Islamic Counselling: Ethical Standards that must be Adhered to

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Introduction There are some principles of ethics that are part of professional practice. Taking the right ethical decisions is very important in practice and ethics serves as a guide to accomplish it. Ethics are often perceived in the negative sense particularly because it involves rules and regulations that may lead to sanctions or other types of punishment if not abided by. Ethics is way beyond just rules and regulations. A practitioner uses ethics to become the best practitioner. This is known as positive ethics, where the practitioner go out of their way to be the best possible ones rather than simply abiding by rules and regulations.

Practitioners sometimes come across tough and challenging questions that do not have answers that are straight forward. These ethics are not meant to take decisions for you. As you are involved in counselling patients, you will be gradually applying the necessary ethics in order to make the best decision Putting Clients’ Needs before Your Own. We need to strike a balance between our needs and our clients’ needs. We ask ourselves a question. Is it my needs or the needs of the clients that is being met? It will be unethical to satisfy our needs at the expense of the clients’ needs

“Moderation is a factor, which may lead to changing individual and society. Muslim counselors can correct extreme, crooked, irrational thinking and action people, which spoil the characteristics of a justly balanced society. The root cause of peoples’ destructive action, erroneous decision, and initiative to abusive behavior is their experience of “learned helplessness” derived from a circumstance. Hence the role of moderation in the social change process is functioned through the counselors, whereby they may employ the idea of moderation in replacing perceived helplessness and building a justly balanced society”. Ref: Tariq M. Zyed 2004. Major ethical issues that must be adhered to

1. Ethics in Decision Making

Day by day practitioners come across issues that’s requires them to apply ethics. It is not compulsory for a practitioner to take decisions by himself. However he should know all the consequences of being negligent

“Perhaps most important, ethics codes can provide a basis for reflecting on and improving your professional practice. Self- monitoring is a better route for professionals to take than being policed by an outside agency (Herlihy & Corey, 2006)”.

Unfortunately there is so much pressure from fear of becoming sued in some cases which limits the practitioners’ horizon. His primary aim will be to avoid that lawsuit instead of clients’ satisfaction. This affects creativity in the workplace.

It is important to avoid lawsuits but what is equally important is not to confuse legal with ethical. Some ways to avoid the lawsuit involves; putting your clients’ needs first, respecting and appreciating them and of course abiding by the ethical codes provided by the institution.

When taking ethical decisions, the following steps are recommended;

a. Determine the nature of the problem(legal, or ethical, moral etc.) by identifying what the problem is which is done by collecting information b. Determine the roles and duties of the parties involved c. Check the consistency of your values and ethics with those that are stated in the relevant guidelines d. Look for other views from other sources as regards to the clients records e. Involve your client in taking possible actions f. Research on the consequences of all the options at hand and how it can affect the patient. g. Pick the best possible option and implement it, follow up when necessary and evaluate the outcome. This is a very critical legal and ethical part of therapy. It means that the client has a right to be aware of what happening in the therapy and can take decisions on the issue. Once the clients get the information they need, they tend to make informed decision which in turn improves the relationship between the practitioner and the client. This further empowers your clients which creates a stronger bond between them.

It is obvious from above that informed consent is much more than just signing forms. It encourages the power of collaboration, makes the clients very involved, participative and active. It is important to strike a balance between giving client too much or too little information.

2. Confidentiality

“Confidentiality is an ethical concept, and in most states the legal duty of therapists to not disclose information about a client. Privileged communication is a legal concept that generally bars the disclosure of confidential communications in a legal proceeding (Committee on Professional Practice and Standards, 2003)”. Confidentiality is the main ethical standard that any practitioner should be aware of. It is the ingredient to building the trust between him and a client.

3. “The Right of Informed Consent” Sessions can never take place if the clients don't trust the practitioners fully. So if there is some degree of the confidentiality that may be compromised, then these professionals should disclose them to the clients. At the beginning of the counselling session, it is a requirement to discuss the nature of confidentiality with your client. If that practitioner is discussing part of the therapy with his colleague then this must be disclosed to the client.

In some cases confidentiality may be breached; issues involving child abuse, danger to one’s self etc. Ethical issues on culture of clients must be taken into perspective in therapy. Failing to address this issue can results to unethical practices. To fully understand your client information about his culture and environments must be taken into context Some techniques developed by white people may not work on Latinos or Asians.

“Most techniques are derived from counseling approaches developed by and for White, male, middle-class, Western clients. These approaches may not be applicable to clients from different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. Western models of counseling have some limitations when applied to special populations and cultural groups such as Asian and Pacific Islanders, Latinos, Native Americans, and African Americans. Rigid adherence to traditional Western counseling theories often results in ineffective outcomes for clients from diverse cultural backgrounds (Ivey et al., 2007)”.

“Moreover, value assumptions made by culturally different counselors and clients have resulted in culturally biased counseling and have led to underuse of mental health services by diverse populations (Pedersen, 2000; D. W. Sue & Sue, 2008)”.

4. Individual and Environmental Factors

It is essential to consider both cultural and social factors of an individual crises. When it comes to the environment, consolers can use different techniques from traditional therapies to enable them deal with the struggle effectively.

5. Ethics in Assessment Process “Assessment should not precede and dictate intervention; rather, it is woven in and out of the therapeutic process as a pivotal component of therapy itself (Duncan, Miller, & Sparks, 2004)”

“Assessment consists of evaluating the relevant factors in a client’s life to identify themes for further exploration in the counseling process. Diagnosis, which is sometimes part of the assessment process, consists of identifying a specific mental disorder based on a pattern of symptoms that leads to a specific diagnosis.” (Duncan, Miller, & Sparks, 2004)”

Most of the practitioners considers assessment and diagnosis to be focused on understanding a client. It is important to assess the clients’ whole body involving; spirit, mind and body. Biological factors must be taken into account.

Conclusion

The practitioners should open their ears to all sorts of questions referred to as professional maturity. It further means you being able to discuss your issues with your colleagues. One can conceal the identity of his client and still retrieve helpful information that will enable him take ethical decisions. As mentioned above, these ethics don't make decisions for us. It is left to us to explore the problems, ask questions, discuss ethical issues with colleagues and endeavor to set and follow your values. The key to successful therapy is effective collaboration. Involve your client fully, be open to suggestions, and make sure you document each and every aspect of the therapy session.

Bibliography

1. Baker, S. (2003). Caring for Ourselves: A Therapist’s Guide to Personal and Professional Well-Being. American counselling association.

2. Corey, G. (2004). Theory and practice of counselling and psychotherapy. American counselling association.

3. D. W. Sue & Sue. (2008). Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice. I.C.E publishing 4. Herlihy & Corey. (2006). Boundary Issues in Counseling: Multiple Roles and Responsibilities. Riyadh publishing.

5. Koocher G, Keith-Spiegel P. (1998) Ethics in Psychology: Professional Standards and Cases. Oxford University Press. 6. Pedersen, M. (2000). A Handbook for Developing Multicultural Awareness. American counselling association.

7. Pope KS, Vasquez M. (1991). Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling: A Practical Guide for Psychologists. San Francisco publishing.

8. Tariq M Zayed. (2014). The Application of Islamic Moderation in Counseling: Making a Justly Balanced Society. New York university publishing.