counseling religious clients

Running Head : COUNSELING RELIGIOUS CLIENTS

Counseling Religious Clients and Related Ethical Issues

[Your Name]

[Instructor]

[Subject]

Abstract

There are ethical considerations evolving in treating or counseling religious clients that should be given primary attention by the people in the mental health profession - the counselors . These ethical issues are s or conditions that should be addressed by both the counselor and the client , in addition to the intervening programs that are being implemented during the counseling process

Counseling Religious Clients and Related Ethical Issues

Different populations require different

approaches in counseling Counseling is a mean of attending to a person 's situation or condition using techniques , systems and approaches that differ among the groups of individuals . For instance , a raped teenager should be counsel in a different way as a homeless teenager . Conversely , African-American clients should be treated in a unique way as the Asian clients (cited in Miller , Leukefeld Jefferson , 1994 Cook 1993

Nevertheless , just like the other populations , religious clients have unique characteristics and experiences that need a unique counseling approach . Likewise , religious clients have also unique needs for their mental health care . However , unlike the common people being counseled religious people have sets of belief systems and values that , for a number of conditions , may interfere to the counseling program being implemented to them (Carpenter , 2003

In to practice professionalism and ethics , counselors behave legally , morally and ethically . They are aware that they can only win the client 's trust and secure client 's protection by practicing high level of professional conduct (APA Ethics Code , 1992 , 18 . Principle D Respect for People 's Right and Dignity , as stated in the Ethical principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct highlights

Psychologists are aware of cultural , individual , and role differences including those due to age , gender , race , ethnicity , national origin religion , sexual orientation , disability , language , and socioeconomic status . Psychologists try to eliminate the effect on their work of biases based on those factors , and they do not knowingly participate in or condone unfair discriminatory practices (1992

Counselors take into consideration the client 's personal and cultural background before deciding on the assessment instrument that he will be using in the counseling process (APA Ethics Code , 1992 , 11 . One of the characteristic-factors that should be checked is religion . There are no religion restrictions in the counseling activity . theless , from among the mentioned factors or clients ' considerable backgrounds religion - the foundation of people 's moral and faith - is the most controversial

The Code of Ethics of 2005 by the Governing Council of the American Counseling Association gives light to the five overlapping ethical principles that guide the counseling practices with religious clients The principles that can be applied focus on the counseling relationship freedom of choice , confidentiality and privacy in counseling process professional responsibility , and evaluation , assessment and interpretation

Counseling Relationship

In counseling , clients may have diverse cultural backgrounds . In for the counselor to practice good counseling , he must need first to understand the cultural identity that each of his...