Ethical Framework
"Our ethics do not govern our counselling work: they allow it!"
"We talk about the Ethical Framework as the BACP equivalent of the ten commandments: a set of rules distributed from on high, whose only shortcoming is that a burning bush does not appear at their very mention.
BACP Ethical Framework Link
An ethical code has to be more than a doctrine, it has to be a belief: our fundamental core values, where integrity and honour should be clearly imprinted in us, like the seaside name in a stick of rock.
We can’t refer to a list, drawn from our back pocket in times of doubt: we have to walk the walk and talk the talk, minute by minute and day by day.
Our ethical values are not lip service, they are a proud part of us and one we are prepared to aggressively exhibit.
How would it be possible for a client to reveal their issues if they felt that their personal information was not going to be handled in a confidential manner? How could they trust another person who did not project the ethics they expected, which enables that trust to be built? How could a professional person accept that information without an ethical framework to stand upon?
Regulations can control the straightness of bananas, they can ensure the delivery of a standardised product but they cannot provide a banana with ethics. Humans have ethics, moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour, and the ability to freely act to adhere to them. The ethical code adopted for counselling, although committed to paper and set in stone, should be part of a counsellor’s DNA.
Reading our ethical standards is not a revelation; it is an affirmation."
Extract from 'The Only way is Ethics' By Amanda Walton 2018
We adhere to the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) Ethical Framework which can be viewed in full through the link below.