Ethical dilemmas are surely inevitable components of the counseling profession. Throughout their careers counselors are facing with various complicated moral choices that unconditionally need the common sense and profound reflection. Before taking any serious decisions, every counselor should take into consideration that the same ethical standard could differently manifest itself in a variety of everyday situations.
Those dilemmas are aimed to test counselor’s reserve and prove that definitive resolution will surely eventuate far beyond the office door. Of course, it is very useful to have the appropriate resources, knowledge and skills while confronting any ethical dilemma. However, more important than all this, is also the ability to sensibly use an ethical decision-making model. Such model will not only direct an amenable counsellor towards just moral solution, but will undoubtedly assist in the entire process of choosing the right side.
First of all, it is important to realize what ethics really is and what action is considered to be an ethical one. The Cambridge dictionary of philosophy defines ethics as “a philosophical study of moral behaviour or the study of kindness and rightful acts” (Rowan 2003). In other words, it is such philosophical science that strives to find out how rational human beings should conduct themselves in society, what are they allowed to choose and pursue and on what moral principles these choices and pursuits have to be based on.
Kerridge and Stewart (2009), for example, examine ethics as “a means of promoting human thriving and welfare as well as sustaining the world peace”. They claim that ethics should definitely surpass politics, self-interest and sometimes even law and that moral principles have to be equally applied by all people.
Ethics does not, however, involve following the rules. Most policies and related documents usually explain standards of behaviour only in particular circumstances. Though they are based on ethical principles and values, such documents unfortunately fail to solve emergent ethical dilemma. Moreover, they often may even gainsay the needs of the client or the counsellor or other professional.
Some people are also mistaken by placing ethics on the same footing as law. The law has a lot of contradictions in terms. On the one hand, it is against any infringements and rigorously interdicts murders. On the other hand, it, however, allows killing during war. To my mind law cannot be used in solving various moral dilemmas as it is easily influenced by history, culture or religion.
The ethics, finally, is not a consensus too. Although it can represent opinions of the vast majority and usually provides a basis for decision-making, an amount of factors have considerable impact on it. Most decisions taken in this way are only the result of limited choices, charismatic leaders, unproved propositions, fear of reprisal or other preconceptions and influence (Rowan 2003). Thus, ethics is not about choosing what is bad and what is wrong, but living in such a way that will not elicit disapproval or harm other human beings.
Counsellors on their thorny professional path can come across various complicated challenges. One of them is surely facing contradicting ethical obligations or deciding what side to choose in a situation when the law and ethics do not coincide at all. In order to find the most suitable and moral action the therapist has to make a conscious reflection, take into account all pros and cons and only after that come to fully informed and unbiased decision. It is the ethics that forces professionals to be courageous enough to investigate difficult questions, to be true to one’s words and answer for the consequences.
Every counsellor will sooner or later come across some ethical issue. No matter if it is the case of double relationships, accountability or privacy, such experience is surely an unavoidable one. Though these issues differ in the degree of earnestness, each of them is equally important in the decision making process. Bray (2015) asserts that ethical dilemmas will surely appear in situations where there can be found more than one ‘right’ or ‘good’ response to the existing problem and when solution of this issue has a significant effect on other people. Ethical dilemmas, however, also arise when it is impossible to discover ‘right’ or ‘good’ way out at all and the only feasible option will be to select the least harmful outcome.
The counsellor struggles between those two evident truths and has to make a profound reflexion taking into consideration all the values, beliefs and feelings before reaching any ethical decision and resolving ethical dilemma.
Another significant and quite interesting moral dilemma that should be mentioned here is called the doctrine of double effect. The focus in this doctrine is made on the purpose of the implicated sides and depends whether they admit acting wrong or not. Keown suggests that “this ethical dilemma could be easily explained on the example of two dentists Mr Fill and Mr Drill” (2002). They both are doing their habitual work of drilling a tooth. The first doctor drills the tooth in order to fill a cavity. He though is aware that the side effect of this procedure will entail the patient’s pain. Mr Drill optionally is drilling the tooth with the intention to cause his patient pain. At first sight the two dentists have obtained the same result. However, one can see that while Mr Frill’s action should not be considered morally wrong, Mr Drill’s should definitely be seen as ethically inappropriate.
The first step is realizing the ethical dilemma and making attempts to gather as many sound facts and relevant details as possible. The counsellor should judiciously appraise the situation and make an informative decision, taking into consideration the moral principles of humaneness, justice, trustworthiness and devotedness. When working with the client, the therapist should take an accepting or non-judgemental position.
Thanks to ethics, clients come to right conclusion themselves that’s why there is not any necessity to impose a solution from outside. Professionals should watch over their ethical and responsible behaviour towards clients, self, society and their organisation and do not allow individual feelings and thoughts interfere in the therapeutic and professional relationship. Every therapist has to be fully aware of his personal morals and values that are considerably different from those of their clients and realize how they might affect his work and relationship with clients.
Though values and morals may seem identical at first sight, they are actually based on different premises. The first are considered to be parts of life that everyone perceives as ‘valuable’ or ‘good’. They are often taken from outside world such as family, work, friends or traditions and always influence the way people live and the decisions they reach (Corey & Callanan 2011). Each counsellor is responsible for his own values and should conduct in the best interests of their clients or employees.
Morals, on the contrary, are similar to systems of rules that serve to show if the person acts in a right or wrong way and usually are used in particular contexts such as religion or culture. Social science professionals are required to comprehend how morals and values are socially built in order to be capable of sharing their clients’ emotional experiences that in fact can be really challenging.
The next concept that is very close to morals and values is that of ethical principles. According to Sperry, (2007) “ethical principles are rules people got used to committing because they are the embodiment of their values and justification of their moral judgements”. The last notion that should be mentioned here is surely the code of ethics. Corey (2011) describes them as “common rules and fundamental guidelines intended to deal with general practices”. These guidelines automatically become bound on their members from the very moment of adoption.
There exists a code of ethics that every counsellor should pay attention to in order to succeed in his profession. In spite of the good intentions of the counsellor, an inadequate personal awareness and the absence of practice in ethics could sometimes highly complicate the counselling process. According to Ivey and D’Andrea the principal moral responsibility of professionals working with clients is surely the line of conduct and such actions that will never harm the client or society (2011). Only on condition that the counsellor is conserving the well-being of clients and strives to provide the best service possible, will he be able to abide by the moral principles and a code of ethics.
Professional associations’ codes of ethics in any field of practice are based on three main principles (Herlihy and Corey 2015). First of all, they develop reasonable moral behaviour of their members’ and thus enhance their cognizance and awareness of ethical values in the process of interacting with different clients. Second principle lies in the professionals’ ability to control their own conduct as well as actions of their colleagues and never violate the keystones of the code. As a result these standards of behaviour ensure a mechanism of professional amenability. Finally, codes serve as a means of advancement of clinical practice. The members are obliged to utilize such codes in their works with clients and with the help of them clear up their positions on dilemmas that are not quite explicable.
The counselling field is founded on some widely known requirements that are the vital preconditions of the success in this occupation. The session should take place in friendly environment with the mutual understanding between the counsellor and his client and has to be some sort of cooperation of two parties. It is rather helpful an even requisite for a client to trust his therapist and do not be afraid of revealing any susceptible information about himself. The counsellor in his turn becomes responsible of his patient and has to help him to improve the individual’s quality of life. The professional first and foremost duty is to hold in respect the privacy of clients as well as personal information they are sharing. Such concept of confidentiality is generally stimulated in both professional code of ethics and legal standards (Sperry 2007).
Though the therapist is placed in an influential and powerful position, there are some professional boundaries he is forbidden to cross anyway. According to Gutheil and Brodsky (2008) the professional boundary for counsellors is “the modal of behaving at a special moment in the relationship between a therapist and his client that keeps within the therapeutic context and contract”. Thanks to such boundaries, one can clearly see limits within which counsellors work with their clients and be absolutely sure of safety and reliability of the professionals, patients are dealing with. In general, it can be extremely difficult to determine clearly appropriate boundaries. There will always exist that everlasting debate of what is inherent and what is not. That’s why, the task of most professionals nowadays is to be able to determine the framework of boundary lines and perfect ethical perspectives and levels of self-consciousness necessary for direction.
Unfortunately there do not exist prepared answers to every ethical dilemma that may arise in life. The ethical choices we all have to make in our work may sometimes be easily made but more often demand much thought and consideration. The profession of counsellor is in reality one of the most responsible in the world. The decisions each therapist makes every day can influence his patients’ lives as well as his own for years to come. No matter how hopeless the ethical dilemma can see, counsellors should always struggle to settle it and never even try to cross their professional boundaries.
So, though moral decision-making is a rather complicated process, the counsellor should be prepared to different life situations and attempt to settle any ethical dilemma. Professionals should not see each day as a new quandary but as a chance to builds their strength, hope and courage. Finally, it is important to strive to do the Next Right Thing and be able to learn from own mistakes.
Reference List
Bray, Bethany, 2015, The Counselor and the Law: A Guide to Legal and Ethical Practice, Amer Counseling Assn, pp. 315-319.
Corey & Callanan, 2011, Issues and ethics in the helping professions, Belmont, Calif. Brooks, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 91.
D'Andrea, Michael, 2011, Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Multicultural Perspective, SAGE Publications, Inc, pp. 680-682.
Gutheil, Thomas and Brodsky, Archie, 2008, Preventing Boundary Violations in Clinical Practice, New York, Guilford Press, pp. 211-218.
Herlihy, B. and Corey, G, 2015. ACA Ethical Standards Casebook, 5999 Stevenson Avenue, Alexandria, pp. 355-361.
Keown, John, 2002, Euthanasia, Ethics, and Public Policy: An Argument Against Legalisation, Cambridge University Press, pp. 20-22.
Kerridge and Stewart , 2009, Ethics and Law for the Health Professions, Federation Press, pp. 25.
Rowan, J., & Zinaich S, 2003, Ethics for the professions. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, pp. 309-311.
Scaturo, J, 2005, Clinical Dilemmas In Psychotherapy: A Transtheoretical Approach To Psychotherapy Integration, Amer Psychological Assn, pp. 123.
Sperry, L, 2007, The Ethical and Professional Practice of Counseling & Psychotherapy, USA: Pearson Education, pp. 108-111.
