PC8B9 Psychotherapy and Counselling

3.1 It is critical to have a decent ethical framework to work within since it provides guidelines to therapists as well as security for both the therapist and the client. The ethical principles of counseling and psychotherapy, which focus attention to essential ethical obligations of the counselor, are one of the fundamental characteristics of one recognized ethical framework for appropriate practice in counselling (Wright and Schultz, 2018). The following ethical standards make up this framework:

• Being dependable
• This is also referred as sincerity, and it means respecting the confidence established in the therapist. Ascertaining that the client's desires have a realistic chance of being fulfilled.
• Self-determination
• The client's right to self-governance is respected. Ensure that the practitioner's expertise, agreement, and confidentiality are all accurate (Davys and Beddoe, 2020)

3.2 The moral and ethical decision-making job  as counselors is informed by a number of scenarios, including their own personal values, deeper understanding, organizational norms and regulations, an ethical framework for counseling, and, of course, the law. The connection between counseling and the legislation is complex, and in order to understand how the two systems of ethics and law interact, it may be helpful to look at some of the areas where law and counseling ethics cross. The Equality Act (2010) prohibits discrimination on the basis of the age, impairment, sex changes, marital or relationship status, ethnicity, religious belief, gender or sexuality of the client. The ethical value of respect, as defined in the BACP ethical framework, is strongly connected with the legislative ideal of equality. Although the therapist's ethical responsibility of privacy is well established, there are certain ethical as well as legal boundaries to confidentiality that the client must be aware about in needed to make an accurate decision about what they wish to share (Jenkins, 2017). The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is crucial to how the counselors handle the data of the client, is included in the Data Protection Act of 2018. It is critical for counselors to become aware with this legislation, which is intended to protect data of the client and ensure that it is only retained when necessary and justified. According to the Drugs trafficking act 1996 and Money Laundering regulations 2007when a customer divulges knowledge regarding drug trafficking or financial fraud, it must be reported immediately to the respective authorities. When a client provides details about a terrorist act, the counsellor is required to submit the information to law enforcement without informing the client (Mitchels and Bond, 2021). 

3.3 The counsellors should provide customers with both physical and psychological  security and protection so that they may get the most out of the service, but in order to do so, they need to feel safe themselves. Anything that jeopardises their clients' safety and stability has the potential to jeopardise their own safety. To ensure the safety of both parties, they should undertake to work "to ethical standards" and "within their capacity" while "maintaining their skills and knowledge." They must ensure that their "well-being is adequate to sustain the integrity of their profession" and that their "fortitude" (the able to function with a client's worries without becoming personally harmed) is maintained.  The first step in creating a positive counselling environment is to welcome and meet people. However, in order to develop trust, part of providing a safe and welcome therapy setting includes a need for both audio (hearing) and optical (seeing) secrecy. A loss of trust might reduce a person's willingness to participate in counselling or perhaps make them feel threatened or scared (Betters-Bubon, Brunner and Kansteiner, 2016).

3.4 Equal Opportunity is a descriptive phrase for a sociological perspective aimed at ensuring that individuals are not barred from society's functions, such as schooling, job, or medical services, based on immutable characteristics. Measures made by organisations to promote fairness in the hiring process are referred to as equal opportunity procedures. In support of willingness and ability, the Equal Opportunity programme develops, manages, and implements a holistic effort to maximise human potential and assure fair treatment for all individuals based on qualifications, fitness, and competence. The ideology of Equal Opportunity is focused on justice, equity, and harmony. The ethical foundation of care giving and the preservation of people's integrity both require anti-discriminatory practises. The Equality Act safeguards persons who receive care and those who deliver it from being unfairly treated because of some kind of prohibited grounds under the law (Thompson, 2016). 

References:

Betters-Bubon, J., Brunner, T. and Kansteiner, A., 2016. Success for all? The role of the school counselor in creating and sustaining culturally responsive positive behavior interventions and supports programs. Professional Counselor, 6(3), pp.263-277.

Davys, A. and Beddoe, L., 2020. Best practice in professional supervision: A guide for the helping professions. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Jenkins, P., 2017. Professional Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy: Ethics and the Law. SAGE.

Mitchels, B. and Bond, T., 2021. Confidentiality & Record Keeping in Counselling & Psychotherapy. Sage.

Thompson, N., 2016. Anti-discriminatory practice: Equality, diversity and social justice. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Wright, S.A. and Schultz, A.E., 2018. The rising tide of artificial intelligence and business automation: Developing an ethical framework. Business Horizons, 61(6), pp.823-832.

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