ETHICAL FRAMEWORK

Vanessa subscribes and strictly abides by the Ethical Codes of Good Practice of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and the Association of Neuro-Linguistic Programming International (ANLP) guidelines as a professional practising member of both organisations.

www.bacp.co.uk/ethical_framework

The BACP Ethical Framework: (Extracted from the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Please note, this may change from date of print).

Fidelity: honouring the trust placed in the practitioner
Being trustworthy is regarded as fundamental to understanding and resolving ethical issues. Practitioners who adopt this principle: act in accordance with the trust placed in them; regard confidentiality as an obligation arising from the client's trust; restrict any disclosure of confidential information about clients to furthering the purposes for which it was originally disclosed.

Autonomy: respect for the client's right to be self-governing
This principle emphasises the importance of the client's commitment to participating in counselling or psychotherapy, usually on a voluntary basis. Practitioners who respect their clients' autonomy: ensure accuracy in any advertising or information given in advance of services offered; seek freely given and adequately informed consent; engage in explicit contracting in advance of any commitment by the client; protect privacy; protect confidentiality; normally make any disclosures of confidential information conditional on the consent of the person concerned; and inform the client in advance of foreseeable conflicts of interest or as soon as possible after such conflicts become apparent. The principle of autonomy opposes the manipulation of clients against their will, even for beneficial social ends.

Beneficence: a commitment to promoting the client's well-being
The principle of beneficence means acting in the best interests of the client based on professional assessment. It directs attention to working strictly within one's limits of competence and providing services on the basis of adequate training or experience. Ensuring that the client's best interests are achieved requires systematic monitoring of practice and outcomes by the best available means. It is considered important that research and systematic reflection inform practice. There is an obligation to use regular and on-going supervision to enhance the quality of the services provided and to commit to updating practice by continuing professional development. An obligation to act in the best interests of a client may become paramount when working with clients whose capacity for autonomy is diminished because of immaturity, lack of understanding, extreme distress, serious disturbance or other significant personal constraints.

Non-maleficence: a commitment to avoiding harm to the client
Non-maleficence involves: avoiding sexual, financial, and emotional or any other form of client exploitation; avoiding incompetence or malpractice; not providing services when unfit to do so due to illness, personal circumstances or intoxication. The practitioner has an ethical responsibility to strive to mitigate any harm caused to a client even when the harm is unavoidable or unintended. Holding appropriate insurance may assist in restitution. Practitioners have a personal responsibility to challenge, where appropriate, the incompetence or malpractice of others; and to contribute to any investigation and/or adjudication concerning professional practice which falls below that of a reasonably competent practitioner and/or risks bringing discredit upon the profession.

Justice: the fair and impartial treatment of all clients and the provision of adequate services
The principle of justice requires being just and fair to all clients and respecting their human rights and dignity. It directs attention to considering conscientiously any legal requirements and obligations, and remaining alert to potential conflicts between legal and ethical obligations. Justice in the distribution of services requires the ability to determine impartially the provision of services for clients and the allocation of services between clients. A commitment to fairness requires the ability to appreciate differences between people and to be committed to equality of opportunity, and avoiding discrimination against people or groups contrary to their legitimate personal or social characteristics. Practitioners have a duty to strive to ensure a fair provision of counselling and psychotherapy services, accessible and appropriate to the needs of potential clients.

Self-respect: fostering the practitioner's self-knowledge and care for self
The principle of self-respect means that the practitioner appropriately applies all the above principles as entitlements for self. This includes seeking counselling or therapy and other opportunities for personal development as required. There is an ethical responsibility to use supervision for appropriate personal and professional support and development, and to seek training and other opportunities for continuing professional development. Guarding against financial liabilities arising from work undertaken usually requires obtaining appropriate insurance. The principle of self-respect encourages active engagement in life-enhancing activities and relationships that are independent of relationships in counselling or psychotherapy.

PERSONAL MORAL QUALITIES:

The practitioner's personal moral qualities are of the utmost importance to clients. Many of the personal qualities considered important in the provision of services have an ethical or moral component and are therefore considered as virtues or good personal qualities. It is inappropriate to prescribe that all practitioners possess these qualities, since it is fundamental that these personal qualities are deeply rooted in the person concerned and developed out of personal commitment rather than the requirement of an external authority. Personal qualities to which counsellors and psychotherapists are strongly encouraged to aspire include:

Empathy: the ability to communicate understanding of another person's experience from that person's perspective.

Sincerity: a personal commitment to consistency between what is professed and what is done.

Integrity: commitment to being moral in dealings with others, personal straightforwardness, honesty and coherence.

Resilience: the capacity to work with the client's concerns without being personally diminished.

Respect: showing appropriate esteem to others and their understanding of themselves.

Humility: the ability to assess accurately and acknowledge one's own strengths and weaknesses.

Competence: the effective deployment of the skills and knowledge needed to do what is required.

Fairness: the consistent application of appropriate criteria to inform decisions and actions.

Wisdom: possession of sound judgement that informs practice.

Courage: the capacity to act in spite of known fears, risks and uncertainty.

www.anlp.org/index.asp?PageID=79

The ANLP Code of Ethics: (Extracted from the ANLP Code of Ethics.)
All members of ANLP International shall:

1. Respect the dignity and worth of every human being, and their right to self-determination.

2. Strive to act with integrity, independence and impartiality, avoiding conflicts of interests and acting in accordance with the presuppositions of NLP.

3. Represent themselves, their qualifications, experience and membership of professional bodies honestly, and also (to the best of their knowledge) the skills, qualifications and experience of any third party to whom they refer any of their clients.

4. Only practise NLP within the limits of their competency and to their highest possible standards; updating their skills and knowledge on a continuous basis.

5. Represent NLP interventions as an option and at no time as a certain solution for any given problem.

6. Act as ambassadors for NLP, so that it is presented as a professional and effective approach which can help people and organisations; avoiding bringing NLP into disrepute.

7. Act as ambassadors for ANLP, to promote its purposes and activities to a wider audience; avoiding bringing ANLP into disrepute. 8 Respect legitimate needs and requirements for confidentiality.
   

8. Respect the variety of different styles of NLP and complementary professions.
   

9. Promote fellow Members` interests and avoid soliciting other Members` clients away from them.

10. Ensure that clients` expectations, and the basis on which they will be met, are understood by both parties and that contractual arrangements are not changed without appropriate discussion.

11. Act within the law and not encourage, assist, or collude with others engaged in unlawful conduct.

12. Members (above Affiliate level) have an ongoing requirement to update their skills and knowledge, through Mentorship and/or pursuing recognised CPD requirements.

Top