As a Licensed Professional Counselor it is our job to withhold to an ethical standard. In some cases a counselor may fill restricted by the code of ethics, since it places boundaries on the counselor and client relationship. Despite all of the stimulations and the technicalities that are presented within the code of ethics, the ultimate goal is to advance the mental health of the client. According to Dictionary.com ethics is a system of moral principles. As Christians we are held to an ethical standard under Jesus Christ.
Prayer is one of the essential tools that we as believers use to communicate with Jesus. It is through prayer where questions are asked, and answers are given. Without the use of prayer, Christians and non- believers may find themselves in a distant relationship with God. Chet Weld and Karen Eriksen wrote an article about the ethics of prayer in counseling. “Spirituality has been increasingly recognized as important in counseling (Weld & Eriksen, 2007)”.
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Before reading this article, I had a personal belief that praying in a counseling session was inappropriate, especially when it was not in a Christian setting. This belief had nothing to do with my belief in Christ, but I assumed that it would be frown upon in a secular environment. As a counselor, we are held under an ethical standard that was put in place to protect the profession.
The new knowledge that I have gained from this article has given me hope in using prayer within a secular session. As a Christian we are called to lift others in prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing”. Going forward, I can see myself assessing my client’s spirituality, rather than avoiding the topic all together. It is important to keep my clients lifted up in prayer whether they believe in Jesus or
As a Christian counselor, we have the power of the Word on our sides, but so many of us do not understand how to properly apply scripture into the counseling relationship in an effective manner. In Interventions that Apply Scripture in Psychotherapy, Garzon (2005) attempts to accomplish the following; educate individuals on the various techniques one can use to apply scripture, and to encourage and stimulate God ordained creativity in the hopes to create new techniques and methods for applying God’s Word in the counseling relationship.
... By having them journal their prayers to God daily and encouraging them to read these entries frequently to refresh the memories of those prayers and seek for those that are answered allows for each client to find their way to a spiritual understanding that is not necessarily demonstrated by my impact, but that of God Himself. I am available to answer questions that pertain to the bible, but allow clients to interpret the teaching to their lives and recovery. These approaches allow clients to not rely on my experiences, but on their own encounters and knowledge. Gently guiding them to hear and see how God works in a client’s life is a rewarding and satisfying experience.
Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling written by Mark McMinn and published by Tyndale House in 2011 notions towards the idealization that Christian counselors need to be privy in the most recent psychological methods as well as theological theories. “This is a book about counseling processes techniques” (McMinn, 2011, p. 150). McMinn also alluded that Christian counselors benefit from having a spiritual maturity. With having these attributes counselors are better prepared to take note of prayer, Scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption. McMinn (2011) model flows in the direction of healing while equating to a more advantageous relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ as well as with other relationships (McMinn, 2011).
A major factor that every therapist must consider is his or her own relationship with religion. An example of practice what you preach, with a strong understanding of religion you can better assist clients with issues. One thing that must be cautiously approached is the therapist’s personal opinions on religion, to avoid any roadblocks in the future. Imposing religious values in therapy are prohibited. With that being said the therapist must be open and understanding of the clients views and beliefs. The therapist may not always share the same religious views as their client but that doesn’t mean that they cannot use religion in therapy. If a therapist is not capable of allowing a client to worship without imposing his or her own religious views then religion cannot be used in therapy. Limit and boundaries must be set to avoid causing more harm. Standard 1.08 Unfair Discrimination Against Complainants and Respondents (Fisher, 2013) is in places to ensure that clients aren’t going to be discriminated against, especially in any form of religious belief. Discrimination against religion may be one the most common discrimination with such a touchy subject Standards are in place to keep
In order for Biblical counseling to be effective, a counselor must be completely prepared to work in the ministry of helping others. Beyond the worldly challenges, a Christian counselor also faces humanistic therapeutic false views of secular therapy. Christian counselors maintain a focal point in guiding people to living a life that is full of spiritual richness and maturity. Yet, secular therapist focuses on self-gratification and self-actualization. As Christian ministry helpers, you must be living by the truth and exemplify a Christ-centered life. Crabb (1977) developed a counseling model that teaches us how to develop individualized life maps that will guide people to spiritual growth, maturity, and a long-lived Christ-centered life. It is essential as Christian counselor’s we are able to bring people to understand that the elucidation to their problems God has the answer prearranged scripturally. Furthermore, enlighten the client that their inclusive security is in Christ Jesus that our negative life events have no precedence, as HE will accept us no matter the circumstances. Scripture offer direction to lay helpers “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).
McMinn (2011) establishes the topical history of integrating psychology and theology, and promptly transitions to the necessity of inclusion for spirituality into counseling sessions; he cogitates three queries: Will this aid in establishing a healthy sense of self? Will this aid in establishing a healthy sense of need? Will this aid in establishing a healing relationship? (McMinn, 2011, pg. 32). These three components cater to psychological and spiritual health. Christian counseling helps the client move away from need, a faulty sense of self, and relationships to “an assured sense of self, a cognizance of human need and limits, and revealing interpersonal relationships with others and most importantly, God” (p. 59). McMinn (2011) provides intervention tools needed for effective therapy. However, amid the six challenges, counselors can see the risks in implementing the suggested tools with: defining relevant ethical standards, establishing a scientific base, confronting dominant views of health, expanded definitions of training, blurred pers...
Worthington, E. L. Jr., Hook, J. N., Davis, D. E., & McDaniel, M. A. (2011). Religion and spirituality. In J. C. Norcross (Ed.), Psychotherapy relationships that work (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press
Confidentiality. Confidentiality is just as important in Christian counseling as it is in secular counseling. According to the American Association of Christian Counselors (2014), “confidentiality recognizes that every client has a fundamental, moral and legal right to privacy and to have a wide range of personal thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and behaviors that are protected from public knowledge” (p. 22). It is crucial for counselors to maintain client confidentiality unless what a client discloses brings harm to themselves or other people. Confidentiality should be kept at all
In 2005, the American Counseling Association (ACA) published a document titled the ACA Code of Ethics which was designed to aid counselors in the ethical decision making process and, in response, “expand the capacity of people to grow and develop” (p. 3). The ACA Code of Ethics provides regulatory guidelines for all counselors to follow in ethical decision-making and practice. Of a more specific nature, the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) has also published a document stating the ethical practices and procedures for the Christian counseling field. The two documents contain many similarities, but, due to differing goals and principals, also containing may differences. This paper compares these two documents and more specifically focuses on the similarities and differences in the areas of confidentiality, fees, and records.
Ethics is the judgement and the moral actions used in interactions with cultures and society and its focus is on the client well-being. Ethics is defined by Remley and Herlihy (2010) in the counseling field as “professional behavioral and interactions” (p.4). Counselors do rely and are guide by Codes of Ethics. The role and relevance of the ethical principals, the ACA and AMHCA Code of Ethics are the base of the counseling profession. Without them this career would not have a guide on how the professionals should act and react professionally in all the different situations that are faced in this field.
As a result if these ethics codes are not followed, legal action can be brought up against this counselor. Committing to clients is the first code of ethics which includes: “Primary Responsibility, Confidentiality, Dual/multiple relationships, Exploitive relationships, and counseling environments. “ Mental health counselors value objectivity and integrity in their commitment to understanding human behavior and they maintain the highest standards in providing mental health counseling services” ( https://amhca.site-ym.com/page/codeofethics). Establishing a relationship with the client opens up the floor in which she or he will be honest. S/he will be comfortable with speaking about the problem. The honesty of the client gives the counselor an ideal start of how the problem began. Under Ethic code C Assessment and diagnosis: Competent “Mental health counselors employ only
On the down side there are a limited number of educational programs that adequately deal with the issue of incorporating religion and spirituality in therapeutic/counseling settings. This can be attributed to the fact that counseling is based in psychology, a scientific field, which has traditionally neglected issues of a spiritual nature (Nelson, Kirk, Ane, & Serres, 2011) as well as the practice used within the United States to separate education and religion (Cashwell and Young, 2011). This then results in a significant portion of therapist and counselors who are not prepared to address the issue of spirituality and religion with their clients. One would think that with the value many Americans place on the topic of religion and spirituality that there would come a time when a client would want to address this topic during his or her session.
the theories, and the techniques dealing with Christian and secular counseling will require different tactics and approaches for it to be effective
The need to have such rules protects the client as it protects the counselor and the association he or she is representing. In both individual and group counseling there are unique ethical attributions that counselors must stay focused on. One is what type of leader is he/she within the group. What preparations and qualifications they have earned, and how much experience they have with in the subjects that they are discussing. Jacobs et al., advises that “More and more clients are becoming aware that therapists have ethical standards by which they should abide; thus, an increasing number of clients are challenging the ethical behavior of professional helpers” (Jacobs p. 28). Many clients are well educated on the process, or have sufficient experience in group therapy that a helper with no or little experience can be seen with very little effort. The America Counseling Association (2004) have their members bind on codes of ethics that can help their success if followed, “Counselors practice in specialty areas new to them only after appropriate education, training, and supervised experience” (c.2.b.). Also seen in the ASGW’s Best Practice Guide (2008)
In order to be an effective counselor, one must remember to keep the client(s) in mind. The goal is to assist the client(s) in living the best life possible for that particular person or persons. With that being said, one cannot forget that they have their own set of morals, values, ideas, and the like. Social workers have to keep in mind that there will be cases that are complex and a favorable outcome may not be possible. In the instance that I am confronted with an issue that conflicts with my religious beliefs, I plan on assisting the client as much as possible by adhering the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics, NASW standards for the Practice of Clinical Social Work, and discussing my concerns with my supervisor while