a daily log of daily activities and student conferences;

5. Answer mail, complete surveys, request college catalogs and occupational information, order test materials, and handle appropriate phone calls, 6. Provide information to parents through the news media and mailings; 7. Make presentations in orientation/registration programs prior to student registration; 8. Administer and/or interpret tests, surveys, and inventories that deal with high school student achievement, aptitudes, and vocational interests;

The guidance counselor shall: (Function)

9. Work cooperatively with other staff to develop and implement a K-12 developmental guidance program; 10. Participate in the development of the district guidance and counseling plan; 11. Coordinate with administration the completion of reports on a timely basis, ie: dropout, children-at-risk, etc.; 12. Prepare and administer the high school guidance budget;

The guidance counselor shall: (Function)

C. Ethical Issues in Counseling

Ethical Problems

An ethical problem is :.....complex situation that will often involve an apparent mental

conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_dilemma

you are caught between two possible choices in a situation where both could be considered "ethical" (right or moral choices) but the goodness of one cancels out the other.

Example 1: Business is business...?

You are a school principal in a secondary school in Warszaw andyour spouse is a manager at T-mobile. Fearful of staff cutbacks, you start up a jewelry sales business forthe evenings and are surprised when it quickly starts to make aprofit. You know that you can double your regular salary if you recruit more sales staff. Some of your own teaching staff might like to join you. You: recruit any teachers who would be good at sales recruit only teachers who need the money recruit staff only from your spouse's office avoid recruiting any staff to avoid conflict

Example 2: Making a better deal

You are on the District School Board and also own a small computer store. The Board issued a Request for Proposals for a large number of PC's to two big suppliers. After listening to their competing proposals you believe you could offer a better deal yourself.

You: offer a better deal to the Board express the opinion that both proposals are high say nothing because it is a conflict of interest absent yourself from all discussion on the deal

Example 3: From the school settings...

Amanda is a bright student in your class but has done very badly in a recent test and has not been behaving well. Her parents are divorcing. Her mother who is a vocal critic on the school council has arranged an interview with you to "see what can be done about Amanda's test results".

You: review the test to look for potential upgrades ask the principal for help with the politics explain that your marking was fair, and firm discuss the impact of the divorce on Amanda Anything else...?

Some examples of the most frequent ethical dilemmas among counselling: -The client asked me not to tell about his theft in the

supermarket to his parents...

- I know that my client started „to taste drugs“ .Feel embaressed to contact his parents...

- I was dealing with the case of a drug abuse (the young boy came voluntarily),however, the problem was to receive his approval on contacting his parents, or doctor, what he strongly rejected...

Some examples of the most frequent ethical dilemmas among counselling: - The client insisted on taking no steps on behalf of his drug

abuse - he was afraid of a dealer /threat of death) and me too...

- A secondary school girl confided her troubles with being abused in the family and did not want anybody learnt about it. After long talks she agreed we started the family therapy.

D. Characteristics of effective Counselors

Characteristics of effective Counselors1.Patient2.Good listener3.Compassionate4.Non-judgmental5.Research-oriented

6. Emphatic7. Discrete8. Encouraging9. Self-aware10. Authenticity

Characteristics of effective Counselors

D. Counselor’s Attitude Characteristics

Openness toward self

willingness to learn willingness to try new things and to see

alternatives.

Openness toward clients

viewing then as individuals seeking assistance,

as complex individuals who are not helpless,

as partners in the process.

Openness toward colleagues

viewing them as colleagues, not competitors, with experiences and ideas that are valuable.

Openness toward supervisors

viewing them as colleagues with unique and relevant experiences.

Openness toward counseling

the counseling process is often a developing, evolving process wherein the client’s skills and resources are developed.

The counselor does not solve the problem, but offers alternatives and teaches/facilitates the client’s problem-solving process.

CODE OF ETHICS

Why it is important to have a specific Code of Ethics for a counsellor ? 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 unresolvable ethical tension. In these circumstances the professionals can adhere to the assistance of variety of ethical factors that may need to be taken into consideration and to alternative ways of approaching ethics that may prove more useful.

At any case, each counsellor should respect, (except of relevant laws), the ethical standards developed and accepted by particup national Counselling Association .