The counselling profession has been in existence for hundreds of years in society. This profession seeks to help clients that are suffering from distress, problematic behaviours and any issues that may be having a negative impact on a client’s general well-being (O’Farrell, 2006). As with any profession, counsellors are expected to act in a manner that is of a highly ethical standard towards their client. Counsellors will adapt their relevant therapeutic skills along with adhering to ethical standards, to ensure that they are offering the client the best possible counselling experience (Bond, 2000).
Counsellors bring their own morals and values into their practise, which they have learned throughout their lifetime from peers, family and the society that they live in. Thus, ethical guidelines come more from within the person than from the outside. However through education, training and guidance, counsellors can adapt and change their own personal morals and values (Nelson-Jones, 2002).
There are five major ethical principles that underpin the practice of counselling and psychotherapy that
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These ethical frameworks create a transparency that helps create equality between the counsellor and the client, where there is no hierarchy of the counsellor being the expert. Equilibrium between the counsellor and the client is essential in forming a trusting, therapeutic environment (Jones, 2000). It would be detrimental to the therapeutic relationship if the client felt that the counsellor was superior or the expert. As stated by Rodgers “it is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried’ (Rodgers, 1961, page 11). In personal centred counselling the clients leads the therapy sessions and the therapist is the