Essay Counselling free essay sample

In this assignment I will explore how diversity, equality and anti-discrimination practices need to be addressed in the counselling room. It will also explore how the BACP ethical framework helps inform and guide our counselling work and the legal requirements of being a counsellor. Clients come to counselling from a wide range of diverse backgrounds. Pederson (1994) sites Diversity as a broad definition of multicultural counselling which covers â€Å"ethnographic variables such as ethnicity, nationality, religion and language; demographic variables such as age, gender and place of residence; status variables such as social, educational and economic; and affiliations including both formal affiliations to family or organizations and informal affiliations to ideas and a lifestyle (p229)† Counselling has traditionally been an ethnocentric or â€Å"culturally encapsulated† activity based on the prevailing white, middle class, which has a central notion of normality based on distinctive mainstream approaches, values and assumptions such as the individual is encouraged to be independent and autonomous and these are highly valued and rewarded in society. Communication is expected through the medium of english with limited physical contact and direct eye contact and we have been brought up to control our emotions. Time and adherence to it is viewed as a commodity and holidays are based on traditional Christian religious festivals who favour a single god concept. Historically there is a hierarchy and patriarchal system of white male leaders where status and power have been measured by economic possessions, academic titles and positions with the belief that we are superior and more civilized to other races and cultures. There would be reluctance to give up this power in our society and it is understandable, I would not want to change my attitudes and behaviours, this is very difficult. I grew up and live in the above dominant culture where I am perceived as a white able bodied female therefore what issues would I need to consider when working with a client who presents with the difference of gender reassignment as I personally have no experience whatsoever of trans woman relationships. I would be basing my perspective on my prejudicial ideas that there are only two sexes – either man or woman so I would struggle with where does this person fit in the gender stereotypes as it is a direct challenge to my socially constructed attitudes and assumptions to what is expected. I would find this an extremely difficult and uncomfortable area to work with and it would bring up countertransference feelings of anxiety, fear, shame, feeling wrong, being cruel, and guilt for me because I would wonder if the person was abnormal or mentally ill. I have prejudices and biases about transgender and I am aware that this does not just apply to me, it will apply to us all. I have an idea but I do not necessarily understand the whole picture. This is where I would have to challenge my own thinking and feelings as I am aware that I am being judgemental, labelling this difference. I am not sure I can or know how to be empathic with what appears to me to be a disturbing mental disorder which I have little tolerance of because I am ignorant and I would struggle accepting a transgenders identity. I am aware that I am projecting my bias on to the client and this would be treating another human being less favourably on the grounds of their sex which is discrimination and I am adding to this stigma with my reaction and adding to the oppression. As a trainee counsellor I am aware that I am expected to work with a wide range of backgrounds and different views and I need to be committed to equality and diversity. It is an integral part of my counselling training that I need to be tolerant of and have the ability to work with different preferences to my own. I therefore would need to address this inequality and discrimination and work on what would most helpful for the client and what could I leave outside the counselling room. I would need to treat the client non-judgementally and equally regardless of their gender and not disadvantage them and accommodate her in line with the Gender Recognition Act 2005, the Equality Act 2010, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Sex Discrimination Act 2005. Firstly, I believe it is important for me to show courtesy, respect and value the person as a human being. I feel I would need to respect their right to privacy and appreciate that it may not be easy to discuss their beliefs and values as their self-esteem and self-worth may be fragile because being transgender is not a choice and they may have difficulty accepting themselves. It may also help to be mindful of the language they use and be sensitive to framing and asking questions such as â€Å"What would they preferred to be called, which pronoun? And how would they like to be referred to in terms of gender? so that I show the client my understanding of their different perspectives and experiences and try to understand their internal frame of reference. It is also important to be aware to never ask if they plan to or have had surgery as it is not acceptable to ask questions about their bodies. Also it is advisable to never â€Å"OUT â€Å"someone who is transgender without their permission as this could have an impact on their physical safety and employment etc. Their privacy needs to be honoured. Also it is important to not assume that they have come to counselling to talk about this issue, they may want to bring up other issues such as their sense of powerlessness, being labelled or feeling different or isolated. . I am aware that I would not be able to work with this group and I would be discriminating a client of transgender on the basis of gender. I would be adding to the oppression that the client may be experiencing. I would need to take this to supervision as I do not feel that I am acting in the client’s best interests and I would be worried about harming the client. I also would be concerned as I would not want the client to feel rejected, judged angry and mistrustful of me as this may alienate them. It may be in their best interests to be in therapy with a counsellor who is the same as or has the same perspective and experiences that they do. A shared understanding of the issues and meaning may make it easier for them to disclose, not being similar may make it harder to be empathic and establish a working alliance and the relationship could prematurely terminate. Therefore should a client make a request to see another professional or I feel that I need specialised information or specialised assistance to make sure their needs are being met then a referral could be made with a client’s consent. I would also need to make a referral should either the client or myself move to a new area to honour and respect both sides. Also the work between a client and counsellor is confidential and there is a responsibility on the counsellor to not discuss what has been talked about outside of the sessions to any third party. However the counsellor also has a responsibility to the wider community which means that confidentiality is adhered to the two key BACP principles of Fidelity which is honouring the trust placed in the practitioner and Autonomy is respect for the client’s right to be self- governing. Therefore if a counsellor felt that either the client or someone else were in danger or risk of harm then the counsellor would discuss with the client first the possibility of breaking confidentiality. However the counsellor retains the right to break confidentiality without prior consultation with the client should they consider the urgency of the situation requires an immediate action such as a doctor or the emergency services to safeguard the physical safety of the client and others. Disclosures of acts of terrorism, drug trafficking and by order of civil or criminal court will also require the disclosure of minimal information. As well as confidentiality, I am required to adhere to the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) ethical framework which promotes social inclusive and anti-discriminatory good practice. The aim of this framework is to set and monitor standards to enable ethical and effective therapy and this code of conduct is the ethical framework which promotes human rights and the client’s safety making therapy accessible to all clients. It also helps counsellors with a way of responding to issues and helps them to think of the consequences of actions in an ethical way encouraging counsellors to take greater responsibility for their practice and develop accountability for their decisions. There are five sections and they are as follows – values ethical principles, personal moral qualities, guidance on good practice and professional conduct procedures. There are five sections which are the values of counselling, ethical principles, personal moral qualities, guidance on good practice and professional conduct procedures. The fundamental values are a commitment to respecting human rights and dignity, protecting the safety of clients, ensuring the integrity of practitioner/client relationship, enhancing the quality of professional knowledge and its application, alleviating personal distress and suffering. Fostering a sense of self that is meaningful to the person(s) concerned and Increasing personal effectiveness and enhancing the quality of relationship between people and appreciating the variety of human experience and culture as well as striving for the fair and adequate provision of counselling and psychotherapy services. Iris Murdoch stated that ethics â€Å"is essentially about the sovereignty of the good† and that it is the right thing to do. We need to be inclusive and embrace diversity. Diversity challenges the assumption that one style of counselling is transferrable across all cultures. Diversity is about valuing the person and recognising the difference between people, it is a relatively new, complex and challenging area which goes beyond equal opportunities. We need to accept that people see the world differently have different perspectives and have different world views that have equal validity. We need to promote equality, human rights and value difference and strive to practice anti-oppressive values in society to become better counsellors. In conclusion a counsellor needs to be honest about their own biases and prejudices which need to be taken to supervision when working with difference and diversity in the counselling room. Diversity is a challenging and complex area where the barriers need to come down.