3.4. Rights, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities of Counselors

3.4.
Rights, Responsibilities, and

Accountabilities of Counselors
Peterson & Nisenholz 1987
As state registered and licensed professionals,
counselors are protected. They are governed by
scientific theories, practices and processes as
well as professional standards and ethics.
They are responsible for the practice of their

profession in accordance with their mandates
and professional guidelines and ethics.
They are accountable to their clients, the
professional body, and the government.
It is critical that the counselor and the client

fully understand the nature of the concerns,
which leads to a contract to take action on a
mutually agreed upon problem.
3.5. Code of Ethics of
Counselors
Counselors must observe
confidentiality at all times.
They should not do harm to their

clients.
They should be people of high

moral standing.
One of the oldest professional organizations in
guidance and counseling is the Institute of Guidance
Counselors, established in 1968.
Now the Institute of Guidance Counselors has a

professional body representing over 1,200 practitioners
in secondary schools, colleges, adult guidance services,
and private practice in other settings (
http://www.igc.ie/about-us/code-of-ethics).
Its preamble provides that guidance counselors work

with clients.
They come as individuals and in groups.

They supply professional services concerning
educational, vocational, and personal/social
development.
Guidance counselors must respect the dignity, integrity,

and welfare of these clients.
They must work in ways that promote clients’ control

over their own lives.
They must respect clients’ ability to make decisions and

engage in personal change in the light of clients’ own
beliefs and values.
To protect clients' interests, the body produced a Code of
Ethics for its members' compliance. The Code makes
explicit the values underlying their practice.
The values include an assertion that the work of the
guidance counselor involves a special relationship of
trust. That trust is safeguard and promoted by setting
and monitoring appropriate boundaries in the
relationship, and making this action explicit to the
client and relevant others.
While the client is the primary concern, it does not exist

in social vacuum. For this reason guidance counselor
have a sensible regard for the social context of their
work, which includes the wider community, the law, and
the professional colleagues.
The Institute of Guidance Counselors' Code
consists of four overall ethical principles:
Principle 1: Principle 2:
Respect for the rights and Competence
dignity of the client.
 Guidance counselors honor and Guidance counselors maintain
promote the fundamental and update their professional
rights, moral and cultural skills, they recognize the
values, dignity & worth of limits of their expertise,
clients. They respect clients’ engage in self-care, and seek
rights to privacy, confidentiality, support and supervision to
self-determination & autonomy, maintain the standard of their
consistent with the law. As far as work. They offer only those
possible, they ensure that the services for which they are
client understands & consents qualified by education,
to whatever professional action
training and experience.
they propose.
Principle 3: Principle 4:
Responsibility Integrity
Guidance counselors are Guidance counselors seek
aware of their professional to promote integrity in
responsibility to act in a their practice. They
trustworthy, reputable, and represent themselves
accountable manner toward accurately and treat others
clients, colleagues, and the
with honesty,
community in which they
straightforwardness, and
work and live. They avoid
fairness. They deal actively
doing harm, take
responsibility for their with conflicts of interest,
professional actions, and avoid exploiting others,
adopt a systematic approach and are alert to
to resolving ethical inappropriate behavior on
dilemmas. the part of colleagues.
Many other similar codes exist with the same
expectations for ethical conduct. The
fundamental principles include the following:
Respecting human rights Equal opportunity to clients
for dignity. availing counseling services
Respect for the client’s right Ensuring integrity of
to be self-governing practitioner-client
A commitment to relationship
Fostering the practitioner’s
promoting the client’s well
being self knowledge and care for
Fostering responsible caring
self
Enhancing the quality of
Fair treatment of all clients
professional knowledge and
and the provision of its application
adequate services Responsibility for society
Summarization
The CODE OF ETHICS goes into specifics to detail
professional behavior from respect to fundamental
rights, moral and cultural values, dignity and worth of
clients to respect for rights to privacy, confidentiality,
self-determination and autonomy, consistent with the
law, and ensuring that the client understands and
consents to whatever professional action they propose.
Hence, Codes define parameters for general respect,
privacy and confidentiality, informed consent and
freedom of consent, and recognition of limits of
competence.

3.4. Rights, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities of Counselors

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3.4. Rights, Responsibilities, and Accountabilities of Counselors

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3.4.

Rights, Responsibilities, and

They are responsible for the practice of their

It is critical that the counselor and the client

They should not do harm to their

They should be people of high

Now the Institute of Guidance Counselors has a

Its preamble provides that guidance counselors work

They come as individuals and in groups.

Guidance counselors must respect the dignity, integrity,

They must work in ways that promote clients’ control

They must respect clients’ ability to make decisions and

While the client is the primary concern, it does not exist

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