Christian Counseling Ethics

The American Counseling Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association Codes of Ethics both provide guidance and direction in making ethical decisions for their members (ACA, 2005) (AMHCA, 2010). Both the ACA and the AMHCA Codes of Ethics cover a wide range of moral and ethical situations that could present themselves to mental health professionals. Both of these codes of ethics have significant impacts on the counseling profession. The tools provided by these codes of ethics ensure that mental health professionals are able to conform to the regulations set forth. They address common concerns from varying points of view. Understanding these codes of ethics is essential to all mental

Hull, Suarez, and Hartman (2016) reports, the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Issues in Counseling (ASERVIC, 2009) are moral standards that aid the counselor in developing ethical awareness when discussing spirituality in a creative context. The study also brought to light spiritual/religious rooted in academic learning and how the competencies are “taught, used, and evaluated” (as cited in Hull et al., 2016, p. 112). In the inquiry as written in the American Counseling Association [ACA, 2014] Code of Ethics “counselor respect the diversity of clients and not isolate the client’s belief system on spirituality/religion” (Hull et al., 2016, p.). Further summarizes the 14 competencies created by ASERVIC across six subject areas to balance the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) in guiding counselors to better talk about religious/spiritual issues in counseling (Hull et al., 2016, p111). Such as “Cultural and Worldview, Counselor Self-Awareness, Human and Spiritual Evolution, Communication, Assessment, and Diagnosis and Treatment” (as cited in Hull et al., 2016,

Religion plays an important role in the lives of many people, and in such cases, religious principles and beliefs influence all aspects of their lives. With the increasing interest in spirituality in the community, the intersection of psychological services, religion and spirituality is likely to be a growth area in psychology (Plante, 2007). However, working with clients around religion and spirituality issues does present potential ethical challenges.

Highlighting some theological assumptions that are critical for Christian counseling will be done in this section. The term counseling should be considered in the broadest of definitions such as counselor, helper, advocate, giving advice, teacher, and one who is called

1. Describe and discuss ethical frameworks within which counselling and therapeutic practitioners work. Include justification for observing codes of conduct and how professionalism is maintained.

This paper will provide the reader with a reflection of my professional identity. This will focus on the role of a professional counselor and the differences between a professional counselor and other related professionals. It will also integrate how religious and spiritual beliefs can impact professional counseling. It will summarize my beliefs and values and what I plan to do so that I will not impose my beliefs on clients. Also, I will reflect on what I have learned during this course and how it will impact my future as a counselor.

Professional counseling focuses on relationship that empowers different individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, and wellness. However, the part that professional counselors don’t focus on is the spiritual stability in an individual so they could properly serve God and be impactful in the church. There are many approaches that professional counselor used that could also aid a Christian counselor. Some of the approaches are as follows: Client-centered therapy, Active Listening Approaches, Cognitive & Solution-Focused Approaches, Inner Healing Approaches, and Mixed Approaches. Furthermore, theses above approaches could be even more effect when Christian counselors used the Bible too. It must be known, that secular approaches are not inherently wrong; however, if a Christian counselor rely on these approaches it is. Subsequently, when secular approaches are use independently it falls short of the goal of a Christian

Counselors need to be guided by the ethical standards set forth by the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics. These standards define ethical conduct in the counseling profession, and provide guidance for maintaining professionalism in any situation. I have become familiar with many of the sections included in the ACA Code of Ethics from the research and assignments completed in this class. Garnering an awareness of the ACA Code of Ethics as it pertains to informed consent, confidentiality, professional responsibility, and resolving ethical issues, has given me confidence to discuss and evaluate the legal issues and ethical obligations associated with this profession. The section regarding professional responsibility of this document resonated with me the most, and elicited a feeling of confidence about counseling ethics and law, that was not present before this class. Professional responsibility sets the tone for everything else we do. As counselors, we must be guided by professionalism and high standards. Standard C.1 of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) states that counselors have a responsibility to read, understand, and follow the ACA Code of Ethics, and abide by all applicable laws and regulations. While there are a plethora of legal and ethical issues that may arise for professional counselors throughout their careers, I feel that this class has given me a broad overview of how to be proactive and use appropriate decision-making tools to work

As a counselor, being aware of the theoretical approaches and which ones best suit your perspective on human nature, complications, and change for an individual is vital. Not only is understanding the approaches important, but the counselor’s own values and personal philosophy are equally fundamental for the counselor to do their job efficiently.

McMinn tells how psychology, theology, and spirituality are used and how they should be used in Christian counseling. A Christian counselor has to look at not necessarily psychology and theology in a counseling session but how religion and spiritually is brought into the session. McMinn (2011) states, “Religious interventions require us to understand spiritual formation, place priority on personal spiritual training as well as professional development, challenge prevailing models of mental health, work toward a stronger scientific base, and sensitively recognize ethical issues” (p. 26). Counselors need to work on their own spiritual foundation so they can are able to help clients. This consists of prayer, scripture, redemption, sin, forgiveness, and confession (McMinn, 2011).

This paper is a comparison between the codes of ethics of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC). This paper aims to present the similarities and differences between the two codes of ethics. There are two main sections on this paper. The first section presents the general similarities and differences of the two codes of ethics. The second section presents the similarities and differences of the two codes of ethics on three specific areas: Confidentiality, Sexual Intimacies and Informed Consent. The author used the codes of ethics of both organizations in the process of comparing and contrasting. The general comparison reveals that the

Hello, Robin! According to Corey et al. (2015), the counselor as a person and as a professions should promote healthy relationships and boundaries to prevent the impairment of making ethical decisions. The NASW Code of Ethics provide ethical standards, ethical principles, and ethical values that guide professional behavior, but they have limitations. Counselors should discourage themselves from using their own values, qualities, and experiences in a therapeutic session, however, implementing these characteristics should only be considered when there isn’t a code to address an issue and when it is in the best interest of the client. It is the social workers' responsibility to allow clients to make decisions for their own lives, but when the

Christian counselor can approach working with clients differently than professional counselors. One main difference is that Christian counselors “share their own faith orientation only as a function of legitimate self-disclosure and when appropriate to client need, always maintaining a posture of humility”,(Clinton et al., 2014, page 26). This self-disclosure can lead to the client evaluating their own spiritual values as well as a discussion of their spiritual outlook. In the counseling arena emphasis of many theories are to encompass the whole person which includes spiritual. However, many counselors struggle with asking clients about their spiritual beliefs either their not comfortable in this area or lack of knowledge on the subject

Christian counseling is based on faith, in God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; with the belief that mankind is created in the image of God. According to, Genesis 1:27 (NIV) “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” With this being said, the worldview of the counselor will determine and lead them in all of the decision making process with the client. “Human beings are created in the image of God and thus possesses personality, self-transcendence, intelligence, morality, gregariousness, and creativity” (Alban Jr., 2012, p. 55). The counselor will function in these qualities as God has designed within the counseling sessions.

It is evident in the world today that there is a need for guidance and counseling. There are many statistics of issues the world faces that prove the need treatment. For example, 35% of persons who marry end up divorced. 40% of children live in a home where a father is not present. By age 18, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by someone they love and/or trust. Approximately every 20 minutes a person commits suicide within the United States (Clinton, 2005). This list goes on and is even found within the church. Professional counseling and lay Christian counseling have found a way to help individuals overcome these issues though certain techniques and methods. These techniques and methods are often adopted from secular psychologists such as Carl Rogers who founded Client-Centered Therapy. While both counseling groups have a goal to help individuals overcome their issues, should Christian counselors, specifically, accept secular professional counseling techniques?