Section 2: Counsellor Responsibilities

Like all other helping professionals, counsellors are responsible for working within legal and ethical requirements that apply to their role. These requirements are set out to protect the rights and well-being of clients as well as counsellors and to guide ethical and effective counselling. Throughout your diploma, you will continue to build upon and deepen your understanding of these principles and learn to apply them in practice.

In this section, you will notice a number of references made to The Australian Counselling Association Code of Ethics and Practice. The Australian Counselling Association (ACA) is Australia's largest registration body for counsellors, and they provide practice guidelines to members in the form of a code of practice. The ACA Code of Ethics and Practice outlines the ethical principles and responsibilities that underpin a counsellor’s work with clients. It is important that counsellors refer to it whenever guidance is necessary and continuously assess their own practice against the principles outlined within. ACA members who fail to act in accordance with the code may face disciplinary hearings or expulsion from membership.

In addition, counsellors practising within an organisation must also be aware of organisational responsibilities that may apply to the workplace. We will discuss these requirements later on in this section. For now, we will explore some important practice requirements that guide a counsellor’s practice.

Respect for a client’s human rights represents the overarching feature of ethical practice in counselling. The following extract from the Australian Human Rights Commission highlights the fundamentals of human rights consideration:

Human rights recognise the inherent value of each person, regardless of background, where we live, what we look like, what we think or what we believe.

They are based on principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect, which are shared across cultures, religions and philosophies. They are about being treated fairly, treating others fairly and having the ability to make genuine choices in our daily lives.

Respect for human rights is the cornerstone of strong communities in which everyone can make a contribution and feel included.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations on 10 December 1948, sets out the basic rights and freedoms that apply to all people. Drafted in the aftermath of World War Two, it has become a foundation document that has inspired many legally-binding international human rights laws.

(Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.)

As stated, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights informs the development of laws and ethical principles to protect human rights, including those that set the base for ethical counselling. As such, counsellors are required to provide service in a way that upholds human rights, which features:

• Respect for the client’s individuality, values, and beliefs.
• Respect for the client’s autonomy (self-determination and independence).
• A duty to safeguard client’s safety and wellbeing.
• Clear boundaries of the counselling relationship.
• Competent and professional service.

Respect for Client Values

Respect for the client’s human rights is also demonstrated in the ACA Code of Ethics and Practice, which requires counsellors to provide an anti-discriminatory service by demonstrating respect for the client’s individuality and autonomy with an emphasis on the counsellor’s self-awareness.

4.3 Anti-Discriminatory Practice

(a) Client Respect

i. Counsellors work with clients in ways that affirm both the common humanity and the uniqueness of each individual. They must be sensitive to the cultural context and world-view of the client, for instance, whether the individual, family or community is taken as central.

(b) Client Autonomy

i. Counsellors are responsible for working in ways that respect and promote the clients ability to make decisions in the light of his/her own beliefs, values and context.

(c) Counsellor Awareness

i. Counsellors are responsible for ensuring that any problems with mutual comprehension due to language, cultural differences or for any other reason are addressed at an early stage. The use of an interpreter needs to be carefully considered at the outset of counselling.

ii. Counsellors have a responsibility to consider and address their own prejudices, stereotyping attitudes and behaviour. They are to give particular consideration to ways in which these may be affecting the counselling relationship and influencing their responses. (ACA, 2019, p. 10)

As shown in the extract, counsellors must seek to understand and work with clients within the social, cultural, and personal contexts in which they live. All clients will differ from the counsellor in some way, and they may hold values that are significantly different. Acknowledging and respecting someone’s individuality differs from discrimination which occurs when someone is treated differently (in a way that is not helpful) based on a characteristic (e.g., gender, disability, race, age or sexual preferences) about them.

In other words, counsellors should not impose their own values (i.e., beliefs that a specific way of being or behaving is preferable to another) on clients. In order to do this, counsellors need to examine their own values (often determined by cultural background) and continuously monitor and evaluate how these may be impacting the counselling process. The following example describes a situation where a counsellor imposes her own values on her client.

This case study demonstrates the importance of counsellors’ self-awareness. You can see how a counsellor’s values and assumptions can negatively influence the counselling process when a counsellor fails to continuously monitor their own values and evaluate how these could impact the counselling relationship. Although Abeda has every right to value higher education, as a counsellor, it is important that she recognises what Travis considers as important, which may differ from her own values. Abeda should demonstrate respect and acknowledgement and use the counselling skills described earlier in this module to facilitate Travis’ exploration and support him in coming to an independent decision that aligns with his own values.

It is important to recognise that providing anti-discriminatory service is not just an ethical responsibility but also a legal requirement. There are a range of anti-discrimination laws in place that aim to protect people from certain kinds of discrimination in public life and from breaches of their human rights. Examples of anti-discriminatory legislation that operates at a federal level include the Age Discrimination Act 2004, Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Counsellors must also comply with anti-discriminatory legislation that applies to the state or territory they are in.

If you become aware that conflicting value systems are impacting the counselling process, you should first discuss this in supervision (which we will be discussing shortly) to explore ways of reducing the impact. If it appears to be a continuing problem, you should consider referral, making it clear that the reason for this referral is because of your personal reasons, not due to any ‘fault’ with the client.

Throughout your development as a counsellor, you should continually assess your personal strengths and limitations. Developing the competence to work with clients from a diverse range of backgrounds involves ongoing personal and professional development through a process of structured self-reflection, supervision, and continuing education. You will learn more about how to facilitate your own personal and professional development throughout this diploma.

The following RESPECTFUL model can be a useful tool for helping new counsellors to understand themselves as a multicultural being (adapted from Ivey et al., 2018, p. 33). For each of the ten dimensions in the following table, reflect on your identity and the values that you hold about that dimension. Then, examine how you might act towards those who are similar to or different from you in relation to that dimension.

Promote Client’s Autonomy

Another key ethical principle relevant to protecting client rights is respecting the client’s autonomy (self-determination and independence). This means that counsellors should support clients in making decisions for themselves (except when clients are facing imminent risk and unable to make decisions). As per the ACA’s guidelines, counsellors are expected to support client self-determination:

(b) Client Self-determination

i. In counselling the balance of power is unequal and counsellors must take care not to abuse their power.

ii. Counsellors do not normally act on behalf of their clients. If they do, it will only be with express written consent of their client, or else in exceptional circumstances.

iii. Counsellors do not normally give advice.

iv. Counsellors have a responsibility to establish with clients at the outset of counselling the existence of any other therapeutic or helping relationships in which the client is involved and to consider whether counselling is appropriate. Counsellors should gain the client's permission before conferring in any way with other professional workers.

(ACA, 2019, pp. 8-9)

Counselling is not about pushing a person in a certain direction, judging clients, or giving them advice. You should not encourage client dependence on the counselling process by advising or recommending specific courses of action. The role of a counsellor is to facilitate client autonomy by encouraging and empowering clients to take responsibility for decision-making and change themselves. At times, it may be necessary to explicitly discuss this with clients before entering a counselling process, which is often done as part of a contracting process.

Contracting and Informed Consent

Another key practice in place to protect client’s rights is contracting. It is the counsellor’s responsibility to engage clients in a contracting process to “ensure that the client is given a free choice whether or not to participate in counselling” (ACA, 2019, p.12) – this is known as informed consent. This supports the client’s right and autonomy to decide whether to participate or decline counselling once they have had an opportunity to learn about the risks and benefits of such a process.

Community services organisations generally develop strict policies around contracting as well as formal written contracts (e.g., counselling contracts) to assist in the process of obtaining informed consent. Of course, counsellors do not just provide clients with a written contract – they also have a detailed contracting conversation with each client, including confirming the client’s understanding. This means making sure that, before service is offered, the client is informed of their rights and responsibilities, the worker’s role and responsibilities, the counselling process, and what engaging in this process will involve.

On the other hand, having a signed documented agreement also protects the counsellor from providing service beyond the scope of their organisational requirements (e.g., a client requests to have a 2-hour session instead of the agreed 40-minute-session). As you will learn later, contracting involves discussing limits to confidentiality and disclosure of information. Counsellors can refer to the signed contract throughout the counselling process whenever relevant situations arise.

Generally, contracts and contracting conversations should:

• Provide the client with information about the counselling services offered.
• Explain the counselling approach used.
• Provide an overview of what the client can expect during the service process.
• Ensure the client is familiar with organisational requirements such as payment schedules, cancellation policies, termination, and complaints procedures.
• Discuss the logistics of service delivery, such as the venue, personnel involved, and the number of sessions being contracted.
• Outline confidentiality and the limits to confidentiality.
• Outline record-keeping procedures and how clients can access their own information.
• Ensure that the client knows they can withdraw their consent at any time and have the right to refuse to engage with any strategy or technique the worker uses or suggests.

You will learn more about how to engage clients in contracting conversations in the final section of this module.

The process of counselling can put clients in a vulnerable position and counsellors have a responsibility to protect the wellbeing of both your client and others. This responsibility is often referred to as a duty of care. Duty of care responsibilities may encompass taking actions to maintain physical and environmental safety, such as following work health and safety requirements, as well as promoting clients’ emotional safety. As a helping professional, duty of care underpins many of the decisions you have to make to determine the most appropriate actions, including whether client information needs to be disclosed, when supervision may need to be sought, and when referrals may be appropriate.

Privacy, Confidentiality, and Disclosure

Clients have a legal right to privacy and counsellors have the responsibility to make sure sessions are not conducted where they may be overheard, recorded, or observed unless with the explicit consent of the client. Counsellors also have a duty to protect client’s personal information, including the fact that they are accessing counselling. All client records, both computerised and hard copy, must be kept securely so they are only accessible by authorised personnel. In addition, client cases should not be discussed with anyone except in the context of supervision (which the client needs to be made aware of). It would not be appropriate to discuss your clients with other people, including the client’s family or another worker whom the client is seeing, without obtaining the client’s consent.

In counselling, clients may disclose very sensitive and personal information during sessions and you should take care to keep this information confidential in order to safeguard the client’s wellbeing. Clients are entitled to a private and confidential service provision but should be made aware of the limits to that confidentiality (i.e., situations where what they have disclosed to the counsellor cannot be kept confidential) before the counselling process begins. Situations that may fall within exceptions of confidentiality include:

• Your client discloses that they may harm themselves or another person.
• Your client discloses information that indicates potential or actual child abuse.
• Your client discloses that they have committed a crime.
• Your client file is subpoenaed by a court of law.
• The client provides the counsellor with written permission to disclose (e.g., when making a referral to another service provider).

If you believe there is a risk of harm occurring, it is important that you take appropriate actions as per your organisational policy and procedures to reduce risk to clients or others. Specifically, if you have developed concerns that a child or young person may be at risk, you will need to take into account the legal requirement of mandatory reporting.

Mandatory reporting requirements may vary from state to state but generally applies where there are reasons to suspect or believe that a child is being abused. This means that confidentiality may be overridden and relevant information will be disclosed to the child services department responsible for the particular state/territory.

While the Mei-Lin case study relates to a school counsellor, note that mandatory reporting is not limited to those working directly with children. Counsellors who work with adult clients must also remain vigilant about information that indicates a child may be at risk of harm. If you are unsure whether you are a mandatory reporter, it is important to check with your supervisor or manager. Your organisation should also have mandatory reporting policies in place to guide workers on relevant procedures and considerations.

Similarly, if you believe your client may be at imminent risk of self-harming, you should discuss your decision to break confidentiality with the client and limit the disclosure of relevant information to those directly involved in the client’s care, such as ambulance personnel.

In situations where the court requests or subpoenas copies of case notes or other records, you need to comply with the court’s request. You should discuss the request with the client first and may show him/her the case notes you will be sending to the courts. For this reason, your case notes should be kept factual and brief. You will learn more about how to take appropriate notes later in this course.

As a counsellor, it is your responsibility to ensure your client understands these rights and limitations by outlining the concept of confidentiality and its limits before you begin the counselling process. Your client needs to be aware of what circumstances may warrant a breach of confidentiality. As mentioned, confidentiality requirements are usually included in the formal service agreement (e.g., counselling contract) to make sure that clients have been informed and may be reminded of these requirements as necessary throughout the counselling process.

Counsellor-Client Boundaries

The counselling process can put clients in a vulnerable position, and counsellors should take care not to exploit clients, for example, by taking advantage of them financially, emotionally or psychologically. This is done through establishing and maintaining appropriate counsellor/client boundaries throughout the counselling sessions. For example, counsellors must make it clear to clients that “counselling is a formal and contracted relationship and nothing else”; and “must not be concurrent with a supervisory, training or other form of relationship (sexual or non-sexual)” (ACA, 2019, pp. 12-13).

"The person-to-person counselling relationship is a special type of relationship, established by the person seeking help for a particular purpose. They enter into the relationship entrusting the counsellor with their wellbeing and expecting that the counsellor will throughout the relationship, provide them with a safe environment in which they can work on the issues that trouble them.

The person-to-person counselling relationship is not an equal relationship and, inevitably, whether the counsellor wishes it or not, they are in a position of power and influence. Counsellors often work with people who are in highly emotional states and are consequently very vulnerable. The way that a counsellor relates to a person seeking help is not characteristic of human behaviour generally. A counsellor devotes most of their energy to listening to and understanding the person, so the person sees only a part of the counsellor’s character. In these circumstances, they may perceive a counsellor as unrealistically caring and giving. The counsellor’s power and the person’s biased perception combine to make the person very vulnerable to offers of friendship or closeness.

The counsellor is also vulnerable. In the counselling relationship, the person seeking help often shares innermost secrets, and so inevitably there may develop a real closeness between the person and the counsellor. Counsellors learn to be empathic, and so they develop special relationships with the people they seek to help. If they are not careful they too become vulnerable to offers of closer relationships than are appropriate. Counsellors therefore need to be careful not to discount signs that the counselling relationship is being compromised."

(Geldard et al., 2017, p. 343-344)

By maintaining these professional boundaries, counsellors can protect both themselves and their clients from poor or unethical practices. If the counsellor establishes professional boundaries from the beginning of the counselling relationship, they are far less likely to take on a role that is not appropriate as counselling progresses. Furthermore, a client who understands the professional nature of the counselling relationship is less likely to extend the counselling process beyond its natural conclusion. For example, if a client views the counsellor as a friend, the ending of the counselling process may be viewed as abandonment, which can be detrimental to the client.

Part of safeguarding client well-being involves ensuring that counsellors gain and maintain the skill and knowledge appropriate to meet client needs. Counsellors should be able to develop an effective client-counsellor relationship through mutual understanding and rapport building and to competently use counselling techniques to work with clients. It is also important that a counsellor’s practice approach is evidence-based (i.e., informed by updated research and literature) and continuously reviewed.

According to the ACA Code of Ethics and Practice (ACA, 2019) a counsellor has an ethical responsibility to:

• Achieve and maintain required level of competence to provide counselling.
• Regularly monitor own competence through supervision and feedback from others.
• Monitor impacts of own emotional needs on relationships with clients.
• Identify when referral may be appropriate.
• Engage in regular supervision, research, and continuing education.

Supervision

One of the most important responsibilities and support you will have as a counsellor is to access appropriate professional supervision. Supervision is also a mandatory requirement for many professional counselling organisations, including the Australian Counselling Association. The following extract outlines what supervision is and is not, and the importance of supervision to a counsellor’s practice.

Supervision is not:

• Someone watching over your shoulder whilst you practise.
• A discussion between two or more practitioners.
• Being supervised whilst on a field placement when completing your initial counselling qualification.
• Discussing personal matters with a counsellor.

Supervision is:

A formal arrangement for Registered Counsellors to discuss their work regularly with someone who is experienced in counselling and supervision. The task is to work together to ensure and develop the efficiency of the counsellor/client relationship. Professional supervision is a process to maintain adequate standards of counselling. It is a contractual agreement made between a Supervisor and a Supervisee. Private or external supervision is usually a professional fee-paying service or in an agency it can be part of the employment contract.

Counselling exposes counsellors to situations that impose a great demand on practitioners' emotional and professional well-being. This demand can lead to becoming enmeshed and overinvolved leading to ineffective practice. Counsellors cannot in all cases be objective about their own abilities, agendas and practices. A supervisor can be objective and help the counsellor to grow and learn. The supervisor can ensure that the counsellor is meeting the needs of their clients and keeping to ethical and professional standards. Supervisors will also help counsellors relate practice to theory and vice-versa. Supervisors are most likely to identify potential mental health issues in the Supervisee before they become a problem.

(ACA, 2018, p. 5)

Supervision can be conducted one-on-one, in a group setting, or with a peer. It is an ethical requirement for all counsellors, no matter how many years they have been practicing. As mentioned in the extract from the ACA, it is unrealistic to expect counsellors (or any helping professional) to be completely objective and value-free; counsellors are human, too, and are subject to making errors, judgments, and impulsive decisions. Supervision processes support a counsellor to develop self-awareness and maintain their competence while at the same time protecting clients from potential unethical conduct.

On the other hand, supervision also helps counsellors to monitor their emotional needs and manage stressors or any factors that may impact their work with clients. Counselling can be a mentally and emotionally challenging role. Therefore, it is important that counsellors become aware of their own strengths and limitations, and implement self-care strategies to reduce the risk of vicarious trauma (i.e., being traumatised due to exposure to clients’ stories) and burnout. Through self-reflection and regular supervision, counsellors are supported to examine their feelings, thoughts, and behaviours in working with particular clients, and make sure they are providing an ethical and competent service.

Work-Role Boundaries

In addition, it is important that counsellors understand what their professional role involves within their respective organisations and ensure that they do not provide service beyond their work role. As you have learned in Section 1, counsellors play a specific kind of role alongside other helping professionals, and there are limitations to what services a counsellor can provide (e.g., counsellors do not diagnose mental illness or prescribe medication). The scope of a counsellor’s role will also depend on their expertise in particular areas (e.g., alcohol and other drugs) and professional work context (e.g., a counsellor may be employed specifically to work with clients aged 12-18).

Imagine, for example, a client has sought counselling for support with transitioning to a new country and asks if you could see his children who are struggling, too, as you already have a good understanding of the family. In this case, you will have to consider whether children counselling is part of your expertise - working with children and young people usually requires specialised training and qualifications – as well as whether this is within the scope of your role and your organisation’s service provision (e.g., your organisation may only be funded to work with adults). In this case, it would be unethical to see the client’s children if it is not within your competence and work role to do so. Even if you possess relevant skills and qualifications, you must still check with your manager/supervisor about acting beyond your designated work role.

As such, it is important to clarify your work role (i.e., what you can do and cannot do) with clients from the start of the counselling process and connect clients with appropriate services to meet other needs that are beyond your work role.

Referral

When a counsellor becomes aware that they or the organisation they work for does not have the expertise to deal with a particular client’s concerns, they should discuss an appropriate referral with the client. According to the ACA (2019, p.14) “competence includes being able to recognise when it is appropriate to refer a client elsewhere”. Understanding your own competence, strengths, and limitations will help you to be realistic about the kinds of clients and cases that you excel at and the areas that you may require more practice in.

Some common issues that may indicate a need for referral and/or additional professional support include:

Child safety issues

While mandatory requirements vary from state to state, most counsellors must report any suspected child abuse/neglect to the child protection agency in their state/territory. The decision to report is usually made in consultation with a supervisor or service manager. Where necessary, the counsellor can also refer clients to family support services that offer additional support in relation to keeping their children safe. Depending on the context of your organisation, the issues may affect the suitability of counselling, so it is important that you always check with your supervisor or manager about the appropriate steps to manage these issues.

Suicide and self-injury

Learning that a client is thinking about suicide or has been engaged in self-injurious behaviours can be very stressful for counsellors. If a client is facing imminent risk, counsellors have a duty of care to connect the client with emergency or crisis support services immediately. It is important to ensure you always have someone (e.g., supervisor, manager or an experienced colleague) you can seek support from and be familiar with relevant policies and procedures in an emergency.

Domestic and family violence (DFV)

It is not uncommon for counselling clients to present with DFV-relevant issues, even if that is not the reason for seeking counselling in the first place. Counsellors typically engage in assessment with their clients as part of their duty of care to make sure any safety issues are appropriately addressed. Often, clients experiencing DFV and wanting to access counselling specifically for DFV-relevant needs would benefit from a referral to services specialising in DFV areas. Knowledge of local crisis services, such as women’s or men’s shelters, is also important for addressing clients’ immediate safety needs.

Mental illness

As you have learned in the first section, counsellors may be engaged in promoting clients’ well-being as they are recovering from mental health difficulties; however, counsellors do not make the diagnosis or mental health treatment. Clients demonstrating indicators of mental illness will need to be referred to appropriate specialist care, such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or crisis assessment and treatment team. Indicators of severe mental health issues may include hallucinations, strange or erratic behaviour, extreme mood swings, agitation, aggression, extreme withdrawal, unusual or exaggerated beliefs, paranoia, or problems with logical thinking.

Alcohol and other drugs (AOD) issues

It is not unusual for clients experiencing emotional distress to engage in using alcohol, cigarette, and other substances for relief. While generalist counsellors may provide support with managing life stressors and maintaining well-being, clients with persistent substance use problems may require referral to a range of AOD-specific services, such as medical services, withdrawal services, rehabilitation services, or AOD counselling for specialised intervention and support.

Problem gambling and other compulsions

Depending on the counsellor’s training and experience, behaviours such as compulsive gambling, compulsive eating, or sex addiction often indicate a referral to an appropriate specialist. You may also be supporting a client impacted by the gambling addiction of their spouse, family, or friend. It is important that you take the initiative to find out relevant referral agencies within your local area. For instance, you may use Gamblinghelp Online‘s website to find information about specific services near you. Many of these services offer information as well as counselling for gambling-related problems.

Financial difficulties

Experiencing financial difficulties and debts can be extremely stressful and often contribute to the emotional distress that a client is presenting to counselling with. While generalist counsellors can support a client in managing their level of distress, clients experiencing financial difficulties and debts may benefit from seeing a financial counsellor for assistance with budgeting, debt management, and dealing with debt collection agencies.

Loss and grief issues

Generalist counsellors can provide support to people who have been impacted by losses in life, such as managing intense emotional reactions and life after loss. Nevertheless, a referral to specialist support (e.g., support group, loss and grief counsellor, mental health professional) may be required when clients present with complicated grief symptoms. Indicators of complicated grief may include prolonged intensified feelings that are difficult to control and preoccupied memories and thoughts of the loss.

Physical health issues

It is not part of a counsellor’s role to treat or give medical advice about clients’ physical health problems. However, some clients may acquire counselling in conjunction with medical treatment (e.g., clients with eating disorders, chronic pain, or substance issues) to facilitate recovery. It is also wise to ensure that clients presenting with somatic complaints (e.g., headaches, stomach pain) have been thoroughly medically evaluated.

Homelessness

Some clients who present at counselling may also have other urgent needs, such as accommodation, food, and safety. A counsellor’s role is to assess these needs and connect clients with appropriate support or services. Counselling may not be as appropriate until clients have stability (e.g., stable accommodation) and their urgent needs are met. As such, counsellors must facilitate access to an appropriate specialist homelessness service that can offer emergency accommodation and assistance. (You can search for local specialist homelessness services using My Community Directory).

The list is not exhaustive but outlines some issues that commonly require specialist intervention and support. As a counsellor, you will generally need to assess a client’s concerns carefully and continuously reflect on your work with the client. If you lack experience and skills in a particular area of counselling, you may need to refer the client to a counsellor who specialises in that area. Remember, too, that this may not come up right at the beginning of the counselling process. Therefore, ongoing monitoring and reviewing of the counselling process is important.

For example, a client may have initially come to counselling with concerns about anxiety issues, but as you work with the client over time, you suspect he may be experiencing post-traumatic stress symptoms, an area you do not have experience in. You should discuss this with your supervisor to determine whether a referral to another counsellor or specialist service may be appropriate. Where a referral may be appropriate, it is important to discuss (as opposed to imposing) it with the client and provide clear reasons for the referral. As pointed out by Geldard and colleagues, it is important that a referral is made in the client’s best interests:

When a client’s needs cannot be adequately met by a counsellor, then that counsellor has a responsibility to make an appropriate referral, in consultation with the client, to another suitable professional. However, it is not appropriate for a counsellor to avoid all difficult and unenjoyable work by excessively referring people to others. There is a responsibility on all counsellors to carry a fair load, and to be sensible about referral decisions. Such decisions are best made in consultation with a supervisor. [...]

When referring clients to others, it may be useful to contact the professional to whom the referral is being made, with the client’s permission, to ensure that the referral is acceptable and appropriate.

(Geldard et al., 2017, p. 346)

You should now have an understanding of both the responsibilities and limitations of a counsellor’s role. As a counsellor, you must respect clients and strive to safeguard their and others’ well-being, including maintaining appropriate boundaries. You also need to ensure that your level of skills and knowledge is appropriate to meet client needs while acknowledging the limitations of your role as a counsellor. Inexperienced counsellors sometimes feel solely responsible for their client’s progress and experience tremendous anxiety due to this. It is important to recognise the limitations of counselling and remember that, ultimately, it is the client’s responsibility to make the necessary changes in his or her own life. Referring clients to other counsellors or helping services when a client’s issue falls outside your field of competence is an appropriate form of help, too.

Arriving at this point, you may be wondering how a counsellor could ensure that they are adhering to all of the legal and ethical requirements we have discussed. Typically, all of the legal and ethical requirements we have covered would have been incorporated into your organisational policies and procedures, which you must gain familiarity with and be able to refer to whenever necessary.

Check your understanding of the content so far!

While counsellors have responsibilities to their clients and to themselves (i.e., self-care), they also have responsibilities to the organisation that they work for. Counsellors who work within organisations must ensure that they understand their role within their organisation and provide services according to organisational policies and procedures. It is the right of the counselling organisation (for example, the employer) to expect counsellors to adhere to the organisational requirements, to review and update these requirements, and to dismiss staff whose behaviours violate these requirements. As such, the organisation has a responsibility to make sure organisational policies and procedures are continuously reviewed and all staff are provided with access and training on updated requirements. This may include policies and procedures related to:

Service entry and provision

Counselling organisations may have specific requirements for clients entering the service and how the counselling service is provided. For example, an organisation may require counsellors to work from a certain counselling approach (e.g., cognitive behavioural therapy) or they might have specific funding requirements that limit the number of sessions or have service entry requirements (e.g., specific age group or client issues).

Records management

Given the sensitivity of information discussed in counselling, it is important that organisations provide sufficient guidance in relation to how client information should be recorded and stored in accordance with privacy and confidentiality requirements. Documents typically included on a client’s file are a referral form or information, signed consent forms and counselling contract, a counselling plan, the counsellor’s case notes, and a completed risk assessment tool or form. It is important that counsellors are familiar with and adhere to these requirements as they manage and store client information.

Typically, organisations will require any case documents to be kept in the client’s file in a secure location not easily accessible by third parties (e.g., a locked filing cabinet in the counsellor’s office, which is also locked overnight). These days, most organisations document electronically (or use a combination of electronic and handwritten documentation). Maintaining client documentation electronically involves a number of additional considerations, including:

• Security – who can access the computer or other hardware? Is it password protected? If files are stored on a central server, are there appropriate restrictions in place for their access? Is there internet security/virus protection installed?
• Physical premises – check your organisation’s policy about client files leaving the premises. For example, if you take work home on a USB stick you will need to take extra precautions to protect that information.

Work health and safety (WHS)

The counsellor has a responsibility to ensure the counselling environment is safe – for themselves, other staff and clients. As such, counsellors must follow the WHS guidelines specified by the organisation they are working in, such as reporting identified risks and incidents and adhering to safe work practices. WHS aspects relevant to counselling work may include:

• Maintaining a safe service environment, such as addressing tripping hazards, making sure light and ventilation are working properly; monitoring workspace setup, posture and appropriate seating; and making sure electronic devices are regularly serviced and maintained to reduce fire hazards.
• Managing risk to clients, such as assessing for possible safety and risk issues and addressing them, if any, and using appropriate techniques (e.g., grounding, taking breaks) to promote the emotional safety of the client during counselling.
• Managing risk to counsellors, such as having appropriate safety strategies to manage an aggressive client, making sure counsellors take regular breaks for self-care and accessing support (e.g., supervision) to carry out work safely.

As such, part of a counsellor’s WHS responsibility includes making sure that they implement adaptive coping and self-care strategies (e.g., maintaining physical exercise and a healthy lifestyle, expressing their feelings, seeking support from their personal and professional networks, and using effective problem-solving techniques). It is also important that the organisation works collaboratively with workers to identify possible WHS risks associated with client work and develop appropriate strategies to prevent, minimise or eliminate these risks.

Referral

Most organisations will also have specific policies and processes regarding referrals. For example, your service may have a policy that any client who is showing signs of acute mental illness or who mentions that they have considered suicide should be referred to a service that specialises in helping people in these situations. This ensures the client is thoroughly assessed and receives the help they need (e.g., emergency services or mental health assessment team). In cases where you are unsure whether a client requires a referral, you should always discuss the matter with your supervisor manager. In all cases, make sure that you:

• Accurately and objectively record the client’s behaviour, including what they have said that has caused you concern.
• Discuss the matter with your supervisor or manager.
• Complete the relevant documentation, such as a client referrals form or case notes. Some organisations will have a standard form that all outgoing referrals must be carried out on. It is your responsibility to be familiar with relevant documentation.

Ultimately, counsellors must ensure that they comply with all relevant guidelines, policies, and procedures of the organisation they work for. As you progress through this course, you will learn much more about common organisational requirements (as well as a counsellor’s legal and ethical requirements).

Check your understanding of the content so far!

In this section of the module, you were introduced to the legal and ethical responsibilities you will have as a counsellor, including respecting and empowering clients, maintaining professional boundaries and confidentiality, and the importance of ensuring that you have the appropriate skills and competence to meet client needs. You also learned about the limitations of the counsellor role, including the importance of referral for some client issues. Finally, you learned about the importance of complying with organisational requirements. All of these requirements are important considerations in working with clients in counselling, which is what we will turn to in the final section.

• Australian Counselling Association (2018). ACA policy document on professional supervision. Retrieved from https://www.theaca.net.au/documents/ACA%20Supervision%20Policy.pdf
• Australian Counselling Association (2019). Code of ethics and practice of the association for counsellors of Australia. Retrieved from https://www.theaca.net.au/documents/ACA%20Code%20of%20Ethics%20and%20Practice%20Ver15.pdf
• Australian Human Rights Commission (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2021 from: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/what-are-human-rights
• Geldard, D., Geldard, K., & Yin Foo (2017). Basic personal counselling: A training manual for counsellors (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.