CODE OF ETHICS
OF
THE INSTITUTE OF GUIDANCE COUNSELLORS
PREAMBLE
Guidance counsellors work with clients, as individuals and in groups, to whom they supply professional services concerning educational, vocational and personal/social development. Guidance counsellors respect the dignity, integrity and welfare of their clients, work in ways which promote clients’ control over their own lives, and respect clients’ ability to make decisions and engage in personal change in the light of clients’ own beliefs and values. To protect clients’ interests, members of the Institute are required to comply with this Code of Ethics, which makes explicit the values underlying their practice.
The work of the guidance counsellor involves a special relationship of trust. That trust is promoted by setting and monitoring appropriate boundaries in the relationship, and making this action explicit to the client and relevant others. While the relationship with the client is the primary concern, it does not exist in a social vacuum. For this reason, guidance counsellors have sensible regard for the social context of their work, which includes the wider community, the law and professional colleagues.
Alleged breaches of the Code are referred to the Institute’s Professional Conduct Committee, which will investigate, and if appropriate recommend sanctions. While the Code is designed to regulate the professional activities of guidance counsellors, it is not intended to monitor their activity in other contexts, or embrace wider social concerns. Personal behaviour becomes a concern of the Institute only if it casts doubt on practitioners' ability to conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner, or if it undermines public trust in the profession. Similarly, non-members of the Institute are not bound by the Code or the Institute’s disciplinary procedures; however, like all other citizens, members and non-members alike must take account of the law, and their conduct is ultimately subject to legal sanction.
The Code consists of four overall ethical principles which subsume a number of specific ethical standards:
Principle 1: Respect for the rights and dignity of the client: Guidance counsellors honour and promote the fundamental rights, moral and cultural values, dignity and worth of clients. They respect clients’ rights to privacy, confidentiality, self-determination and autonomy, consistent with the law. As far as possible, they ensure that the client understands and consents to whatever professional action they propose.
Principle 2: Competence: Guidance counsellors maintain and update their professional skills. They recognise the limits of their expertise, engage in self-care, and seek support and supervision to maintain the standard of their work. They offer only those services for which they are qualified by education, training and experience.
Principle 3: Responsibility: Guidance counsellors are aware of their professional responsibility to act in a trustworthy, reputable and accountable manner towards clients, colleagues and the community in which they work and live. They avoid doing harm, take responsibility for their professional actions, and adopt a systematic approach to resolving ethical dilemmas.
Principle 4: Integrity: Guidance counsellors seek to promote integrity in their practice. They represent themselves accurately and treat others with honesty, straightforwardness and fairness. They deal actively with conflicts of interest, avoid exploiting others, and are alert to inappropriate behaviour on the part of colleagues.
THE CODE
1.0RESPECT FOR THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF THE CLIENT
Guidance counsellors honour and promote the fundamental rights, moral and cultural values, dignity and worth of clients. They respect clients’ rights to privacy, confidentiality, self-determination and autonomy, consistent with the law. As far as possible, they ensure that the client understands and consents to whatever professional action they propose.
More specifically, guidance counsellors:
1.1General Respect
1.1.1Have sensible regard for clients' moral and cultural values, and do not allow their service to be diminished because of factors such as gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, party politics, social standing or class.
1.1.2Seek as full and active participation as possible from others in decisions which affect them.
1.1.3Respect the rights of clients to receive a full explanation of the nature, purpose and result of tests and assessments in language that they can understand.
1.1.4When engaging in research, protect the dignity and wellbeing of research participants.
1.2Privacy and Confidentiality
1.2.1Take all reasonable steps to ensure that consultation with clients takes place in conditions of appropriate privacy.
1.2.2Avoid undue invasion of clients’ psychological boundaries.
1.2.3Take all reasonable steps to preserve the confidentiality of information about clients obtained in the course of their professional work. They discuss information about clients only for professional purposes, and only with those who are clearly entitled to be consulted.
1.2.4Clarify to clients any limits on confidentiality which apply.
1.2.5Take all reasonable steps to ensure that colleagues, line managers, and others with whom they work understand and respect the need for confidentiality.
1.2.6Exercise discretion in the communication of information, including psychometric test results, so as to prevent it from being used inappropriately. Appropriate action includes, but is not limited to: refraining from recording information which could lead to misinterpretation/misuse, avoiding conjecture, and using language that can be clearly understood by the recipient (see also Clause 4.1.3).
1.2.7Recognise the importance of keeping adequate records, and mindful of relevant legislation (e.g. Data Protection, Freedom of Information) take all reasonable steps to safeguard the storage, retrieval and disposal of clients’ records, both written and electronic. Where the guidance counsellor‘s control of such records is limited, they exercise discretion over the information recorded.
1.2.8Keep adequate records of client work and maintain them for an appropriate period of time.
1.3Informed Consent and Freedom of Consent
1.3.1Take all reasonable steps to ensure that clients give valid consent to proposed interventions (consent of parents/guardians may also be required if the client is a minor; established policy of the school/workplace may also be relevant).
1.3.2Safeguard the right of clients to withdraw consent after an intervention has begun.
1.3.3Reveal information about clients only with their consent, but with certain exceptions, which include: where concealment would result in danger to the client or others; when required by law or designated guidelines; or for purposes of professional consultation or supervision.
1.3.4In obtaining informed consent, provide as much information as a reasonable person would want to know before consenting, and ensure that the information is conveyed in language which the client understands (see also Clause 4.3.1).
1.3.5With the exception of recording of public behaviour, make audio, video or photographic records of clients only where these persons have given prior written agreement to the making of the record and the conditions of subsequent access.
1.3.6Publish oral and written information about clients only with their written consent, or where the identity of individuals or groups is adequately disguised.
1.3.7Obtain clients’ agreement to the attendance of trainees and other third parties not directly involved in the provision of professional services.
2.0COMPETENCE
Guidance counsellors maintain and update their professional skills. They recognise the limits of their expertise, engage in self-care, and seek support and supervision to maintain the standard of their work. They offer only those services for which they are qualified by education, training and experience.
More specifically, guidance counsellors:
2.1Limits of Competence
2.1.1Recognise the limits of, and take care not to exceed, their education/training and experience. Where they do not feel competent, they make appropriate referral to others within or outside the profession.
2.1.2Seek and follow competent professional advice on whether to limit, suspend or terminate practice whenever their professional judgment is seriously impaired by a physical or psychological condition.
2.1.3Use only psychometric tests for which they have received appropriate training.
2.2Limits of Procedures
2.2.1Do not persist with interventions after the aims have been met or if it has become apparent that the aims cannot be met (see also Clause B 1 of the Institute’s Guidelines for good practice in counselling supervision).
2.2.2Are mindful, when they make decisions/recommendations based on psychometric tests, of the limitations of such tests.
2.3Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
2.3.1Maintain and develop their professional competence by undertaking appropriate CPD on an ongoing basis (see also Clauses 3(1) and 4(1) of Appendix 1 to the IGC Constitution, and Clause B 3.3.4 of the Institute’s Guidelines for good practice in counselling supervision).
2.3.2Engage in self-care to avoid conditions (e.g. burnout, addictions) which may impair their judgement and interfere with their ability to act in a professional manner.
2.3.3Seek support and/or supervision from colleagues when feeling stressed or vulnerable due to professional duties.
2.3.4Seek supervision for both counselling work and work as counselling supervisors. They ensure that the frequency of supervision is proportionate to their case-load (see also Clauses B 2.2 and B 2.3 of the Institute’s Guidelines for good practice in counselling supervision)
3.0RESPONSIBILITY
Guidance counsellors are aware of their professional responsibility to act in a trustworthy, reputable and accountable manner towards clients, colleagues and the community in which they work and live. They avoid doing harm, take responsibility for their professional actions, and adopt a systematic approach to resolving ethical dilemmas.
More specifically, guidance counsellors:
3.1General Responsibility
3.1.1Behave in professional activities in such a way as not to damage clients’ interests or undermine public confidence in the profession.
3.1.2Speak out if the policies, practices or regulations of the organisation within which they work are seriously at odds with any of the principles of this Code of Ethics.
3.1.3Support colleagues. In particular, they offer, as appropriate, emotional support and/or supervision to colleagues who request it.
3.2Avoidance of Harm
3.2.1Terminate an activity when it is clear that the activity is more harmful than beneficial.
3.2.2Take all reasonable steps to ensure that psychometric tests are used only by those appropriately qualified, and to protect the integrity of test materials which depend for their validity on being kept out of the public domain.
3.3Continuity of Care
3.3.1When referring a client, maintain support and responsibility for caring until contact has commenced with the agent to whom referral was made.
3.3.2Communicate with other service providers and contribute where appropriate to the co-ordination of client services in order to avoid duplication or working at cross purposes.
3.4Extended Responsibility
3.4.1Assume overall ethical responsibility for the professional activity of those (e.g. students, trainees, supervisees, co-workers, employees) whose work they supervise. The responsibility includes monitoring of subordinates' activity, and making them aware of their ethical responsibility.
3.4.2Facilitate the professional development of guidance trainees whose work they are mentoring, and are constructive in their feedback.
3.4.3When acting as counselling supervisors, ensure that supervisees maintain high standards of practice.
3.4.4When acting as counselling supervisors, take all reasonable steps to ensure that supervisees and clients are safe in their work together.
3.4.5When engaging in research, take all reasonable steps to ensure that any collaborators treat participants in an ethical manner.
3.5Resolving Dilemmas
3.5.1Use a systematic procedure for investigating ethical issues and resolving ethical dilemmas (see Appendix A for a recommended procedure).
3.5.2Inform all parties, if a real or potential conflict of interest arises, of the need to resolve it in a manner consistent with this Code, and take all reasonable steps to achieve resolution.
3.5.3Consult with colleagues if faced with a difficult situation or conflict between the law and an ethical principle. In an emergency, where there is no time to consult, they make their own best professional judgment.
4.0INTEGRITY
Guidance counsellors seek to promote integrity in their practice. They represent themselves accurately and treat others with honesty, straightforwardness and fairness. They deal actively with conflicts of interest, avoid exploiting others, and are alert to inappropriate behaviour on the part of colleagues.
More specifically, guidance counsellors:
4.1Honesty and Accuracy
4.1.1Ensure that they accurately represent their education, training, experience and affiliation with the Institute.
4.1.2Do not seek or accept fees or benefits beyond those agreed contractually in advance, or significant gifts where such acceptance would undermine impartiality (see also Clause 4.3.2).
4.1.3Take care in oral and written reports to clearly differentiate facts from opinions (see also Clause 1.2.6).
4.1.4Conduct research in a way that is consistent with a commitment to honest, open inquiry, and communicate clearly any personal values or financial interests that may affect the research.
4.1.5In written work, give publication credit to others in proportion to the professional contribution they have made.
4.2Straightforwardness and Openness
4.2.1Respect the right of clients to receive an appropriate explanation of the results of assessments, and the nature of interventions, in language that they can understand (see also Clause 1.3.4).
4.2.2Are clear and straightforward in contracting with clients and supervisees about issues such as fees, purpose and nature of the relationship, confidentiality, consent, likely experiences, and possible outcomes. They seek the client’s/supervisee’s agreement to any subsequent revision of the terms of a contract before putting it into effect (see also Clauses 4.1.2 and 4.3.2).
4.3Conflict of Interest and Exploitation
4.3.1Are acutely aware of the problematic nature of dual relationships (e.g. responsibility to client vs. responsibility to employing institution), and recognise that it is not always possible to avoid them. Where they become aware of such conflicts, they clarify to all concerned the nature of their loyalties and take appropriate steps to safeguard clients' interests.
4.3.2Do not exploit any professional relationship to further their own personal, political or business interests. In particular, they do not exploit clients emotionally, sexually, financially or in any other way (see also Clauses 4.1.2, 4.2.2).
4.3.3When acting as counselling supervisors, offer the same service irrespective of supervision mode, or whether the supervision is paid or voluntary.
4.4Actions of Colleagues
4.4.1Take action whenever a colleague appears to be acting unethically. Actions may include informally raising the issue with the colleague and obtaining an assurance that the behaviour will cease. However, if the activity persists, the guidance counsellor reports the situation to the Institute’s Professional Conduct Committee.
APPENDIX A
RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
Section 3.5 of the Code of Professional Ethics deals with the resolution of ethical dilemmas, and all the clauses in that section are relevant to the making of ethical decisions. Clause 3.5.1 states that members shall adopt a systematic approach to both the investigation of ethical issues and the resolution of dilemmas, and recommends use of a formal decision-making procedure such as the one presented here.
The procedure is designed for both routine issues and immediate problems. In particular, it is intended to reduce the incidence of decisions which are errors of judgment because they are taken in the heat of the moment, without consideration of all the relevant factors. A considered professional judgment made in a systematic way is likely to be sounder and more defensible.
1.Define the issues and parties involved (parties may include clients, clients’ parents, employers, clinical supervisors, the wider profession and the general public).
2.Consult relevant guidelines, including this Code. Scan the Code and identify all relevant clauses. Also check other applicable professional guidelines (for example, those of government departments or HSE) and any pertinent legislation (for example, relating to child protection or equality). Consulting with colleagues is also often appropriate.
3.Evaluate the rights, responsibilities and welfare of all affected parties.
4.Separate the creation of possible solutions (decisions) from a critical analysis of them. First, in creative mode, generate uncritically as many alternative decisions as possible.
5.Then and only then, in critical mode, carefully evaluate the likely outcome of each decision.
6.Choose what, in your professional judgment, is the best decision, implement it, and inform relevant parties.
7.Finally, take responsibility for the consequences of the decision.
It is recommended that notes be kept of deliberations at each stage of the process.
History
The Code was amended at the AGM on March 5th 1994.
A revised Code was adopted at the AGM on 2nd March, 1996.
This second revision of the Code, incorporating clauses borrowed with permission from the Psychological Society of Ireland’s Code of Professional Ethics, was approved by the members of the Institute at the AGM of the Institute on Saturday 3rd March 2012.
The first edition of this Code was adopted at the AGM in March 1993.