A parish minister “reminds” a presurgical patient to be “right with God” in case death results from the surgery. Or a psychotherapist insists that a woman leave her abusive husband without considering how her “faith” might inform her decision. Professional counseling, particularly when religious/spiritual elements are present, can be both a powerful and dangerous resource in the healing process. Think of religion as a conscious and socially organized expression of spirituality, based on a formal belief system about divine presence. And think of spirituality as a person’s unique relationship with whatever is beyond human experience. Because the temptation is always present for professional helpers to impose their conscious or unconscious values, ethical practice can limit the chances of inadvertently harming their clients.
To help protect both counselor and client and to promote healing, this entry considers:
- 1.
Context– how religious/spiritual elements affect the ethical dynamics of...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Bibliography
Benyei, C. R. (1998). Understanding clergy misconduct in religious systems: Scapegoating, family secrets, and the abuse of power. Binghamton: The Hayworth Pastoral Press.
Capps, D., & Fowler, G. (2001). The pastoral care case: Learning about care in congregations. St. Louis: Chalice Press.
Patton, J. (1993). Pastoral care in context: An introduction to pastoral care. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press.
Peterson, M. R. (1992). At personal risk: Boundary violations in professional-client relationships. New York: Norton.
Pope, K. S., & Vasquez, M. J. T. (2011). Ethics in psychotherapy and counseling: A practical guide (4th ed.). Hoboken: Wiley.
Richardson, R. W. (2005). Becoming a healthier pastor: Family systems theory and the pastor’s own family. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.
Links to Examples of Codes of Ethics
(Others can be found on professional association or church denominational websites.)
American Association of Pastoral Counselors. (n.d.). http://www.aapc.org/about-us/code-of-ethics.aspx.
American Association of Christian Counselors. (n.d.). http://www.aacc.net/about-us/code-of-ethics/.
National Board of Certified Counselors. (n.d.). http://www.nbcc.org/Assets/Ethics/nbcc-codeofethics.pdf.
American Counseling Association. (n.d.). http://www.counseling.org/Files/FD.ashx?guid=ab7c1272-71c4-46cf-848c-f98489937dda.
American Baptist Church. (n.d.). http://www.ministerscouncil.com/WhoWeAre/EnglishEthics.aspx.
The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada. (n.d.). http://www.cecconline.net/node/11.
The United Church of Christ. (n.d.). http://www.ucc.org/education/polity/pdf-folder/ordained-minister-s-code.pdf.
Examples of Professional Organizations
FaithTrust Institute: Working together to end sexual and domestic violence. (n.d.). http://faithtrustinstitute.org/.
American Association of Pastoral Counselors. (n.d.). http://www.aapc.org/.
American Association of Christian Counselors. (n.d.). https://www.aacc.net/.
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). http://www.apa.org/.
American Counseling Association. (n.d.). http://www.counseling.org/.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Gustafson, W.E. (2014). Ethics in Counseling. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_9236
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_9236
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6085-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6086-2
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science