essay on counselling values

To what extent do counsellors' personal values, beliefs and attitudes inform the practice of unconditional acceptance in counselling and how are these shaped and cultivated?

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5 Principles of Counselling: A Comprehensive Guide to Effective Therapy

• by Thomas Harrison
• October 7, 2023

Are you interested in the principles that underpin the field of counselling? Do you want to understand the ethical considerations and codes of conduct that guide professional counsellors? If so, you’ve come to the right place! In this blog post, we will delve into the five fundamental principles of counselling, shed light on common ethical issues, and explore the core values that make a good counselor.

Counselling is a dynamic field that aims to help individuals navigate challenges, find solutions, and achieve personal growth. By understanding the principles that form the foundation of counselling, we can gain insights into its purpose and effectiveness. Whether you’re a student aspiring to become a counselor or simply curious about the field, this comprehensive guide will provide you with valuable knowledge.

So, let’s embark on a journey through the key principles of counselling and uncover the ethical considerations vital to successful therapy. By the end, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the principles that drive effective counselling interventions and the importance of maintaining ethical standards in the profession.

Now that you’re ready, let’s explore the principles of counselling and gain a deeper understanding of this transformative field!

Five Fundamental Principles of Counselling

Establishing trust and rapport.

In order to create a successful therapeutic relationship, trust and rapport must be established between the counselor and the client. This is akin to the trust you have in a fast-food restaurant that promises to deliver your fries piping hot and not soggy. A counselor must ensure that their clients feel safe and comfortable enough to open up and share their deepest concerns, just like how you feel at ease ordering a burger without the worry of getting a side of stomachache.

Confidentiality: The Vault of Secrecy

Confidentiality is as essential in counseling as a secret password to enter an elite society. Counselors must treat their clients’ personal information with the utmost care and safeguard it like a precious treasure hidden away in a secret vault. Just like a celebrity’s secretive plastic surgery transformation or a politician’s undisclosed love affair, client information should never be shared without their explicit permission—it’s their story to tell, not the counselor’s.

Empathy: The Power of Emotional Connection

Empathy is the magical ingredient that allows counselors to dive into the emotional rollercoaster of their clients’ lives. It’s like being handed a box of tissues when you’re sobbing during a rom-com movie—someone understands your pain. Genuine empathy allows counselors to validate their clients’ experiences and emotions, fostering a sense of connection and support. It’s as essential as a well-timed hug when you need it most.

Active Listening: Ears Wide Open

Active listening is not just pretending to listen while you secretly scroll through funny cat videos on your phone—it requires full attention and engagement. Counselors must put their listening skills to the test, just like you do when your friends drone on about their complicated relationship drama . By truly hearing and understanding their clients’ words, concerns, and underlying emotions, counselors can respond thoughtfully and offer meaningful support.

Unconditional Positive Regard: No Judgment Zone

Counseling is like a judgment-free zone where clients can feel like they’re at a judgment-free all-you-can-eat buffet. Counselors must provide unconditional positive regard, accepting their clients without criticism or condemnation. They create a safe space where clients can explore their thoughts, feelings, and actions openly, without fear of judgment. It’s like having a friend who always has your back, even when you make questionable life choices.

When it comes to counseling, these five key principles lay the foundation for a successful therapeutic journey. By establishing trust and rapport, maintaining confidentiality, displaying empathy, practicing active listening, and offering unconditional positive regard, counselors create an environment that allows clients to grow, heal, and thrive. So, if you’re considering counseling, remember these principles—and be prepared to dive deep into an enriching and transformative experience.

FAQ: What are the five principles of counseling?

Welcome to our comprehensive FAQ-style guide on the five principles of counseling. In this section, we will answer some frequently asked questions about the principles that form the foundation of this essential field. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in!

What are the 5 most important work ethics

Work ethics play a vital role in counseling, ensuring a professional and ethical practice. Here are the five most important work ethics for counselors:

Integrity : Counselors must demonstrate honesty, professionalism, and ethical behavior in all interactions with clients.

Confidentiality : Ensuring client privacy and maintaining confidentiality are crucial aspects of counseling ethics.

Respect : Counselors must respect the autonomy, beliefs, and values of their clients, fostering an atmosphere of acceptance and non-judgment.

Competence : Maintaining competence through ongoing education and training is vital for counselors to provide effective and quality care.

Boundaries : Establishing clear boundaries helps maintain a professional relationship and prevent conflicts of interest.

What are the 4 ethical considerations

Ethical considerations help guide counselors when facing dilemmas and challenges in their practice. The four main ethical considerations in counseling are:

Informed Consent : Counselors must obtain informed consent from clients before starting therapy, ensuring they understand the process, potential risks, and benefits.

Confidentiality and Privacy : Respecting client confidentiality and privacy is crucial, except in situations where ethical or legal obligations require disclosure.

Dual Relationships : Counselors should avoid engaging in dual relationships (such as becoming friends or involved in a client’s personal life) to maintain professional boundaries.

Professional Competence : Counselors are ethically obliged to provide competent and evidence-based care, continually updating their skills and knowledge.

What are the code of ethics

The code of ethics serves as a guide for practicing counselors, establishing standards and principles to ensure ethical conduct. Although specific codes may vary across counseling organizations and jurisdictions, they generally cover similar areas, including:

• Professional Conduct : Outlining expectations for professional behavior and integrity.
• Confidentiality : Defining how counselors should handle client information in a confidential manner.
• Informed Consent : Stipulating guidelines for obtaining informed consent from clients.
• Competence : Emphasizing the need for counselors to maintain competence and provide quality care.
• Boundaries : Detailing appropriate professional boundaries and potential conflicts of interest.
• Ethical Decision Making : Providing a framework for ethical decision-making when faced with dilemmas.

What are the ethical issues in counseling

Ethical issues in counseling can arise due to various factors. Some common ethical issues include:

Confidentiality Breaches : Situations where counselors may need to breach confidentiality due to safety concerns or legal obligations.

Dual Relationships : When counselors find themselves in multiple roles with clients (e.g., counselor and employer), potentially compromising objectivity.

Informed Consent : Challenges in ensuring clients fully understand and provide informed consent for counseling.

Competence : Issues that may arise when counselors lack the necessary training and skills to effectively address client needs.

Cultural Sensitivity : Ensuring counselors navigate cultural and diversity issues with sensitivity, avoiding bias or discrimination.

What are the 5 ethical considerations

In counseling, various ethical considerations help counselors maintain professional and ethical conduct. The five key ethical considerations are:

Autonomy : Respecting a client’s right to make independent decisions and guiding them towards self-determination.

Beneficence : Promoting the well-being and best interests of clients, doing what is ultimately good for them.

Non-maleficence : Avoiding harm to clients and ensuring their safety and well-being.

Justice : Treating all clients fairly and equitably, without discrimination or bias.

Fidelity : Building trust and establishing a relationship based on trustworthiness, loyalty, and honesty.

What are the 4 contexts of counseling

Counseling can take place within various contexts, providing support and guidance tailored to different individuals and situations. The four main contexts of counseling are:

School counseling : Focusing on the unique needs of students, helping address academic, social, and emotional challenges.

Mental health counseling : Providing therapy to individuals with mental health disorders, promoting overall well-being and recovery.

Marriage and family counseling : Assisting couples and families in addressing relationship issues and fostering healthy dynamics.

Career counseling : Helping individuals explore career options, make informed choices, and develop strategies for professional growth.

What are 5 examples of ethics

Ethics provide a foundational framework for ethical decision-making in counseling. Here are five examples of ethics that guide counselors’ practice:

Informed Consent : Ensuring clients are provided with all relevant information before starting therapy.

Confidentiality : Safeguarding client privacy and information except in cases where disclosure is necessary.

Professional Boundaries : Maintaining appropriate boundaries to prevent conflicts of interest and protect the client-counselor relationship.

Cultural Competence : Recognizing and respecting cultural diversity while avoiding biases or discrimination.

Continuing Education : Commitment to ongoing professional development to stay updated with advances in counseling practice.

What is the meaning of principles of counseling

The principles of counseling refer to foundational concepts and guidelines that inform the practice of counseling. These principles shape the therapist-client relationship and guide ethical and professional behavior in the field.

What are the 3 scopes of counseling

Counseling encompasses a wide range of scopes and specialties. The three primary scopes of counseling are:

Individual Counseling : Focusing on the needs and well-being of individual clients, addressing personal challenges and facilitating growth.

Group Counseling : Conducting counseling sessions with multiple individuals who share similar concerns, providing mutual support and guidance.

Family Counseling : Assisting families in improving communication, resolving conflicts, and strengthening relationships.

What is the most important principle of a counselor and why this principle

The most important principle of a counselor is the principle of Empathy . Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It allows counselors to connect with their clients on a deep and meaningful level, fostering trust, rapport, and a safe therapeutic environment. Through empathy, counselors can better comprehend their clients’ experiences, emotions, and perspectives, facilitating effective counseling and positive outcomes.

What is the difference between guidance and counseling

While guidance and counseling share similarities, they serve different purposes:

Guidance : Primarily focuses on providing advice, information, and support to individuals in making choices or decisions related to their personal, educational, or career paths.

Counseling : Involves a broader range of therapeutic interventions, aiming to address emotional, social, behavioral, and psychological issues that may hinder personal growth and well-being.

What are the qualities of a good counselor

Several qualities contribute to being a good counselor. Some essential qualities include:

Empathy and Compassion : The ability to understand and share the emotions of clients, showing genuine care and concern.

Active Listening : Paying close attention to clients, maintaining an open mind, and demonstrating understanding.

Non-judgmental Attitude : Creating a safe space where clients can freely express themselves without fear of criticism or judgment.

Ethical Conduct : Adhering to professional ethics and demonstrating integrity in all aspects of counseling practice.

Effective Communication : Clearly conveying information and actively engaging in therapeutic dialogue with clients.

What is core value of counseling

The core values of counseling are the fundamental principles that shape the field. These values include:

Respect : Treating every individual with dignity and honoring their autonomy, beliefs, and values.

Empathy : Understanding and sharing the feelings of clients, fostering a supportive and caring therapeutic relationship.

Integrity : Demonstrating honesty, professionalism, and ethical behavior in all aspects of counseling practice.

Cultural Sensitivity : Appreciating and valuing diversity, recognizing the impact of culture on clients’ experiences and perspectives.

Confidentiality : Safeguarding client privacy and maintaining the confidentiality of their personal information.

What is the best principle of counseling

While all principles of counseling are essential, the principle of Confidentiality stands out as one of the most important. Maintaining client confidentiality builds trust and enables clients to express their concerns openly. It ensures that the therapeutic relationship remains secure and encourages individuals to seek counseling without fear of their personal information being disclosed. Counselors must follow professional ethical guidelines and legal requirements to uphold the principle of confidentiality.

What are the 6 principles of counseling

The six principles of counseling provide a framework for effective practice and ethical conduct:

Autonomy : Respecting clients’ right to make their own decisions regarding their lives and therapy.

Beneficence : Promoting the well-being and overall welfare of clients.

Non-maleficence : Avoiding harm to clients and ensuring their safety.

Justice : Treating all clients fairly and without discrimination.

Fidelity : Demonstrating trustworthiness, loyalty, and honesty in the counseling relationship.

Veracity : Providing truthful and accurate information, avoiding dishonesty or deception.

What are the basic principles of counseling

The basic principles of counseling form the foundation of this profession. These principles include:

Respect for Autonomy : Acknowledging and fostering clients’ independence and self-determination.

Non-judgmental Attitude : Creating a safe and accepting environment for exploration and growth.

Client Empowerment : Assisting clients in recognizing their strengths and resources to overcome challenges.

Ethical Practice : Upholding professional ethics and maintaining confidentiality and privacy.

Cultural Sensitivity : Recognizing and respecting the influence of culture on clients’ experiences.

What are the 7 principles of ethics

While different ethical frameworks exist, seven principles serve as a guiding beacon for ethical conduct in counseling:

Autonomy : Respecting and valuing clients’ right to make decisions about their lives and treatment.

Justice : Providing fair and equal access to counseling services, free from discrimination.

Beneficence : Acting in the best interests of clients, promoting their well-being.

Non-maleficence : Avoiding harm to clients, ensuring their safety and welfare.

Fidelity : Building trust and maintaining loyalty and commitment to clients.

Veracity : Truthfulness, honesty, and transparent communication.

Integrity : Demonstrating honesty, integrity, and ethical behavior in all aspects of counseling practice.

What are the 10 moral values

Moral values shape our behavior and guide our choices. Here are ten commonly recognized moral values:

Honesty : Upholding truthfulness, sincerity, and integrity.

Respect : Treating others with dignity, tolerance, and acceptance.

Responsibility : Taking accountability for one’s actions and personal obligations.

Fairness : Emphasizing equality, impartiality, and justice.

Compassion : Showing empathy, care, and concern for others.

Integrity : Adhering to strong moral and ethical principles.

Courage : Actively facing challenges, fear, and adversity.

Generosity : Sharing resources, time, and kindness with others.

Gratitude : Expressing appreciation and thankfulness.

Forgiveness : Letting go of resentment and granting pardon.

What are the steps in the counseling process

The counseling process typically involves six key steps:

Establishing Rapport : Building a trusting and comfortable relationship with the client.

Assessment : Collecting information about the client’s concerns, history, and goals.

Goal Setting : Collaborating with the client to establish achievable therapy objectives.

Intervention : Implementing counseling techniques and strategies to address the client’s challenges.

Evaluation : Assessing the effectiveness of the intervention in achieving desired outcomes.

Termination and Follow-Up : Gradually concluding counseling and providing support as needed.

What are the stages of counseling

The counseling process usually encompasses several stages:

Building Rapport : Establishing trust and a supportive relationship between the counselor and client.

Assessment : Exploring the client’s background, concerns, and current challenges.

Goal Setting : Collaboratively establishing specific and measurable therapy objectives.

Intervention : Implementing appropriate counseling techniques to address the client’s needs.

Evaluation : Assessing progress and the effectiveness of interventions in achieving the desired outcomes.

Termination : Gradually concluding the counseling relationship, ensuring a smooth transition.

What are the five codes of ethics

Counseling organizations often establish codes of ethics to guide practitioners’ professional conduct. While codes may vary, they typically cover the following five domains:

Professional Responsibility : Emphasizing ethical behavior, competence, and continued professional development.

Confidentiality : Detailing guidelines for maintaining client privacy and ensuring confidentiality.

Informed Consent : Outlining the importance of providing clients with necessary information to make informed decisions.

Professional Relationships : Establishing boundaries and addressing dual relationships to protect the therapeutic alliance.

Professional Competence : Encouraging ongoing education and training to enhance counseling skills and knowledge.

What are some strong moral principles

Strong moral principles are essential in counseling practice. Some examples include:

Integrity : Acting honestly and ethically, adhering to strong moral values.

Respect : Valuing each client’s autonomy, beliefs, and worth as individuals.

Non-maleficence : Prioritizing client safety and well-being, avoiding harm.

Confidentiality : Safeguarding client privacy and maintaining confidentiality.

Justice : Providing fair and equal treatment and addressing social justice issues.

By embracing these moral principles, counselors can provide ethical and effective care to their clients.

We hope this FAQ-style guide has provided you with comprehensive insights into the five principles of counseling. Understanding and adhering to these principles is crucial for both seasoned and aspiring counselors, ensuring ethical practice and effective client care. If you have any additional questions or need further information, feel free to explore our other resources or consult a professional in the field. Happy counseling

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Thomas Harrison

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• v.86(2-3); 2019 May

Balancing Value Bracketing with the Integration of Moral Values in Psychotherapy: Evaluation of a Clinical Practice from the Perspective of Catholic Moral Theology

Matthew r. mcwhorter.

1 Divine Mercy University, Arlington, VA, USA

Value bracketing is a clinical practice proposed by graduate-level mental health counseling educators to help therapists-in-training learn how to avoid imposing their private values on clients as well as how to manage value conflicts with clients that emerge during the course of therapy. With value bracketing during professional work, a therapist does not refer to his or her private values so as not to influence a client’s decision-making process. When some academic writers describe this practice, however, they risk overemphasizing the distinction made between a therapist’s private values and the professional values that regulate his or her clinical work. This overemphasis is especially apparent in the assertion that a therapist’s religious morality must be entirely separated from the ethics of professional practice. In contrast with this viewpoint, I maintain that a Catholic therapist can both avoid imposing values on clients while at the same time balance value bracketing with the integration of religious morality into professional work. I approach this integration in two ways. First, I approach therapy from the perspective of the intellectual tradition from which value bracketing originates (the tradition of qualitative research involving phenomenological interviewing). From this perspective, I agree that bracketing is methodologically necessary during the stage of clinical interviewing but not necessarily during the stage of treatment planning (when both therapist and client consent to seek particular treatment goals). Second, I outline moral criteria derived from the Catholic intellectual tradition that can help therapists exercise practical wisdom when discerning their professional involvement in how clients will apply treatment outcomes outside of the therapy.

Summary: The goal of the foregoing discussion has been to explore how therapists might balance the clinical practice of value bracketing with a supplemental practice of value integration. Ways were sought for Catholic therapists to adopt the practice of value bracketing without it requiring the professional affirmation (in thought, word, or deed) of client decisions and behaviors that contradict the therapist’s private value system. An integration strategy to professional acculturation was explored where students and professionals seek to balance value bracketing with value integration. This balance is primarily to be located in the collaborative work of the therapist and the client when formulating a treatment plan together. At this stage of clinical work, a Catholic therapist consents to seek goals not only as a professional but also as a follower of Christ.

Value bracketing is a clinical practice proposed by graduate-level mental health counseling educators to help therapists-in-training learn how to avoid imposing their private values on clients as well as how to manage value conflicts with clients that emerge during the therapeutic process ( Corey et al. 2015 , 70; Herlihy and Corey 2014 , 198; Hook et al. 2017 , 173–78; Kocet and Herlihy 2014 , 182; Remley and Herlihy 2015 , 85). While this practice involves some clinical benefits, it also raises some concerns when evaluated from the perspective of Catholic moral theology. For example, does the practice of value bracketing require a Catholic therapist to aspire to be strictly value-free when conducting clinical work, to negate altogether his or her private values? Is it possible for a person entirely to separate private from professional values in order to compartmentalize the former and, if so, does this effort presuppose a dualistic anthropology (in other words, does this presuppose that a therapist’s religious identity is a kind of second self that has nothing to do with his or her professional identity)?

In what follows, I examine how Catholic therapists might balance value bracketing with the integration of moral values in clinical work. I first consider the professional therapeutic context in which value bracketing is practiced. I recognize some benefits to the practice and I also raise some concerns. In light of studies in cross-cultural psychology, I then explore an integration approach to professional acculturation where Catholic students and professionals seek to balance value bracketing with value integration. There are two aspects to the integration approach under consideration.

The first aspect of the suggested integration approach involves examining in more detail the intellectual tradition from which value bracketing originates. This tradition involves the qualitative research method of phenomenological interviewing. In light of this tradition, I acknowledge that value bracketing is helpful during the therapeutic stage of clinical interviewing. Yet I also observe that bracketing in this sense need not be understood to apply in the same way at the therapeutic stage of treatment planning (when both the therapist and the client together consent to seek particular treatment goals). My primary focus in this regard is on the moral consent given by the Catholic therapist to the treatment plan, not the informed consent of the client.

The second aspect of the suggested integration approach under consideration involves exploring traditional moral criteria found in the Catholic intellectual tradition. Such criteria can assist Catholic therapists to grow in practical wisdom in order to discern their moral involvement in the decisions of clients. These criteria include (1) discerning the various dimensions of a moral act, (2) assessing when a person has responsibility for unintended consequences, and (3) examining to what extent one is cooperating with the actions of others. I maintain that this twofold integration approach can assist a Catholic therapist who seeks to employ value bracketing so to avoid imposing values on clients but also not contradict the Catholic therapist’s religious morality.

The Context of Therapist Value Bracketing

Psychotherapy in contrast with moral and spiritual development.

When considering the moral responsibility of Catholic therapists with respect to their clients, Catholic moral theologians Benedict Ashley, Jean Deblois, and Kevin O’Rourke (2006) emphasize that therapists are foremost responsible to clients but not responsible for client decisions (p. 153). The authors indicate that the task of the therapist is distinct from assisting a client with moral development ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 152). In other words, according to these authors, it is not the task of the psychotherapist or mental health counselor to assist a client with obtaining moral freedom—the freedom from sin to which Paul alludes when proclaiming “Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1)—but rather with obtaining freedom from any psychological disturbance that impedes a client from the exercise of his or her autonomy. As such, the authors imply that a client’s psychotherapeutic change is distinct from that client’s moral development ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 154). The role of the therapist, they state, is not the same but only analogous to the role of “ethical and spiritual guides” ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 154; see also Brewster Smith 1978 , 195). Due to this distinction, it may be necessary for mental health professionals to refer clients to clerics, spiritual directors, or religious leaders for spiritual and moral advice ( Lovinger 1996 , 359; Plante 2009 , 66; 2016 , 279; Vieten et al. 2013 , 138; see also Pius XII 1953 , §34–37).

The Impact of Values on the Therapeutic Relationship

Assuming that this account by Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke (2006) is correct, one must still ask: how should a therapist understand his or her moral involvement in client decisions? Counseling ethicists Corey et al. (2015) observe that due to the different criteria that therapists and clients reference when making decisions, “value conflicts” can emerge during the therapeutic process (p. 72). By employing the language of “value” and “value system,” one has accepted at least implicitly what philosophical ethicists refer to as the fact/value (or is/ought) distinction ( Ashley 2000 , 15; Pojman and Fieser 2017 , 212–31). This distinction is also called “Hume’s fork” after the eighteenth-century British philosopher David Hume (2005) who called attention to the difference between statements of fact and statements of moral obligation (p. 363; see also Gensler 2011 , 38n, 45). Psychologist Alan Tjeltveit (1999) observes that the term “value” is used in many ways and argues that it should be defined in discussions of ethics in psychotherapy (pp. 83 and 104). In light of Hume’s fork, therefore, I use the term “value” at present to signify an ethical criterion that informs a person’s judgment concerning what should be desired or chosen (see also Tjeltveit 1999 , 86; Illes, Ellemers, and Harinck 2014 , 333). When a person is making a decision, a value provides that person with prescriptive or proscriptive guidance concerning which option is best ( Beutler and Bergan 1991 , 17).

A value system is intertwined with each person’s worldview ( Ashley 2000 , 15). Worldviews and value systems are present during psychotherapy and mental health counseling ( Bergin 1980 , 97; Gerig 2013 , 51–52; Parrott 1999 , 5). A client’s value system is operative, for example, when he or she makes a voluntary decision to pursue treatment. Different forms of psychotherapy and mental health counseling also involve affirmation of implicit values (e.g., rational beliefs should be preferred to irrational beliefs; Grayson 1982 , 56; Remley and Herlihy 2015 , 82). Further, there are basic “therapy values” to which a client must consent when entering a therapeutic relationship (such as valuing communication and receiving assistance; Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 152). There are also values present when therapists and clients consent together to pursue certain treatment plan goals (regarding such goals, see Wiger and Solberg 2001 , 105).

Client Autonomy

Ethical codes in the mental health fields recognize the roles that values play in the profession and the importance of therapists respecting client value systems. For example, the preamble of the 2014 Code of Ethics of the American Counseling Association (ACA) outlines several “professional values” that provide “a conceptual basis” for six key ethical principles ( ACA 2014 , Preamble). The primary ethical principle is the principle of respecting a client’s autonomy. Client autonomy is defined as “the right to control the direction of one’s life” ( ACA 2014 , Preamble). One finds a similar affirmation of the right to “self-determination” in the Code of the American Psychological Association (yet with recognition that in some persons, the capacity for “autonomous decision-making” is impaired; American Psychological Association 2003 , General Principles, Principle E).

Nonimposition of Therapist Private Values

In association with respecting a client’s autonomy, the ACA Code emphasizes that therapists must avoid influencing clients by imposing “personal values” upon them ( ACA 2014 , no. A.4.b). As defined by counseling ethicists Corey et al. (2015) , “Value imposition refers to counselors directly attempting to influence a client to adopt their values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. It is possible for mental health practitioners to do this either actively or passively” (p. 72). Some counseling theorists maintain that such value impositions are at worst coercive and at best paternalistic but in any event are always nonobservant of a client’s autonomy ( Tarvydas, Vazquez-Ramos, and Estrada-Hernandez 2015 , 227).

In clinical work, emphasis is to be placed on the client’s values not on the therapist’s private values. Psychologist Clara Hill (2014) explains that, “the goal of helping [as a therapist] is to encourage clients to explore and choose their own values” (p. 10; see also p. 411). In contrast with the client’s values, the therapist’s moral value system, according to counseling educators Theodore Remley Jr. and Barbara Herlihy (2015) , is to be placed among private values (pp. 2–3), along with any associated “religious values” ( Remley and Herlihy 2015 , 85). These authors state that instead of referencing their private moral value systems, students who are entering the professional field should instead take up and “share certain professional values” that “are articulated in the code of ethics” ( Remley and Herlihy 2015 , 3, emphasis in original text; see also De Jong and Berg 2013 , 256). As such, in this text, the authors entirely separate professional ethics from a student’s private religious morality ( Remley and Herlihy 2015 , 3).

Active and Passive Value Imposition

Ethicists Corey et al. (2015) indicate that when value imposition occurs actively and directly, such an imposition may entail “pressuring the client to choose a particular outcome” (p. 70). An example used by counseling educators Young and Cashwell (2011) is when a therapist proselytizes a client (p. 18). Remley and Herlihy (2015) give the example of a feminist therapist attempting to convert a female client to feminism when that client values religious subservience to her husband (p. 85). Hill (2014) gives the opposite example of a male therapist discouraging a female client from seeking a job because the male therapist believes that women should not work outside the home (p. 10). A further example Hill provides is of a therapist not allowing a client who has a terminal illness to explore the possibility of elective suicide should that client wish to do so (p. 411). Kurt and Piazza (2012) indicate that the role of the counselor in such a scenario is only to confirm that the client is exercising genuine autonomy when making the decision to seek elective suicide but not in any way to influence the client’s decision (p. 93).

In contrast with active value imposition, passive value imposition might be associated with a therapist responding to a client with greater affective warmth in relation to certain client behaviors or statements while not reacting in a similar way to other behaviors or statements ( Hill 2014 , 10). Describing these more subtle forms of value imposition, Remley and Herlihy (2015) maintain that such impositions can occur “through nonverbal responses, by focusing on some elements of a client’s story while not responding to others, and through the interventions [therapists] select” (p. 82, citing Francis and Dugger 2014 , 132).

Value Conflicts between Therapists and Clients

When a client’s actions and decisions are at variance with the therapist’s beliefs and morality, a value conflict can emerge during the course of the therapeutic relationship ( Corey et al. 2015 , 72). This is not a value conflict in the sense of an interior struggle that a client may experience between conflicting desires or responsibilities but rather a conflict between the value system of the client and the private value system of the therapist ( Ali, Allmon, and Cornick 2011 , 41). Remley and Herlihy (2015) indicate that such conflicts can become a problem for the therapeutic process and hamper professional work (p. 82). As a result, the authors stress that “it is crucial” for therapists to explore how “they will manage the value conflicts that inevitably will arise” ( Remley and Herlihy 2015 , 85). A therapist might be inclined to refer a client elsewhere when a value conflict emerges. Psychologists Hook et al. (2017) , for example, recommend such referrals for a novice therapist who cannot therapeutically support a particular client’s values and who is not able to practice value bracketing effectively (pp. 173–74). The ACA Code (2014) , however, rejects referral as an ethical option (no. A.11.b). Remley and Herlihy (2015) similarly maintain that a referral should occur only when there is a lack of professional competence in working with a client, not when there is a value conflict between the therapist and the client (p. 85).

Managing Value Conflicts: Therapist Value Bracketing

As distinct from making a referral, the clinical approach that counseling educators propose to assist therapists in managing value conflicts with clients involves learning how effectively to separate private values from values regulating professional work; value bracketing refers to this clinical practice ( Remley and Herlihy 2015 , 85). Some counseling ethicists describe this practice as protecting clients from counselor bias and from the imposition of the therapist’s private morality ( Corey et al. 2015 , 70). Describing the task of the mental health counselor, Herlihy and Corey (2014) assert that the counselor has an obligation to observe “appropriate boundaries” with clients and only to “provide a supportive environment” for clients to work through problems including ethical dilemmas (p. 204; on boundaries with clients, see also Holmes 2001 , xvi). Value bracketing, these authors indicate, is a practice that enables therapists to stay focused on “the client’s agenda” and not their own ( Herlihy and Corey 2014 , 198).

Benefits of Therapist Value Bracketing

The clinical practice of value bracketing offers Catholic therapists several benefits when they encounter value conflicts with clients. First, using the language of Law Professor Elizabeth R. Schiltz (2010) , one can affirm that there is a licit distinction to be made between the “private” domain of a person and the “public” or professional domain (p. 161). In many cases, the communication of a therapist’s private preferences to a client would lack professional propriety or relevance.

Further, a Catholic emphasis upon charity ( Corby 2018 ), empathy, compassion, and justice toward others precludes the inclination to execute moral judgments upon the personhood of clients, a concern also maintained by some counseling ethicists ( Corey et al. 2015 , 72; Young and Cashwell 2011 , 17). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2000) indicates that it is ultimately the prerogative of Christ to judge a person in accordance with his or her deeds (no. 1861). This catechesis is consistent with biblical teachings (Matt. 7:1–5), especially statements made by Paul in reference to non-Christian persons (1 Cor. 5:12–13). With respect to traditional Catholic theological anthropology, one must make a distinction between persons and their actions. In other words, a therapist’s moral discernment (carried out in light of the criteria of practical wisdom discussed below) pertains to judging actions rather than persons ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1749). In the same way, one may differentiate personal bias for or against others based on their inherent attributes (a practice that mental health workers should always avoid—see Boysen 2009 ) from the discernment of values regulating the choice of actions to be performed. Augustine sets the precedent in this regard when teaching that a Christian person should continue to love others without at the same time affirming the goodness of acts of sin ( Augustine 1956 , 46).

As a third point, it is reasonable when working in a pluralistic society that Catholic therapists professionally tolerate the de facto diversity (or relativity) of client value systems. In this respect, therapists might legitimately bracket moral issues pertaining to behaviors of a client that are not relevant to that client’s treatment plan. This does not mean, however, that a therapist needs to affirm the de iure or objective truth of moral relativism. Such is a philosophical position with respect to which Ratzinger (1996) , when serving as prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, raised legitimate concerns (see also Ratzinger 2003 , 117–19; Ratzinger 2006 , 56).

Finally, respect for the personhood of clients requires respecting client decisions and autonomy ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 152). Pope John Paul II (1993b) recognized in the important moral encyclical, Veritatis splendor , that “a rightful autonomy is due to every man” ( John Paul II 1993b , no. 38). The Pontiff maintains, however, that this autonomy does not extend to the creation of “values and moral norms” ( John Paul II 1993b , no. 40). The ecclesial council Vatican II (1990) maintains in a similar way that the Church respects the autonomy of earthly realities and human societies as well as recognizes the validity of methodological inquiry in the sciences, yet adds that scientific methodology should be exercised within the boundaries of “moral norms” (no. 36). With these observations made, one should note that bracketing moral judgments of clients differs from bracketing the therapist’s private value system that would regulate the therapist’s thoughts, words, and deeds, including affirmations communicated to clients during the course of therapy. It is when one considers value bracketing in this latter respect that certain concerns emerge.

Concerns with Value Bracketing

The difficulty of professional value neutrality.

An initial concern one might examine with respect to value bracketing involves whether the practice requires therapists to attempt to work professionally in a value-free modality, adopting in relation to each client a perspective that exemplifies what philosopher Thomas Nagel (1989) refers to as “the centerless view” from nowhere (p. 60). Some authors indicate that they believe this to be a requirement of clinical practice. For example, Linde (2016) , a member of the ACA ethics revision task force, states: “in counseling, it is important to leave our values and worldview at the door of the session and not allow how we see things to influence the way we view and work with our clients” (p. 21). Other authors, however, indicate that it is not possible to maintain total value neutrality in professional work ( Miller 2001 , 353; Titus 2017 , 447; Young and Cashwell 2011 , 16). For example, Hartwig Moorhead and Heller Levitt (2013) state, “Value neutrality in counseling is not only a past consideration but, in our opinion, a near impossibility” (p. 25). Philosopher and bioethicist James F. Drane (1982) argues that while value neutrality may remain an ideal for scientific psychotherapy and also for nonclinical psychological research, everyday clinical practice cannot ignore moral values (he refers to cases involving pedophilia or the “massive moral deficiencies” that can be present in cases of narcissism; pp. 18–19). The present issue, then, is not so much with attempting to work as a professional in an entirely value-free manner but rather to what extent a Catholic therapist can set aside his or her private value system and take on the client’s value system as required in clinical work ( Beutler, Machado, and Neufeldt 1994 , 242; citing Propst et al. 1992 , 94 and 102).

Self-Negation of a Therapist’s Private Value System

Herlihy and Corey (2014) state that mental health practitioners are not asked to negate their private value systems in an absolute way, but only while carrying out the professional tasks associated with clinical work (pp. 197–98). Some thinkers describe value bracketing understood in this way as requiring a kind of “self-compartmentalization” on the part of the therapist ( Shallcross 2010 , 33). Hamilton (2013) refers to this process as an effort “to quarantine therapy from the danger of a therapist imposing [private values] on the client” (p. 486). In this way, some counseling ethicists emphasize that therapy must occur strictly and solely within the client’s value system ( Corey et al. 2015 , 73 and 81).

The result of these proposals is that a therapist cannot evaluate or regulate his or her professional activity in accordance with his or her own private values. In this respect, a therapist may feel professionally required to affirm the goodness of a client’s decision (e.g., to procure an abortion) even though interiorly the therapist is deeply opposed to such an action (regarding this particular kind of value conflict, see Millner and Hanks 2002 ; Corey et al. 2015 , 70). The professional requirement to enter into such a state of self-contradiction can be interpreted as a kind of therapist self-negation. Writing from the perspective of Rogerian psychotherapy, for example, some authors refer to clinical work as involving a kind of self-sacrifice or self-emptying (kenosis) of the therapist vis-à-vis the client ( Fruewirth 2013 ; see also Phil. 2:7). Yet does such a proposal adequately respect the personal dignity of the therapist?

A Dualistic Understanding of Therapist Personhood

Some psychologists have questioned whether therapists can entirely separate their professional and private values in order to compartmentalize them in the manner described above ( Bergin, Payne, and Richards 1996 , 313, citing Beutler, Machado, and Neufeldt 1994 , 240). Should such a compartmentalization process be possible, one may also be concerned with whether the private value system of the therapist is receiving due respect. In other words, would not the professional structure of the therapeutic relationship, as self-defined by the community of professionals, require respecting the dignity of both the therapist and the client, and thus respecting the private moral value system of both parties?

To practice the aforementioned self-compartmentalization would involve a kind of psychological partitioning on the part of the therapist between the private and public (or professional) domains of the self, to the point of tacitly affirming a kind of dualism to the therapist’s personality. Such a dualism of the personality would need to be affirmed in order for a therapist to contradict his or her own core values during professional discourse. Should such a dualism be consistent with Catholic anthropology, the Apostolic council of Jerusalem, for example, would not have proscribed members of the early Church from eating food that had been offered to the idols of the civil cult (Acts 15:29). Some professionals may be comfortable embracing such a dualism. A genuine Catholic anthropology, however, will affirm the unity of a person in his or her thinking, speech, and actions ( Moncher and Titus 2009 , 25; Nordling and Scrofani 2009 ; see also the discussion of unified therapeutic presence in Brownell 2015 , 91–92). Further, as clinical psychologist Philip Brownell (2015) observes, ethical consistency is an essential aspect of a person’s spirituality (p. 77). Would not the effort to discern ethical congruence between a therapist’s professional and private values contribute to the genuineness of the therapist’s personal character? Psychotherapist Carl Rogers (1957) maintains that such genuineness is to be found not when a therapist presents a “façade” to the client but rather when the therapist interacts with the client as an “integrated person” who “within the [therapeutic] relationship…is freely and deeply himself” (p. 97). From this interpersonal perspective, therefore, a Catholic therapist’s private value system cannot entirely be set aside or negated in order to participate in professional work.

Professional Acculturation Concerns

Aside from the philosophical problems associated with interpreting value bracketing as promoting a kind of dualism to the therapist’s personhood, one might also pause to consider the pedagogical effectiveness of value bracketing when it is proposed to students as the sole remedy for managing value conflicts with clients. Construing the ethical codes of a professional field to promote a kind of culture that students are expected to adopt, some mental health ethicists suggest understanding pedagogy as an acculturative process ( Bashe et al. 2007 ; Handelsman, Gottlieb, and Knapp 2005 ; Sells and Hagedorn 2016 , 272). Adopting categories from cross-cultural psychology to describe various acculturation approaches ( Berry and Sam 1997 , 296–99; Berry 2003 , 24), these ethicists caution against a pedagogical approach where students are expected simply to assimilate to professional culture ( Handelsman, Gottlieb, and Knapp 2005 , 61). It is the process of acculturation by assimilation that is operative in pedagogy when value bracketing (interpreted as requiring a kind of total self-compartmentalization on the part of the student) is proposed as the sole remedy to navigate value conflicts with clients.

According to ethicists Handelsman, Gottlieb, and Knapp (2005) , the assimilation approach to pedagogy in professional ethics can lead to student acculturation problems (p. 61). The authors state that such problems can involve a new therapist basing his or her ethical practice on a “shaky foundation” or making ethical decisions as guided by an empty legalism ( Handelsman, Gottlieb, and Knapp 2005 , 61). Psychologist John W. Berry (2003) observes that, “when acculturation experiences cause problems for acculturating individuals, it results in the phenomenon of acculturative stress” (p. 26). Berry writing elsewhere with cross-cultural psychologist David Sam (1997) states that such tension, stress, and related problems ultimately impede the process of personal acculturation or “adaptation to the new cultural context” (p. 299). What alternative acculturation strategy might help facilitate the education of students in the mental health fields by affirming the clinical benefits of value bracketing yet not requiring a total self-compartmentalization on the part of the therapist?

Developing an Integrative Balance to Value Bracketing

Balancing value bracketing with value integration.

In order to facilitate adaptation to professional culture and prevent associated acculturative stress in students (as well as stress in established clinicians who encounter a culture change in their professional field), some ethicists point to the greater effectiveness of an integration approach to acculturation ( Bashe et al. 2007 , 61; Handelsman, Gottlieb, and Knapp 2005 , 60–62). Berry (2003) maintains that, “when people have an interest in maintaining their original culture during daily interactions with other groups, they use the integration strategy” (p. 24). He explains that acculturation by way of integration “involves the selective adoption of new behaviors from the larger society and retention of valued features of one’s heritage culture” ( Berry 2003 , 31). Such a person, Berry states elsewhere, becomes “bi-cultural” ( Berry and Sam 1997 , 297). The research of Berry (2003) emphasizes that acculturation by way of integration is ultimately more successful than that of assimilation (p. 33; see also Berry and Sam 1997 , 318). He indicates that a professional field, however, would need to support such an integrative approach to student acculturation ( Berry and Sam 1997 , 318).

Approaching Value Integration

What might an acculturation strategy based on integration look like for a therapist who combines a Catholic value system (including a Catholic anthropological vision) with his or her professional work in psychotherapy or clinical mental health counseling? Integration as it is being discussed here must be understood in a way that is distinct from the integration of a client’s religion or spirituality into his or her treatment plan (for this, a therapist would need to acquire a spiritual competency; see, e.g., Brownell 2015 ; Shafranske and Sperry 2005 ; Young and Cashwell 2011 , 15–19). Integration as considered here, rather, pertains to the intersection of a therapist’s private value system with his or her professional work.

Although counseling educators Kocet and Herlihy (2014) primarily stress the professional importance of value bracketing, they also state that bracketing as a clinical practice should be balanced with the integration of a therapist’s private values (p. 182). Unfortunately, Kocet and Herily do not explore what such an integration might entail. Even so, it is clear that value integration would serve as a kind of counterpoint, so to speak, to value bracketing; value integration would function as a supplemental clinical practice. Elsewhere, Herlihy and Corey (2014) describe the process of integration as an effort to reconcile one’s private value system with the value system of the counseling profession (p. 196). Some counseling educators indicate that such a reconciliation might require the evolution of a student’s private values into the values of the profession. Ametrano (2014) , for example, explores guiding students through such a process of value reconciliation . In her discussion, it is evident that the process of value reconciliation involves students not only exploring but also challenging their private value systems ( Ametrano 2014 , 160). In contrast, a genuine integration approach would not seek to change a student’s value system but rather, as Sells and Hagedorn (2016) state, promote a strategy where students “integrate their personal identities with their professional identities” (p. 272). Without promising a perfect reconciliation, these authors assert that students should be guided to “walk within the tension” of balancing their private value systems with the expectations of the profession ( Sells and Hagedorn 2016 , 273). Locating this balance (a mean between the excess of imposing private values on clients and the defect of therapist total self-negation) requires the exercise of a unique kind of practical wisdom (for a general discussion of the professional virtues of a therapist, see Fowers 2003 , 425; Jordan and Meara 1999 , 144; Meara, Schmidt, and Day 1996 ; Moncher and Titus 2009 , 28; on the virtue of practical wisdom or prudence, see Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1806; Mitchell 2015 , 162). One possible way to achieve this balance is to consider therapist self-disclosure to clients.

Therapist Self-Disclosure and Client Informed Consent

Some thinkers indicate that a therapist can exercise practical wisdom to discern how appropriately to disclose his or her private values to clients while also maintaining a professional distance that is respectful of a client’s autonomy (see, e.g., Holmes 1996 , 268–69). Other ethicists in the field of mental health counseling, however, discourage any disclosure of a therapist’s private values to clients. Corey et al. (2015) , for example, maintain that such “values exposure” or therapist communication of value judgments “can determine the direction of counseling” and “control the process of therapy” (p. 79). These authors argue that such disclosures can jeopardize developing a therapeutic alliance with a client ( Corey et al. 2015 , 82). They state that therapist disclosures “can easily convey a judgmental attitude to clients about issues with which they may be struggling” ( Corey et al. 2015 , 70). Similarly, clinical psychologist Michael Kahn (1997) observes that too much therapist self-disclosure can risk missing the important therapeutic opportunity to explore why a client may be asking questions about the private values of the therapist (p. 149).

Conversely, Kahn (1997) also acknowledges that modest self-disclosure makes the therapeutic process more human and communication more bidirectional (p. 149). Similarly, psychologists Hook et al. (2017) state that the theoretical orientation of interpersonal psychotherapy supports a therapist’s decision to engage in an open “collaborative values discussion” with a client (p. 175). Counseling educators Hagedorn and Hartwig Moorhead (2011) likewise observe that there are counseling theories that “encourage transparency” on the part of the mental health professional (p. 86). For example, Millner and Hanks (2002) maintain that it is appropriate for a clinician to disclose his or her personal viewpoint to a client regarding the moral issue of abortion as long as the clinician does not interfere with the client’s autonomy in making a decision whether or not to procure an abortion (p. 61).

The disclosure of the general value system of an agency is exemplified in the current ethics statement publicized by Catholic Charities USA (2007) . Referring to the religious values of the agency, the code states, “the identity of the agency is clearly Catholic. As such, agencies adhere to the social and moral teachings of the Catholic Church” ( Catholic Charities USA 2007 , 1.13a). In connection with this affirmation of the agency’s Catholic value system, the code then states, “the agency does not provide services contrary to teachings of the Church, such as abortion counseling” ( Catholic Charities USA 2007 , 1.13c; “abortion counseling” here might be interpreted as “abortion affirmative counseling”). This disclosure of agency values, so to speak, also affects how Catholic Charities understands the informed consent process ( Catholic Charities USA 2007 , 1.04d). The explicit communication of such pretherapy disclosures, according to psychotherapy ethicists Lewis and Epperson (1993) , does not necessarily result in a disinclination on the part of clients to pursue therapy with explicitly Christian agencies (pp. 100–101; see also Beutler and Bergan 1991 , 22). Further, in contrast with Corey et al. (2015) , Bergin, Payne, and Richards (1996) maintain that consent and agreement between the therapist and the client regarding values contribute to the development of the therapeutic alliance (p. 313).

Implicit Value Integration

An approach to integration involving explicit therapist self-disclosure to clients may not greatly benefit Catholic therapists working in non-Catholic professional settings. Given the diversity of clients with whom a Catholic therapist might work as well as the diversity of professional settings, the insights of Siang-Yang Tan (1996) regarding implicit integration provide a helpful contribution to the current discussion. According to Tan, “The therapist practicing from an implicit integration model or perspective can still be a religious person who shows respect and caring for the client, while maintaining values, including religious values, that are consistent with the therapist’s own religious convictions and beliefs” (p. 368; see also Walker, Gorsuch, and Tan 2004 , 71; Plante 2009 , 67; Pompeo and Heller Levitt 2014 , 84). These remarks of Tan (1996) regarding implicit integration point directly to the kind of just balance that can be sought between the values of the therapist and the values of the client. In this way, “implicit integration” is understood here not as a desire that therapists impose private moral values on clients nor seek to change a client’s value system, but rather a desire that therapists use practical wisdom with respect to each client in order to discern a balance between that client’s values and the Catholic therapist’s private moral values. A brief exploration of the historical background of value bracketing provides a context for understanding with more precision where this balance is to be located during the therapeutic process.

The Origin of Value Bracketing: Qualitative Research and Phenomenological Interviewing

Value bracketing as a professional practice can be traced to particular methodological recommendations found in qualitative research design. In this regard, counseling ethicists Kocet and Herlihy (2014) refer readers to a text authored by social science researchers Catherine Marshall and Gretchen Rossman (2011) . Kocet and Herlihy (2014) state that they are adapting the understanding of bracketing presented by these authors for the application to the work of clinical mental health counselors (p. 182). Marshall and Rossman (2011) in turn follow the qualitative methodology proposed by education researcher Irving Seidman (2006) and consultant Michael Patton (1990) . According to Patton, qualitative research design is influenced by two primary intellectual traditions, ethnography and phenomenology (p. 153; see also Creswell 2007 ). It is the latter tradition of phenomenology that is important for understanding the origin of clinical value bracketing. One might note that in the Catholic intellectual tradition, both Karol Wojtyla (John Paul II) and Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) explored philosophical phenomenology and its methods as developed by the philosopher Edmund Husserl (for Wojtyla, see Wojtyla 1993 , 210 and 226; see also Köchler 1982 ; Kupczak 2000 , 7; Schmitz 1993 ; for Stein, see Stein 1989 , 3–4; see also Brownell 2015 , 22; for Husserl, see Husserl 2014 , no. 32; see also Patton 1990 , 69; Sokolowski 1999 , 2–3).

Qualitative research design employs the presuppositions of philosophical phenomenology to develop an approach to interviewing research participants ( Kvale 1983 ; Marshall and Rossman 2011 , 148). Phenomenological interviewing in qualitative research is in this regard analogous to the clinical interviewing that occurs between a therapist and a client ( Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan 2009 ; Shea 2017 ). While there are variations in approach (see Smith and Shinebourne 2012 , 74), here, I primarily draw upon the discussion of Marshall and Rossman (2011) who describe phenomenological interviewing as a process that aims to understand the essential meaning of any phenomenon under consideration (pp. 19–20 and 148; see also Kvale 1983 , 184; Patton 1990 , 69). For example, a researcher in psychology might seek to understand the essential meaning of “therapist empathy” by contrasting various experiential accounts offered by different therapists. According to Patton (1990) , that there is such an essential meaning to be mutually experienced by different persons is the key philosophical assumption of phenomenological research (p. 70). If one applies this discussion analogously to clinical interviewing as Kocet and Herlihy (2014) suggest, then both the therapist and the client may have similar life experiences that enable them to understand the essential meaning of any clinical phenomenon under consideration (e.g., the phenomenon of addiction or depression—although the therapist’s experience of the phenomenon may be indirect by the way of study or work with previous clients).

At the initial stage of the phenomenological interview, qualitative researchers are asked to employ a research skill called methodological bracketing ( Marshall and Rossman 2011 , 148; see also Patton 1990 , 408; Sokolowski 1999 , 49–50; Wertz 2005 , 168). Thus, just as phenomenological interviewing is analogous to clinical interviewing, so is methodological bracketing in research analogous to clinical value bracketing. According to Marshall and Rossman (2011) , by the use of bracketing, researchers guard against presuppositions that the researchers might maintain regarding the phenomenon being described by the research participants (p. 159). Bracketing enables participants to disclose more information and so there is more research data to be collected ( Creswell and Miller 2000 , 127; Kvale 1983 , 176).

The researcher’s comportment or interaction style with the participant is itself the realization of the phenomenological method ( Kvale 1983 , 178). The researcher chiefly employs open-ended questions in order that the participant might guide the interview, perhaps even leading the dialogue in an unexpected way ( Smith and Osborn 2004 , 233; Seidman 2006 , 15 and 130). Researcher bracketing also benefits the research participant because the participant is able to reconstruct and consolidate his or her experience when reporting to the researcher; in this way, the researcher is better able to understand how the participant understands the phenomenon under consideration ( Seidman 2006 , 24).

It is important to note in relation to the topic of clinical value bracketing that at a later synthetic stage of qualitative research, the researcher’s judgment about the phenomenon is no longer bracketed ( Marshall and Rossman 2011 , 148). At this later synthetic stage, the researcher’s private experience can also be integrated into the data. According to Marshall and Rossman (2011) , “the primary advantage of phenomenological interviewing is that it permits an explicit focus on the researcher’s personal experience combined with those of the interview partners” (p. 148, emphasis added). Due to the interpersonal nature of the phenomenological interview, the essential meaning of the phenomenon under consideration ultimately emerges out of the interaction between the interviewee and the interviewer, each party having a reciprocal influence on the other ( Kvale 1983 , 178). Bracketing therefore occurs not as an end unto itself but operates at an initial stage of the process of seeking understanding, a process where ultimately the researcher’s experience is also integrated into the results. I proceed now to examine how this discussion of the origin of value bracketing contributes to discerning how therapist value bracketing might be balanced with the integration of the therapist’s experience in clinical work.

Value Bracketing during the Therapeutic Stage of Clinical Interviewing

The foregoing discussion points to the importance of therapists bracketing cognitive presuppositions during clinical interviewing for the sake of acquiring a better understanding of clients.

This practice encourages a kind of cognitive caution on the part of the therapist during the clinical interview ( Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan 2009 , 24–31). Such caution is itself an exercise of practical wisdom. Bracketing a therapist’s presuppositions involves bracketing not only expectations about a client’s value system but also bracketing emotional responses to client disclosures. In order to bracket such emotional responses, therapists must engage in an ongoing process of developing self-awareness; this interior work requires clarifying private moral values ( Corey et al. 2015 , 71; Herlihy and Corey 2014 , 198; see also Ali, Allmon, and Cornick 2011 , 41; Bergin 1980 , 101; Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1779; Hagedorn and Hartwig Moorhead 2011 , 72; Kelly and Strupp 1992 , 39; Lyddon and Adamson 1992 , 46; Pompeo and Levitt 2014 , 82; Vieten et al. 2013 , 136). In a similar way, psychologists Hook et al. (2017) state that novice therapists can experience “a lack of integrity” when practicing value bracketing because they may not yet be highly developed with respect to emotional self-regulation and client empathy (p. 174). Herlihy and Corey (2014) also recommend that therapists engage in value self-monitoring in order to discern how private values are interacting with and influencing professional work (p. 198). This awareness will assist therapists in discerning whether countertransference may be occurring during interaction with clients (countertransference occurs when a therapist confuses his or her own values and emotions with the values and emotions of the client; Hill 2014 , 237; Kahn 1997 , 143–44).

Value Integration during the Therapeutic Stage of Treatment Planning

Treatment planning occurs subsequent to clinical interviewing ( Wiger and Solberg 2001 , 105; De Jong and Berg 2013 , 5). With treatment planning, objectives are considered that serve as measurable steps that might be taken to achieve more general client goals ( Wiger and Solberg 2001 , 105). Treatment planning, some counseling ethicists state, should be focused solely on the client’s goals and not on goals that the therapist might prescribe for a client (the therapist’s “agenda”; Corey et al. 2015 , 84). Such prescriptions from the therapist would entail a form of active value imposition. When making this proposal, however, I assume that counseling ethicists would not want to be interpreted as stating that therapists should agree to pursue client proposed goals that are inconsistent with a client’s assessment results, diagnosis, customary evidence-based treatment practices, or professional legal obligations. Yet, as discussed above, some counseling ethicists do indicate that therapists should consent to pursue treatment goals that contradict the therapist’s private value system ( Corey et al. 2015 , 70, 73, and 81; Linde 2016 , 21; Shallcross 2010 , 33). This would occur, using the example from Hill (2014) mentioned above, should a Catholic therapist professionally affirm a terminally-ill client’s choice to seek physician-assisted suicide in states where such procedures are legal, while privately believing that such a choice is immoral (p. 411; regarding the Catholic evaluation of physician-assisted suicide, see Catholic Church 2000 , no. 2277). Hill’s example leads one to consider the possibility that counseling ethicists might perceive the boundaries of civil legality as constituting the limits within which therapeutic support is expected to be verbalized to clients by means of positive affirmations. Yet this leads not only back to the problems of moral relativism and personal dualism as discussed above but also to a reduction of mental health ethics to civil legalism (also mentioned above in relation to Handelsman, Gottlieb, and Knapp 2005 , 61; regarding the distinction between the domain of the ethical and the domain of the legal, see Goligher 2017 , 105).

Treatment objectives, counseling educator Linda Seligman (2004) writes, typically aim to improve a client’s sense of well-being, reduce the impact of problematic symptoms, and improve a client’s overall level of functioning (166, citing Wiger and Solberg 2001 ). Although therapists work with culturally diverse clients who have various presenting concerns, one can observe that in this remark by Seligman (2004) , treatment goals and objectives are considered in a very general (transcultural) manner. If a therapist desires to avoid prescription and active value imposition upon a client, then all treatment goals must indeed originate in some way from the client. At the same time, the discernment and selection of treatment goals and objectives involves, according to counseling educators Reichenberg and Seligman (2016) , “a collaborative process between the therapist and client” (p. 6; see also Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan 2009 , 295–96).

If phenomenological interviewing in qualitative research is analogous to clinical interviewing, and if bracketing at the initial stage of qualitative research is analogous to value bracketing during clinical interviewing, then the synthetic stage of qualitative research described above can be understood as analogous to the collaborative stage of treatment planning during the course of therapy. In other words, the treatment goals under consideration can be construed as phenomena that both the therapist and the client experience together, common ends that unite their collaborative effort. When the essential meaning of treatment is grasped, the therapist and client work together to formulate a plan to pursue the goals in question. This moment of collaboration is the moment of integration, when therapist and client together experience the phenomenon of treatment not only in accordance with their respective roles as professional and client but also as unified persons.

In conjunction with the therapist’s exercise of practical wisdom, the collaborative discernment of treatment goals should proceed in a way that is consistent with the client’s proposals, assessment results, and evidence-based practices ( Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan 2009 , 297–98). In this regard, I am led to ask Catholic therapists a key question: when agreeing with a client to pursue a treatment plan, can Catholic therapists maintain a focus on general transcultural goals and objectives that contradict neither the value system of the client nor the value system of the therapist? By “transcultural” here, I refer to general mental health goals that would be common to many clients, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Such general transcultural treatment goals would involve, for example, helping a client achieve psychological freedom from anxiety, depression, or fear (as discussed above in relation to Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 152). The provision of other professional services (such as conducting standard mental health evaluations and assessments) would also occasion opportunities to maintain a similar general focus (on this point, see reference to the psychiatric evaluation of a patient who is seeking transgender reassignment surgery in Golder 2018 , 126). This emphasis on pursuing general mental health goals that are common to the worldviews of both the therapist and the client will respect the client’s autonomy to personalize the outcomes of therapy in relation to his or her value system, as well as respect the private value system of the therapist. This approach also allows for the treatment plan to remain open to the possibility that a client might choose to apply the treatment outcomes outside of therapy in a manner that is genuinely conducive to that client’s moral and spiritual health. On this point, John Paul II (1993a) states, “ no genuine therapy or treatment for psychic disturbances can ever conflict with the moral obligation of the patient to pursue the truth and to grow in virtue ” (emphasis in original text). However, it will remain the client’s choice whether to apply treatment outcomes in such a way so to grow in genuine virtue in this regard.

Pursuit of common treatment goals does not mean that a therapist needs to disclose to the client the therapist’s private feelings, reflections, or experiences concerning such goals (see De Jong and Berg 2013 , 37). Further, as stated above, all treatment goals would originate from the client. With respect to the goals that are collaboratively selected as the focal points of treatment, the therapist and the client would both value the treatment goal under consideration and both persons would give free consent to pursue it. When giving such mutual consent to pursue common treatment goals, the therapist and the client realize together what philosopher Hans Georg Gadamer (1989) describes as the “communicative agreement” that must be present in any genuine dialogue (p. 111; see also Serres 2012 , 226).

Discerning Therapist Moral Cooperation in Client Applications

Resources from the catholic intellectual tradition.

As a closing concern, a therapist might desire to explore situations where he or she foresees that work with a client (even when pursuing general transcultural goals) enables a client to apply treatment outcomes in a way that contradicts the therapist’s private moral value system. This might occur, for example, when a client discloses that his therapeutic growth in self-confidence will allow him to pursue an adulterous affair with a coworker. The virtue of practical wisdom enables therapists to have foresight regarding client applications ( Aquinas 1981 , II–II, q. 49, a. 6; for a general overview of practical wisdom in relation to psychotherapy, see Titus 2013 ). Fowers and Davidov (2006) emphasize how the virtue of practical wisdom can assist therapists in discerning what should be focused upon when communicating with a client as well as in discerning when it is most appropriate to introduce topics in a way that will best help a client (p. 591; see also Fowers 2003 , 423; Catholic Charities USA 2007 , 1.08c footnote 4). Certain discernment criteria developed in the Catholic intellectual tradition can assist therapists who desire to grow in practical wisdom and evaluate their moral involvement in the decisions of clients. To the extent that such criteria can be utilized in the professional discernment of a therapist, they contribute to an integration strategy for professional acculturation that exhibits what Berry (2003) describes as retained “valued features of one’s heritage culture” (p. 31). I will now consider three sets of discernment criteria that can assist a therapist in developing practical wisdom: (1) the three sources of morality, (2) the criteria of moral double effect, and (3) the criteria of moral cooperation.

The Three Sources of Morality

One foundational set of discernment criteria involves exploration of what is called the three sources of morality ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1750; John Paul II 1993b , no. 74). For a voluntary act to be entirely good, morally speaking, all three sources (or moral aspects) of a voluntary action must be good: (1) the act itself, (2) the person’s intended goal, and (3) the circumstances surrounding the act performed ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1755; see also Aquinas 1981 , I–II, q. 18, a. 4).

The first source to consider in moral discernment involves reflection upon the character of the voluntary act itself, “what” that act is (morally speaking; Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1751; John Paul II 1993b , no. 74–79; see also Cessario 2013 , 160–63; McInerny 1997 , 81–83). This consideration does not focus on a physical act as such (e.g., an act of killing or an act of sexual intercourse) but rather upon that act understood in light of further moral conditions (such that morally speaking that act is either an act of murder or combat, either an act of adultery or marital intercourse; Aquinas 1981 , I–II, q. 18, a. 5, ad 3; see also q. 18, a. 7, ad 1). Among such kinds of moral acts, there are some that are entirely proscribed in the Catholic tradition as involving “intrinsic moral evil” ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1761; John Paul II 1993b , no. 80–83, no. 115). This is because, John Paul II (1993b) observes, such an act is in and of itself incapable of being oriented to God or manifesting the image of God in the person who performs that act (this kind of voluntary act is inherently devoid of charity and justice; no. 81).

The second source to consider in moral discernment involves reflection upon a person’s intention for performing the voluntary action, “why” he or she chooses to perform the act ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1752–53; Cessario 2013 , 167–71). A person’s intention will concern the goal that he or she wishes to attain by means of the act performed ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1752). It is important to note that, according to Catholic teaching, intending a good goal does not justify a person in performing an act that involves intrinsic moral evil ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1759; John Paul II 1993b , no. 77). As will be clear below, this source is particularly important for a Catholic therapist to explore with respect to discerning his or her therapeutic intention.

The third source to consider in moral discernment involves reflection upon other circumstances surrounding the performance of the action ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1754; Cessario 2013 , 171–75). Such circumstances pertain not only to the action itself (such as where or when the act is performed) but also to the person who performs the action. It is possible for a good kind of act (such as marital intercourse) to become morally problematic in certain circumstances (such as engaging in marital intercourse at an inappropriate time). With respect to the circumstances of the person performing the act, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2000) recognizes that numerous psychological and sociological factors impact whether or not a person has full or partial moral responsibility when performing an action (no. 1754; for specific factors, see nos. 1735, 1746, 1754, 1756, 1860, 2352, and 2355).

Therapist Intention and Moral Double Effect

In connection with discerning a person’s intention (moral source two discussed just above), practical wisdom also enables one to evaluate one’s responsibility for foreseen yet unintended bad consequences that result from a course of action ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1737). This topic pertains to the therapist’s foresight that a client might apply treatment outcomes in a way that violates the therapist’s private value system. A therapist would not be held morally responsible for such unintended consequences (even though they are foreseen) as long as the three sources of morality are all morally good (on the part of the therapist) and also as long as (a) the bad consequences do not serve as means to bring about an intended treatment goal and (b) the quantity of bad consequences seem to be less than or at least equal to the quantity of good consequences that are therapeutically intended ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 54–55; Haas 2017 , 249–50). If such criteria are met, then an unintended bad consequence resulting from a client’s treatment can be construed as a moral double effect or side effect that a Catholic therapist tolerates or permits ( Cavanaugh 2006 ; Woodward 2001 ; see also Catholic Church 2000 , no. 2263). In addition to these customary criteria, one should emphasize that (a) the bad consequences must not arise due to the therapist’s negligence (a kind of culpable ignorance; Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1736) and (b) the therapist would altogether avoid the bad consequences if such were possible ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1737).

Therapist Moral Cooperation in Client Applications

When a therapist has foresight that the outcomes of a treatment plan will be utilized by a client for attaining further goals that contradict the therapist’s private value system, the therapist may want to continue to explore his or her moral connection to the client’s subsequent actions. In this case, it is helpful also to reference traditional criteria that contribute to the development of practical wisdom. There are several questions that a therapist might ask concerning moral cooperation in this regard (see also Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1868).

A first question is: do I affirm, approve of, or endorse the act under consideration? A typical bioethics example here is of a nurse who willingly chooses to assist a surgeon who is carrying out an abortion procedure and where the nurse also desires that the abortion occur ( Austriaco 2011 , 264). By analogy, should a therapist affirm (in thought, word, or deed), approve of, or endorse the foreseen immoral act of a client, then the therapist’s cooperation would be consensual and therefore formal ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 55; Austriaco 2011 , 264; Fisher 2005 , 30; Pontifical Academy for Life 2006 , 545; see also Catholic Church 2000 , no. 2272). Other forms of moral cooperation are categorized as material ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 55; Austriaco 2011 , 264–65). Formal cooperation in intrinsically evil actions is to be altogether avoided ( Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1761; see also the discussion of formal cooperation in an intentional abortion procedure at no. 2272).

Second, one should ask: does my involvement immediately participate in the immoral act under consideration? This question aims to explore whether a person’s involvement is copresent to the act and likewise necessary in order that the act be performed ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 56; Fisher 2005 , 31). Broadly speaking, any immediate moral cooperation with an immoral act (whether formal or material) is to be avoided ( Austriaco 2011 , 265; Pontifical Academy for Life 2006 , 545). Even if such involvement does not entail affirmation in interior thought (e.g., a nurse who grudgingly participates in an abortion procedure), there is still affirmation by way of the voluntary exterior performance (see Capps 2015 , 682). As such, some moral theologians refer to immediate involvement as “implicitly formal” rather than as “material” ( Fisher 2005 , 30–31). This kind of cooperation will not typically be the concern of a Catholic therapist since foreseen client applications of treatment outcomes will occur outside of therapy.

Third, one should next ask: if my involvement is not immediate, does my involvement still enable the act to occur in some way? This question aims to explore the issue of enablement. And this is where a Catholic therapist should focus his or her discernment. This kind of cooperation on the part of the therapist can be justified depending upon further considerations ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 56; Austriaco 2011 , 265). To gain clarity here, a therapist must explore how connected his or her involvement is with the client’s subsequent action. This clarity requires considering the causal connection between the therapist’s contribution and the subsequent act that the client performs. Such a causal connection can be very close and entail proximate moral cooperation ; alternatively, the connection may be more distant resulting in remote moral cooperation ( Austriaco 2011 , 265–66; Fisher 2005 , 31–32; Pontifical Academy for Life 2006 , 545). With respect to a proximate connection, a bioethics example is of an anesthesiologist who prepares a patient to undergo a voluntary sterilization procedure but who leaves prior to the procedure itself ( Austriaco 2011 , 265–66). As long as the therapist’s intention (in accordance with the treatment plan) is focused on morally sound mental health goals (such as client growth in self-confidence), then any further action a client performs later as enabled by the treatment (such as pursuing an adulterous affair) need not be intended by the therapist. However, in addition to satisfying all of the double-effect criteria outlined above, the moral cooperation criteria would require that a therapist have a grave and serious reason for proximate involvement or a good reason for remote involvement ( Ashley, Deblois, and O’Rourke 2006 , 56).

As a final consideration, one should ask: am I doing all that I reasonably can in order to avoid scandal ( Austriaco 2011 , 266)? This question aims to explore the issue of tacit approval with respect to the immoral actions performed by others. Concern with scandal is one reason the Apostle Paul suggests that the Corinthians refrain from eating food sacrificed to idols because eating such food might confuse others who are not as strong in their Christian faith (1 Cor. 8:9). A typical means one might employ to avoid scandal and also avoid appearing to approve of an immoral action is to vocalize protest or express disagreement with respect to the other person’s performance of that act ( Austriaco 2011 , 266; Pontifical Academy for Life 2006 , 546). In order to avoid culpable passive cooperation in the immoral acts of others, the vocalization of such disclosures on the part of Catholic persons (described above in terms of values exposure) is morally necessary in situations “when we have an obligation to do so” ( cum ad id tenemur ; Catholic Church 2000 , no. 1868; for the Latin, see Catholic Church 1997 , no. 1868). Further consideration must be given in a separate study regarding which clinical situations might impart such a Christian moral responsibility to a Catholic therapist. Generally speaking, growth in the virtue of practical wisdom will assist a therapist in discerning how to integrate this Christian moral responsibility with professional and legal responsibilities (and also with respect to the particular professional setting in which that therapist works).

Biographical Note

Matthew R. McWhorter , PhD, is an assistant professor. He received PhD from Ave Maria University, MA from Georgia State University, and BA from University of Georgia. He has an MA in philosophy and a PhD in Roman Catholic theology. He has taught graduate and undergraduate philosophy and theology courses for Georgia State University, Ave Maria University, Catholic Distance University, Holy Spirit College, and Divine Mercy University. He conducts research in theological/philosophical anthropology as well as in fundamental moral theology/philosophical ethics. His past research has focused especially upon the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. His studies have appeared in academic journals such as Irish Theological Quarterly , The Heythrop Journal , Studies in Christian Ethics , and others. He resides with his wife and four children near Atlanta, GA. His current research interests include the relationship between Catholic moral theology and professional ethics in psychotherapy and clinical mental health counseling; exploring methodology in theology and philosophy in relation to cognitive functioning, hermeneutics, and the development of virtue; considering the relationship between cognitive functioning and the emotions; and examining the historical basis in the Catholic intellectual tradition for proscribing certain kinds of human acts as intrinsic moral evils. Email: ude.ycremenivid@retrohwcmm .

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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VALUES IN COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

The purpose of this article is to consider the various ways that values enter into counseling or psychotherapy, with particular attention to the goals of the process and the methods or procedures by which the counselor or therapist implements the process.

Related Papers

Aaron Jackson

Psychotherapy has historically been viewed as value neutral; however, over the last half-century, developments have led many scholars to conclude that we can no longer dismiss the role of values in therapy. Our position is that therapists and clients will inevitably encounter value conflicts during the course of psychotherapy. This article postulates how such conflicts can be addressed so as to preserve and promote the integrity and well-being of both client and clinician. We review challenges to value neutrality and summarize ethical considerations. We discuss strategies to manage values in psychotherapy and conclude by recommending areas for consideration in professional training.

Álvaro Jiménez Molina

Background: There has been a growing concern about the ethical aspects of psychotherapy and the role that personal values can play in this context. Objective: To explore the role of therapists’ personal values in psychotherapy, considering the perspectives of expert therapists and former clients in Chile. Method: Individual semistructured interviews with 15 expert therapists and 13 former clients were carried out. A content analysis was conducted according to Grounded Theory. Results: Despite the consensus among therapists and clients regarding certain core values, such as autonomy, confidentiality, and tolerance, there exists a divergence of opinion concerning the role therapists’ values play in the therapeutic process. We have identified four perspectives regarding the management of therapists’ values in psychotherapy. Furthermore, our findings underscore a recurring ethical dilemma faced by therapists – the delicate balancing between respecting patients’ autonomy and avoiding potential paternalism as clinicians. Within this context, therapists’ conceptualization of autonomy encompasses several progressive dimensions, including responsible autonomy, relational autonomy, informed autonomy, and guided autonomy. We discuss these findings in relation to the ethical pluralism and we mention some practical recommendations for therapists and supervisors. Conclusion: The training of therapists is inseparable from the development of an ethical sensitivity based on ethical pluralism.

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Values have been shown to be a pervasive part of both marriage and family therapy (MFT) clinical practice and research. Yet, many therapists and researchers remain unclear about how values affect their work. This article examines the influence of Western philosophical assumptions and therapy traditions in light of current understandings of values in therapy. The influence of values in MFT research processes is similarly examined. Implications for how family therapy professionals can be more reflective and sophisticated in their understanding of values in clinical practice and scientific inquiry are discussed. Suggestions for addressing values in MFT training also are given.

Values and Ethics in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Gillian Proctor

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The context of psychotherapy involves ethical, theoretical, and technical matters regarding limits and possibilities to clinical practice. Some of these matters concern values and their importance for clinical interventions. Given the central role that the concept of values seems to have in current behavioral therapeutic models, this article intends to analyze and discuss perspectives regarding this concept as presented by authors such as Skinner, Leigland, Plumb, Wilson, and Harris. It is argued that the definition of values should be described using low-level terms, so that it may generate basic and applied research without losing its relevance to the clinical setting. We propose that values are stable and comprehensive qualities of behaving, described by the subject in augmental rules that establish a positive reinforcing function for his/her own described behavior. Further utility of such a definition involves its precision and focus on aspects that are under direct influence of the client.

Larry Beutler

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Values and Ethics in Counseling: Real-Life Ethical Decision Making

Research output : Book/Report › Book › peer-review

Many counselors learn about ethics in graduate school by applying formal, step-by-step ethical decision-making models that require counselors to be aware of their values and refrain from imposing personal values that might harm clients. However, in the real world, counselors often make split-second ethical decisions based upon personal values. Values and Ethics in Counseling illustrates the ways in which ethical decisions are values-but more than that, it guides counselors through the process of examining their own values and analyzing how these values impact ethical decision making. Each chapter presents ethical decision making as what it is: a very personal, values-laden process, one that is most effectively illustrated through the real-life stories of counselors at various stages of professional development-from interns to seasoned clinicians-who made value-based decisions. Each story is followed by commentary from the author as well as analysis from the editors to contextualize the material and encourage reflection.

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• Counseling Keyphrases 100%
• Ethics Keyphrases 100%
• Ethical Decision Making Keyphrases 100%
• Decision Making Psychology 100%
• Counselors Keyphrases 83%
• Personal Values Keyphrases 50%
• Ethical Decision-Making Psychology 33%
• Life Stories Psychology 33%

T1 - Values and Ethics in Counseling

T2 - Real-Life Ethical Decision Making

AU - Levitt, Dana Heller

AU - Hartwig Moorhead, Holly J.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2013 Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved.

PY - 2013/6/26

Y1 - 2013/6/26

N2 - Many counselors learn about ethics in graduate school by applying formal, step-by-step ethical decision-making models that require counselors to be aware of their values and refrain from imposing personal values that might harm clients. However, in the real world, counselors often make split-second ethical decisions based upon personal values. Values and Ethics in Counseling illustrates the ways in which ethical decisions are values-but more than that, it guides counselors through the process of examining their own values and analyzing how these values impact ethical decision making. Each chapter presents ethical decision making as what it is: a very personal, values-laden process, one that is most effectively illustrated through the real-life stories of counselors at various stages of professional development-from interns to seasoned clinicians-who made value-based decisions. Each story is followed by commentary from the author as well as analysis from the editors to contextualize the material and encourage reflection.

AB - Many counselors learn about ethics in graduate school by applying formal, step-by-step ethical decision-making models that require counselors to be aware of their values and refrain from imposing personal values that might harm clients. However, in the real world, counselors often make split-second ethical decisions based upon personal values. Values and Ethics in Counseling illustrates the ways in which ethical decisions are values-but more than that, it guides counselors through the process of examining their own values and analyzing how these values impact ethical decision making. Each chapter presents ethical decision making as what it is: a very personal, values-laden process, one that is most effectively illustrated through the real-life stories of counselors at various stages of professional development-from interns to seasoned clinicians-who made value-based decisions. Each story is followed by commentary from the author as well as analysis from the editors to contextualize the material and encourage reflection.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84925708655&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.4324/9780203357583

DO - 10.4324/9780203357583

AN - SCOPUS:84925708655

SN - 9780415898782

BT - Values and Ethics in Counseling

PB - Taylor and Francis

Psychological Science: Counseling Essay (Theory of Counseling)

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Introduction

Theory of counseling, counseling psychology, values in counseling.

Counselling generally refers to the provision of assistance or guidance that eventually helps solve personal, social or mental problems. A professional individual typically administers it. It usually takes a number of forms, including individual counselling, group counselling, and couples counselling. The goal of individual counselling is to help one make better decisions, improve one’s relationship with others, and generally help one understand oneself in order to be able to make healthy changes. However, group therapy helps an individual to comprehend their emotions and transform problem behaviours with the help of others (Seikkula, 2019). This essay about counseling can help reveal and understand the prospects for using various techniques in the process of helping clients.

Counselling may be beneficial in a number of ways. It can make one have a better understanding of things that help in getting new skills to manage themselves better. Through the help of the counsellor, individuals can respond to problems from different perspectives. Sharing thoughts can exceptionally be helpful in changing one’s life, and that is what counselling is all about. There are important aspects of counselling that make its usage effective. One of these aspects is confidentiality; this means that a counsellor is, by ethics, required to treat all the information that a client shares as confidential material (Avasthi et al., 2022). Another important aspect is the counselling process; this depends on the individual counsellor and client and the urgency of the issue in question. However, the general process to be followed includes collecting background information, identifying key issues, case development, setting goals for therapy, implementation of intervention and evaluation. An important research question of this essay is, “How will counseling help you get through with your problems?”

Theories of counselling vary and mainly depend on the views of different writers. The ones reviewed include client-centred, holistic health, learned optimism, cognitive behavioural, solution-focused and existential. In client-centred counselling, the client is motivated to discover things and develop as a result of the guidance and climate that the counsellor provides. In this type of counselling, the standard features include active listening, acceptance, truthfulness and empathy (Bayliss-Conway et al., 2021). Holistic health, on the other hand, stresses the importance of physical well and emotional, social, vocational and spiritual needs. If these are ignored, then individuals will easily succumb to stress, which can affect their well-being.

There is a type of counselling practice that allows for interaction between the client and the counsellor. This method makes it possible to discuss successful moments that have occurred in the past or in the present (Bayliss-Conway et al., 2021). This form of counselling is referred to as learned optimism counselling. This also allows them to address the problems that should be anticipated in the present and the future. It involves having a positive mind and usually directs an individual on how things can turn out.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, also referred to as the ABC method, can be described as any form of therapy that is based on the belief in one’s thoughts and that is typically directly connected to the way one feels. In this type of scenario, there usually is what is referred to as the activating event, where the client draws their interpretations. This makes it possible for clients to believe in the ideas conveyed by the consultant (Reid et al., 2021). This typically leads to different consequences concerning the outcome of the event. Thus, this form of therapy helps clients identify distorted thinking that causes emotional problems and helps solve them.

Solution-focused therapy typically focuses on the outcomes; this means that the primary goal is focused towards achieving what the client wants through the use of therapy rather than the cause that made them seek therapy. This kind of approach focuses on the present and future, and the client is customarily advised to focus on the future and how it has changed (De Shazer et al., 2021). The existential approach is simply based on the presence of individuals in a therapy session and the reason why they are there in the first place. This means that if a client knows the reason why he/she is in therapy, then it will enable them to face the challenges that come along swiftly.

Counselling and psychology are interrelated; the use of psychological principles to overcome different problems is facilitated through counselling. Therefore, counselling psychology is a specialty that brings together research and applied work to achieve broad areas. The counselling process, outcome, supervision, and training are critical components in establishing preventive recovery pathways (DeBlaere et al., 2019). Some unique features of counselling psychology include the focus on people, environment interaction and impact personalities. Psychologists get the answers to people’s behaviours through counselling.

Psychologists are generally interested in finding answers through the counselling process and outcomes, in which, through the process, they get to ask questions, and the outcome will determine whether the process was effective and successful. In this process, the psychologist uses specific techniques. One of the main and most common ones can be called client and cultural variables (DeBlaere et al., 2019). Therapist variables and mechanisms of change are also included.

Therapist variables include the traits of a counsellor, theoretical orientation and behaviour. Following clearly established models of therapeutic intervention can have significant positive effects on patients (DeBlaere et al., 2019). Client variables, on the other hand, include certain things, such as seeking support from other people and further attachment to them (DeBlaere et al., 2019). This has been very useful in counselling. Stigma from mental illness motivates people to accept the fact that they have problems and make them seek help. Self-stigma is a condition that affects the individual’s perspective towards counselling, and this causes such an individual to require intervention.

Attachment style can be viewed in different ways. Those clients with avoidant styles may believe that counselling is not able to have any positive effect on their condition (Moradi et al., 2023). However, securely attached ones react differently. They perceive counselling to be incredibly beneficial. These kinds of individuals seek such professional help. Anxious attachment is said to perceive much importance as well as risks to counselling; thus, providing education about expectations of counselling can change clients’ attitudes tremendously.

Counselling relationship, as referred to in counselling psychology, refers to the feeling that a client and a therapist have towards each other and the way in which they are expressed. This kind of relationship may fall into three categories: countertransference, working alliance and personal relationship (Moradi et al., 2023). The secure base hypothesis is a theory concerning the function of counselling and is typically related to attachment theory; this enables the client to have a reference point.

Counselling psychologists use different approaches. They incorporate things such as cultural variables in counselling practices. They relate such aspects with the processes and results arrived at during counselling. Recent studies show that black clients are at risk of racial discrimination from white counsellors. Counsellors must have experience working with a variety of people in order to effectively deal with their characteristics and personal problems (Moradi et al., 2023). Counselling outcomes typically look at different symptoms, such as specific disorders and behaviour changes. Positive outcomes like quality of life form a basis of life-satisfaction measure reports.

One of the various quantitative methods includes conducting correlation studies. This is applied in the counselling course and during clinical trials. They also apply during the actual process of counselling and the studies on the processes of counselling and the outcomes. On the other hand, qualitative methods involve conducting, translating, and coding therapy sessions. In practical terms, one sees that counselling can delve into aspects such as emotion, personality and interpersonal relationships (DeBlaere et al., 2019). It, thus, can relate to different kinds of settings in a population, like community mental health settings and in-patient clients on drug abuse. In a community mental health setting, there are different individuals who suffer from all sorts of mental breakdown illnesses.

Counselling helps in making them understand the core reason behind their mental breakdown and possibly helps them deal with the fears that relate to it; the end results depend typically on the attitude of patients and their response to therapy during these counselling sessions. Different settings, thus, have different counselling approaches and also depend on the technicality of the given situation. Client variables normally help a lot during some sessions as they represent a deeper understanding of the current situation (DeBlaere et al., 2019). An in-patient on drug abuse, for example, may not derive much benefit from counselling if he does not accept that he/she has a problem, the problem has had a significant effect on his/her life, and finally, the problem can be fixed.

It is important to note, therefore, that counselling can only work where a client is willing to participate; commonly, psychology can be used to gain this will. Counselling, in essence, is a profession that is highly dependent on the needs of clients and their personalities. The counsellor’s approach should be unique from session to session and depend on how the client responds to the therapist’s questions and actions (DeBlaere et al., 2019). On other occasions, counsellors influence decision-making in individuals. This way, they influence the kind of decisions the clients make. Some of their decisions may change their lives completely.

Values in counselling introduce us to the various theoretical perspectives of psychology that can be used in counselling. The question of this study is to find out how counselling will help you get through your problems. There are various theoretical perspectives in psychology that are commonly referred to as paradigms. They include behavioural, biological, cognitive, humanistic, social, Freudian, and developmental. Focusing on the developmental perspective, its information processing, and developmental approaches as a discipline brings us to the approaches that can be applied in counselling (DeBlaere et al., 2019). There are three basic approaches currently under debate. They include information processing, life span development, and developmental approaches.

The approach under investigation was based on the concept of irrational beliefs, concepts of feelings and behaviour. The counsellors may incorporate therapy in the session and combine it with behaviour. This way, the counsellor personalizes the therapy session. How an individual feels and reacts to such feelings is the first step in knowing that something is not correct, and that can further lead to reasoning and, thus, the decision that motivates them to seek counselling. With these considerations, counselling appears as a link between the individual’s way of thinking and his/her behaviour. Feelings of sadness or anxiety can significantly predetermine a person’s behaviour in public life and their reactions to any aspects of society (Chita-Tegmark & Scheutz, 2021). Behaviour is usually motivated to result in a change in the human mind. When one’s response is based on false emotions, then negative and possibly harmful results will be achieved.

Negative behaviour may sometimes be the reason that individuals or groups in a therapy session realize the need for change. Proper guidance is one of the critical aspects that must be complemented by the ability to identify the client’s emotional state and behavioural patterns (Chita-Tegmark & Scheutz, 2021). This may lead towards finding out what the problem is with a particular individual or a group or may enable proper interpretation of events that led to therapy.

When a counsellor discovers the behaviour in an individual is no longer functioning, it may be a good indicator for assessing the things that the individual now believes in and thus, emotional health can be regained through removing the negative thoughts and distortions and trying to give them emotional and personality balance. Behavioural response as a perspective in counselling can provide a significant impact on the change process of an individual or a group. A behavioural perspective in interactions with clients during consultations can influence the achievement of trusting relationships between people (Seikkula, 2019). Usually, clients who decide to go for counselling have different problems they are aware of but need the help of a therapist to be able to identify the core reason as to why they cannot solve it.

Counselling can show that the initial stages of the client-counsellor relationship can be a bit difficult, but as the clients’ emotions and behaviour exhibit themselves, the counsellor will gain insight that will enable him/her to understand the client more and, thus, improve their relationship. Thus, it is crucial for the therapist to identify specific behavioural traits that are characteristic of the client and on which work can be concentrated (De Shazer et al., 2021). The positive ones help in improving the client’s self-esteem in the time when he/she seems to be having a mental breakdown that is related to the problem he/she is facing.

Exploring this perspective enhances the buildup of a therapy case before and in the course of counselling. The individual most often has no knowledge of the kind of issues that need to be addressed if he/she goes to counselling, but he/she knows that something is not right in the environment he lives in or that he/she has a problem that needs to be addressed. Distinguishing between the types of emotions experienced by the client is critical for the therapist in the initial stages as this will lay the foundation for further cooperation (Avasthi et al., 2022). In later stages of counselling and as the counsellor and the client relationship is built up, the counsellor may uncover the thought that leads to disruptive behaviour and feelings. It is the counsellor’s role in this perspective to identify and respond to them so as to restore an individual functional system.

Counselling is meant to consider the entire characteristic that an individual exhibits when he/she enters counselling; a counsellor, through knowledge of these traits like behaviour and feeling, will be challenged to uncover the client’s beliefs that are the cause of their actions. This can help create a more personalized process aimed at demonstrating people’s focus on their thoughts and ideas (Reid et al., 2021). The kind of behaviour that an individual exhibits during counselling sessions will either work positively for the client or not. If a client exhibits behaviour aimed at changing the painful experiences and helps him or them work on his/her feelings like anger, then this will be of great significance in making this individual a healthy and positive person.

In essence, counselling will make the individual understand and appreciate the reward that he/she achieved because of counselling. There are different approaches employed in counselling psychology. They differ in terms of therapy and the basic concepts. One of them is the behavioural perspective. This is comparable to the rest but also differs in various aspects. A comparison between the behavioural and cognitive perspectives revealed a key difference in the approach to problem-solving through psychoanalytic theory and practice methods, respectively (DeBlaere et al., 2019). The Freudian perspective works towards changing an individual’s personality and character through using childhood experiences. Cognitive and behavioural perspectives usually produce a change in a group or individual in a short period.

Theoretical perspectives differ in scope and applicability. Some can be used to solve crime cases as well as real-life dilemmas. There are various theories and approaches that can be combined with the perspectives discussed to help consultants gain a broader perspective and understanding of clients’ understandings (DeBlaere et al., 2019). In this way, a conducive and harmonious counselling environment can be created that will enhance the process to achieve results faster. It will also allow the client to recognize the impact that counselling has had on their life.

A compiled essay about counselling has shown it is quite a broad and diverse subject; it shares most subject matters, especially concerning psychology as a discipline in terms of emotion, behavior, personality, attention and perception. It usually provides an opportunity for individuals to express themselves where no one seems to agree with what they have to say; this is the basis and direction in which most individuals’ dysfunctional problems are solved today. Counselling has had tremendous results over the past in solving cases, and, as an expert, counselling psychology is one of the most effective tools in handling mental breakdown; the results of its usage in the modern world have become very effective over the years.

The counselling essay format provided a comprehensive review of the main aspects of this process and the key elements necessary for success. The study of counselling and, in broad terms, psychology have also been criticized by different philosophers of science; some say it is a soft science lacking the fundamental concepts and effectiveness like mature sciences such as physics and chemistry. Some say that it is not objective. They argue that the phenomena used by psychologists, like personality and emotion, cannot be measured directly and that they are often subjective in nature. The critical thing to note is that its usage in real-life situations has proven to be very successful.

Avasthi, A., Grover, S., & Nischal, A. (2022). Ethical and legal issues in psychotherapy. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 64 (Suppl 1), 1-27. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9122134/

Bayliss-Conway, C., Price, S., Murphy, D., & Joseph, S. (2021). Client-centred therapeutic relationship conditions and authenticity: a prospective study. B ritish Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 49 (5), 637-647. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2020.1755952

Chita-Tegmark, M., & Scheutz, M. (2021). Assistive robots for the social management of health: a framework for robot design and human–robot interaction research. International Journal of Social Robotics, 13 (2), 197-217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-020-00634-z

De Shazer, S., Dolan, Y., Korman, H., Trepper, T., McCollum, E., & Berg, I. K. (2021). More than miracles: The state of the art of solution-focused brief therapy . Routledge.

DeBlaere, C., Singh, A. A., Wilcox, M. M., Cokley, K. O., Delgado-Romero, E. A., Scalise, D. A., & Shawahin, L. (2019). Social justice in counseling psychology: Then, now, and looking forward. The Counseling Psychologist, 47 (6), 938-962. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019893283

Moradi, B., Brewster, M. E., Grzanka, P. R., & Miller, M. J. (2023). The hidden curriculum of academic writing: Toward demystifying manuscript preparation in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70 (2), 119-132. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/cou0000650

Reid, J. E., Laws, K. R., Drummond, L., Vismara, M., Grancini, B., Mpavaenda, D., & Fineberg, N. A. (2021). Cognitive behavioural therapy with exposure and response prevention in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 106 , 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2021.152223

Seikkula, J. (2019). Psychosis is not illness but a survival strategy in severe stress: a proposal for an addition to a phenomenological point of view. Psychopathology, 52 (2), 143-150. https://doi.org/10.1159/000500162

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International Counseling Values: Recognizing Valued Approaches Identified by International Counseling Professionals Through Qualitative Inquiry

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People may assume that the counseling profession functions with a shared set of values that promote well-being and mental health to individuals, families, and communities across the globe. Common values, such as described in training programs, ethical codes, and other areas, reflect the approach and direction for providing professional counseling services among counseling professionals throughout the world. The researchers designed this qualitative study using a phenomenological approach to explore how counseling values are experienced and implemented across various cultures. The 16 participants of the study include counseling professionals from different countries to increase representation from eight regions of the world. The researchers recognize valued approaches commonly identified among the participants implementing counseling services, including marital and family counseling, child and school counseling, faith integration, indigenous practices, and person-centered safe spaces. While each of these valued approaches is described in detail, final applications of the data offer proposed steps to improve the advancement of counseling on a global scale, including strategies for transcultural counseling training, resource adaptability, and bilateral development in the profession.

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Counseling research and practice maintains a professional obligation for cultural competence when engaging all clients in a counseling relationship, and a need for creativity when engaging diverse populations around the world (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014 , Ratts et al., 2016 ). The effort to develop culturally competent counselors remains a priority within the profession, and counselors in training are encouraged to enhance characteristics of flexibility, creativity, tenacity, vision, cultural humility, a desire to learn, and a willingness to eschew traditional ethnocentric views of counseling as often demonstrated in Western counseling strategies (Ægisdóttir & Gerstein, 2005 ; Consoli et al., 2006 ; Forrest, 2010 ; Heppner, 2006 ; Leung, 2003 ; Tang et al., 2012 ). Scholars have identified the lack of international standards for counseling to be an ongoing challenge for the profession (Forrest, 2010 ; Schofield, 2013 ; Stoll, 2005 ; Szilagyi & Paredes, 2010 ), along with the need for more adequate training and evaluation of counselor competency globally (Forrest, 2010 ; Jimerson et al., 2008 ).

The COVID-19 pandemic impelled a keen awareness of the interconnectivity between global cultures. While the difficulties of this physical virus expanded globally, the decline of mental health also became pronounced in the wake of this worldwide medical crisis, with as much as a 30% increase in symptoms of anxiety and depression (Panchal et al., 2022 ). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2022 ) reported about the pandemic, “Depression is one of the leading causes of disability. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds” (para 1). The WHO went further to emphasize the urgency of addressing mental health to avoid inhibiting necessary global supports. People with mental health issues die earlier and experience more human rights violations, and mental health services are not available in many where they are desperately needed (WHO, 2022 ). To reinforce applications of mental health support from other countries, ongoing research may help inform practice in settings that have not encountered what professional counseling has to offer.

For the purposes of this study, counseling values are defined as the common principles, standards, and policies that guide ethical practices and assumptions within the counseling profession. While counseling professionals are defined differently in various cultural contexts, a working definition is articulated later in the recruitment criteria for the study and may generally be understood as professionals recognized in various countries to offer counseling services. Such counseling professionals may be represented under different professional identities or labels depending on the cultural context. These frequently appear as codes of ethics, such as promoted by the American Counseling Association (ACA, 2014 ), the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP, 2018 ), and Persatuan Kaunseling Malaysia (PERKAMA) (Ishak et al., 2012 ), and the Australian Counselling Association AUCA, ( 2022 ). Further exploration within the literature provides greater definition to how counseling values may appear across cultures.

International Counseling Values in the Literature

This review of the literature considered professional multicultural counseling practices to establish a foundation for exploring the common values among counseling professionals throughout the world. Scholarly and authoritative content on international counseling continues to expand, with cultural competence remaining an important focus of attention for ethical practice around world (ACA, 2014 ; AMHCA, 2020 ; BACP, 2018 ; Ishak et al., 2012 ). Within this standard, the application of cultural competence in counseling is often focused on supporting clients domestically who have international backgrounds. Professional researchers in the literature identified these applications as highly valuable, yet they retained a limited scope when considering how to apply principles across other cultural contexts based on the findings of this study.

Contextual Awareness

Hook and Vera ( 2020 ) described current global themes in mental health through a study researching leaders in international counseling psychology, which included attention to holistic health, cultural relevance, partnerships, collaboration, and sustainability. They observed that counseling professionals offered greater benefit when responding to expressed community needs rather than the needs outside professionals may assume. They highlighted how their findings suggested research and design methods also must be relevant to local contexts counselors may be investigating (Hook & Vera, 2020 ).

Reinforcing this point, Koç and Kafa ( 2019 ) explained how three forms of psychotherapy appeared evident across cultures: (1) imported Western-origin psychotherapy and some spontaneous alterations to observe culture, (2) systematic adaptation of psychotherapy methods according to needs of people in a specific culture, and (3) models that are products of the cultures themselves. They further described how the practice of psychotherapy based on needs in the culture has limited research that takes culture into account. These examples suggested counselors will benefit when applying contextual awareness and different counseling approaches internationally (Hook & Vera, 2020 ; Koç & Kafa, 2019 ).

Adaptive Concepts

Counseling concepts that hold value across cultural expressions may appear differently than expected. Chen and Hsiung ( 2021 ) found that many student therapists in Taiwan were challenged to articulate and operationalize the essence of the self (i.e. self-concept, self-identity, self-actualization), which is a concept that predominates many Western therapy models and classroom settings. They recommended preserving the general concepts but adapting them with terms like “self in relation to others” and “self in context,” which were more culturally familiar.

Several contextual factors influenced the Chinese counseling students’ engagement in self-reflection with a study conducted in Taiwan, including conforming to collectivist values, valuing academic success and filial piety, saving face in relationships, and observing myths about the helping professions (Chen & Hsiung, 2021 ). With awareness of how these tendencies influenced these Chinese counseling students, Chen and Hsjung (2021) discovered that a course on counselor self-awareness and self-care improved Chinese counseling students’ engagement with these concepts. In a similar way, Matthews et al. ( 2018 ) described a study where higher racial identity positively correlated with multiculturally competent skills. A strong culturally-appropriate self-awareness offered clear benefit.

Other ways to adapt to different cultural settings included the development of the therapeutic alliance in the counseling relationship. Lee et al. ( 2019 ) described how counselors need to prioritize culturally sensitive practices in the therapeutic alliance for cross-cultural dyads, which may include negotiating language and various understandings. Cross-cultural training may help counselors adapt to various cultural settings, yielding adaptive traits such as cultural humility, necessary self-analysis, collaborators with service recipients, perseverance, communication skills, and supervision (Hook & Vera, 2020 ).

Other ways that demonstrated how professionals may develop adaptive concepts for counseling included, but were not limited to, increasing cultural awareness (Hays et al., 2010 ), increasing awareness of varying cultural attitudes toward the counseling profession (Al-Krenawi et al., 2009 ; Young et al., 2003 ), emphasizing the importance of therapeutic presence or attunement (Srichannil & Prior, 2014 ), and cultivating emotional intelligence in counselor education (Miville et al., 2006 ; Leung, 2003 ) further promoted counselor development with increased opportunities for international travel experiences, increased funding for programs with an international or cross-cultural focus, and a shift in admission criteria to place greater focus on internationalism, including bilingualism, living abroad, international travel, and other life experiences.

Diversity Within Groups

Counselors demonstrated an easier time offering counseling skills across multiple cultures or identities when they develop an awareness of cultural best practices. Koç and Kafa ( 2019 ) highlighted how incorporating indigenous practices can be difficult in any counseling setting, especially because there may be a lack of incorporation of counseling methods between various subcultures or ethnic groups even within the same country (i.e. between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal populations). Many countries have called for greater synergy between modern and traditional methods as a result, so that there is not just one focus to the exclusion of the others (Koç & Kafa, 2019 ).

One example of this multiple focus for diverse groups included the “Clubhouse model” described by Agner et al. ( 2020 ), which promoted the use of day programs that fostered social support and activity for people living with severe mental illness. Such programs occurred in Hawaii, and Agner et al. ( 2020 ) described the diverse themes important to wellness involving connection to place, connection to community, connection to better self, and connection to past and future. These connections to wellness from this study reflected consistent themes with indigenous cultural values.

Multiple studies addressed ways for counselors to thoughtfully approach cross-cultural populations, and researchers described important concepts, like emotional intelligence, to communicate safety and reinforce the therapeutic alliance despite cultural differences (Duff & Bedi, 2010 ; Milville et al., 2006 ; Srichannil & Prior, 2014 ; Young et al., 2003 ). Duff and Bedi ( 2010 ) emphasized the importance of the relationship with engaging diverse groups, and carrying a posture of attention to detail, honesty, and physical calmness as significant ways for the counselor to communicate care to their client in cross-cultural settings. Researchers also noted that participants identified personal qualities as the paramount tool of the counseling process, even over technical skills or theoretical orientation (Bojuwoye, 2001 ; Srichannil & Prior, 2014 ).

The purpose of the following study is to explore the common values of counseling that exist among counseling professionals in a variety of international cultural contexts. The study employed a phenomenological approach to understand how the unique experiences of these counseling professionals can inform awareness, practice, and training for multicultural and international counseling practice.

Methodology

This qualitative study reflects a phenomenological theoretical approach to explore the experiences of 16 different counseling professionals serving in a variety of international settings. Researchers applied concepts of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) more specifically, because the approach helps guide the exploration of both participant thoughts and experiences (Cook et la., 2016 ; Smith & Osborn, 2004 ). As Palmer et al. ( 2010 ) described, “the aim of IPA is to understand and make sense of another person’s sense-making activities, with regard to a given phenomenon, in a given context” (p. 99). Though neglecting the social context to focus too heavily on individual experiences has been a criticized risk of IPA (Smith, 2011 ), the researchers worked to reduce this risk by focusing the research questions directly to the unique cultural experiences and perspectives of the participants. The Qualitative method offers benefit to this effort as Gergen et al. ( 2015 ) described, “Added to the goal of prediction are investments in increasing cultural understanding, challenging cultural conventions, and directly fostering social change” (p. 1).

A phenomenological theoretical framework allowed the research team to gain further understanding of the unique experiences and perspectives of each participant and their setting, while observing common themes that emerged within the data. The most common method of acquiring qualitative data through IPA is through thorough interviews (Smith, 2011 ), which were conducted through private and secure online video software while participants remained in the comfort of their natural settings throughout the recruitment and interview process. IPA studies were found throughout the health psychology and mental health literature (Smith, 2011 ), with similar models used to identify cultural needs within mental health training programs (Thomas & Brossoie, 2019 ), understand international counseling doctoral student preparation (Li & Liu, 2020 ), and explore social justice and multicultural competency in counseling school developmental models (Cook et al., 2016 ).

The primary research question for this study examined, “How do counseling professionals connected through international counseling associations experience counseling professional values within different cultural contexts?” From this primary focus, participants were asked the following sub-questions:

How do counseling values relate with the participant’s culture?

What needs of the participant’s culture would benefit from greater attention from the counseling profession?

How can the counseling profession best meet those needs?

What are key ways the participant’s culture can enhance or inform counseling values?

What are natural venues from which counseling practice is accepted and valued most readily in the participant’s culture?

What else can the participant share about experiences with integrating counseling values in the participant’s culture?

Researcher Roles

The research team included investigators from the Counseling Department of The Family Institute at Northwestern University. The primary researcher also served as a core faculty member and research sponsor, who organized the team of graduate counseling students to process and evaluate the data for the study. All researchers received proper social research ethics training through the required sources at Northwestern University to ensure compliance with confidentiality and privacy standards, and the study was approved by the Internal Review Board (IRB) at Northwestern University (#STU00207061).

Each researcher provided equal insight and reflection on the development of this study. These contributions included researching the literature, transcribing and analyzing data, and identifying themes for further discussion and application from the counseling professional participants of the study. Because of the nature of the project and the inclusion of participants connected through international counseling associations, some of the participants of the study had previous interactions with the primary researcher through professional association interactions. The second and third authors contributed to the study through researching the literature, providing input to the writing, and offering consultation throughout the data analysis process described.

The primary researcher conducted 60-minute interviews with 16 counseling professionals around the world. Recommended sample sizes for a qualitative study with a phenomenological framework can range from as few as six participants (Schreiber & Asner-Self, 2011 ) to as many as 10–15 participants (Johnson & Christensen, 2012 ; Smith, 2011 ) emphasized how the intensity of the analysis process with IPA results in the sufficiency of smaller samples sizes. A total of 16 participants were chosen for this study in observation of the eight regions identified by IAC, which employs a model of representation on the Executive Council (EC) by preserving a voice of leadership for representatives from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, and Oceania (IAC, 2022b ). Two participants from each region provided a purposive sampling method with at least two perspectives for each region. The selected participants for this study originated from the countries where they currently lived and worked in professional counseling, and participants from two different countries from each region were selected to enhance the voice of those areas.

The goal of this study was to have a diverse population of counseling professionals that could speak knowledgably about counseling values in relation to the profession globally. To ensure equal representation of participants throughout the eight regions of IAC, researchers used a strategy of purposeful snowball sampling to acquire willing participants who could inform the study (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007 ). Researchers asked each participant for referrals to additional counseling professionals that could be willing to participate in this study.

The interviews were conducted through private and secure online video software, and participants remained in the comfort of their natural settings throughout the recruitment and interview process. The interviews lasted 60 min, were recorded with participant consent, and explored the specified research question and sub-questions identified. All associated data were stored on a private and secure data platform only accessible to the research team, who transcribed each interview, reviewed the content, and analyzed the data. All the interviews were conducted in English. With two participants another counseling professional proficient in both English and the language spoken by the participant assisted in conducting the interview. The interpreters also assisted these participants with completing the study’s consent form and demographics form.

Participant Criteria

Because the definitions of counseling vary across cultures and countries, the study focused on the definition of what constitutes a professional counselor within a country they live and practice, and as observed in their local culture. The National Board for Certified Counselors-International (NBCC-I, 2012 ) described this approach to determine eligibility of credentialing candidates internationally based on five universal criteria. (1) formalized counselor education, (2) supervised counselor experience, (3) assessment-based credentialing, (4) standards of professional practice and conduct, and (5) continuing education requirements. Individuals excluded from the study sample included anyone who did not meet the criteria for all five of these categories defined by the NBCC-I, which may be specified and interpreted differently between each country.

Most of the interviews proceeded with participants who have a working knowledge of English, but two interviews proceeded through the use of an interpreter. In these two cases, another counseling professional proficient in both English and the language spoken by the participant assisted in conducting the interview. The interpreters also assisted participants with completing the study’s consent form and demographics form.

The demographics form explored details of the participants, verifying the NBCC-I ( 2012 ) criteria as defined in the context of their countries. The specific details of each participant are not disclosed to ensure confidentiality, but the demographics offer greater detail to the professional pool of participants. Each participant reported descriptions that provide context for the following: highest degree, current title or position, licenses, certifications, or credentials in counseling or related field, years of experience in professional counseling, country of origin, country of current professional service and practice, counseling domains included with professional experience, primary counseling domain, and identified gender (See Table I). Participants were guaranteed their privacy would remain secure for the study, but that only general findings would be shared in relation to their data.

Recruitment

To preserve the diversification of voices from the counseling professionals equally, stratified purposeful sampling was initiated when the primary researcher sent an e-mail to the EC members for IAC ( 2022b ). The EC members were asked to consider participation and recommend any other professional counselors they believed fit the criteria of the study from their region. The email addresses to the EC members throughout the world were obtained through IAC interactions. Once identified through this method, potential participants received a direct e-mail invitation with a description of the study. Those who responded and agreed to participate received a follow-up e-mail to setup the time for the interview.

When an agreed time was established, a final electronic calendar invitation was sent confirming the time to participate in the interview, along with the links for their consent, their demographic information, and the video meeting link for the interview. The consent form included details about the study, how their information would be used, the risks and benefits of participation (no financial compensation was included), contact information to reach the primary researcher or the university IRB department, and verification that they may withdraw their information at any time. Once the interviews were completed, the researchers sent a follow-up email to thank the participants for the interview and verify their ability to contact the research team at any time. This five-stage process of reflected the following steps:

Request referrals from the IAC EC.

Send direct participation requests to potential participants.

Send invitation to schedule the interview.

Send calendar invitation email to conduct the interview (with links to complete consent forms and demographic forms electronically).

Send follow-up email expressing thanks and offering contact information.

Data Analysis

The researchers collected, reviewed, and analyzed the interview data through a process of coding for each transcript of each interview. Interpretation of the data included an inductive method using both first and second levels of analysis to highlight common experiences of the participants interviewed (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007 ). Phenomenological approaches used to code the data in this study include descriptive coding (first level), open coding (second level), and theming (third level) (Flynn & Korcuska, 2018 ). The first level involved coding the content of the interview based on basic descriptions of the responses throughout each transcript. The second level involved the researchers going back over the data to code categories that had emerged from the data. These coded concepts were compared across all interviews to identify core themes. The third level resulted in condensing and grouping the categories that emerged into themes that may be reported and discussed further.

At each step in the process, each researcher reviewed each transcript independently and in great detail before coming together to compare findings in a collective researcher discussion. Each of the three levels of analysis of the data were infused with mutual consultation in researcher discussions to distill the essence of the resulting themes as reflected in Figure I. The demographic data completed for each interview provided additional layers of detail that helped describe the participants of the study and verify their qualifications for discussing the field.

Three Levels of Data Analysis

Reliability, Validity, Generalizability, and Trustworthiness

The researchers employed a peer review system of reviewing the data to ensure accurate and reliable interpretation of the transcripts and content (see Figure I). The researchers engaged in the first stage of coding independently, with content categorized inductively for each transcript. After the initial level of coding was completed, the research team deliberated on the content to compare similarities and differences. The vast majority of the first-level coding was consistent across the research team, but with some minor adjustments. At the second level of coding, the research team independently identified themes that emerged from the data. The team met and compared the themes, only to find significant consistency again. The researchers discussed some of the minor differences and agreed upon common language that captured the essence of the data into clear themes. This process allowed for multiple levels of blind review and comparison to enhance reliability of the data.

The same research questions and sub-questions were used for each of the participant interviews to ensure continuity and validate the commonality of responses. The research questions were discussed by the research team and formulated to ensure they expressed important values of the counseling profession, multicultural best practices in the field, and the phenomena being explored in the study.

While the interview responses were diversified across many cultures, countries, and ethnicities, the data also must be interpreted with some caution regarding generalizability. Two representatives were interviewed from each global region, which offered some level of variety in understanding diverse perspectives on counseling values. However, there are many other counseling professionals that have the potential to answer any of the questions differently. Because of the global focus of the study, a higher number of participants was utilized to enhance proper representation (Johnson & Christensen, 2012 ; Schreiber & Asner-Self, 2011 ). Although participant criteria defined counseling professionals in their context, the participants in each region only represent two opinions out of possibly many others. Still, the commonalities across cultures offer a helpful starting point for understanding how the phenomenon of counseling values are understood worldwide. While recognizing this caution, researchers have emphasized that qualitative phenomenological studies do present opportunities for some general applications, particularly with eidetic generalizability with a focus on the phenomenon and not a number assumed to create saturation (Englander, 2019 ; van Wijngaarden et al., 2017 ).

To reinforce stronger trustworthiness regarding the phenomenon of international counseling values explored in the study, the research team employed several techniques, including memoing, researcher positionality, and participant checking (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007 ). Memos were taken with each interview to provide context when reviewing transcripts throughout the data analysis process. Figure I reflects the researcher discussions where efforts to recognize researcher positionality as both outsiders with participants culturally but semi-insiders professionally remained an important part of the data analysis (De Cruz & Jones, 2004 ; Gair, 2011 ). The researchers also provided each participant with all their referenced material and the context of interpretation so they could verify the accuracy of the data interpretation through member checking. This approach seemed especially important because English was a second language for the majority of the participants, although they largely demonstrated language fluency. The only exception was with the two participants who required translation, and the interpreters used for those interviews were included on the email with the participants to view the interview content and offer feedback. There were no concerns raised by the participants regarding the content and the application of their words to the findings in the study, so the member checking provides greater confidence that the data shows a trustworthy representation of the interviews.

The volume of data provided rich and relevant insights from the professional counseling participants. The overarching themes identified by the research team included: (1) Recognizing valued approaches, (2) Adapting to community settings, (3) Understanding common professional issues, and (4) Maximizing cross-cultural practices. Because the content touched on so many important areas, and the researchers decided to include the voices of the participants as much as possible. This article will focus on the content for 1) Recognizing valued approaches, with future articles sharing data from the remaining three sections that follow, including sub-themes for each category. The following demographic information offers a description of the participants that provided the content for the phenomena explored in the study.

Demographic Details

Demographic information provides greater definition to the credentials, experiences, and identities of the participants, without compromising privacy outlined in the participation agreement. Table I offers a list of features that contextualize participant contributions in the data.

Recognizing Valued Approaches

Participants consistently described several prominent approaches to counseling that occur or are needed within their context. The areas of commonality described in this article became apparent in the data with a variety of sub-themes. These notable themes included marital and family counseling, child and school counseling, faith integration, indigenous practices, and person-centered safe spaces. Table II offers data on what discussions were addressed by which country participant. To preserve anonymity, each participant is identified by the name of the country they represent. Table II details the eight regions of IAC, along with each country participant. The topical areas they addressed are also included in the table.

Marital and Family Counseling

The importance of providing marital and family counseling was vocalized among 69% ( n  = 11) of the 16 participants. The role of family and the importance of the marital relationship are recognized as high priorities, emphasizing in a variety of ways that counseling professionals must be ready to provide marital and family counseling in many contexts. Samoa highlights, “Most definitely. The family systems here would definitely benefit from more counseling in terms of how family systems operate within the changing world.” Russia also concurs with the importance of family work when saying, “I know that family therapy [and] spouse therapy is very widespread here at this time.” Counselors come with skills that can address the conflicts that emerge among families, and Canada describes some of the ways professional counseling is needed for families in the country by sharing how counselors are “targeting all levels of the family and often running some parenting programs and some couples programs. . and some family counseling.”

Preserving marital relationships was viewed as central to family support among counseling professionals. Zimbabwe reports some of the greatest needs exist “between spouses, between partners who could be cohabitating. . . It is also true with the starting a relationship or starting a marriage.” Afghanistan also describes how more people are encouraged to seek out pre-marital counseling or divorce counseling in the country. They highlight a need to focus on prevention rather than intervention, and reported others “. . would refer the families that need premarital or divorce counseling and this stuff. If this is expanding in the country, there would be a lot of cases now [in the] family area and for family counseling.” Afghanistan goes on to explain, “this can prevent a lot of the divorce and. . prevent it [from] having a lot of children of families that were divorced.”

Iran also emphasizes the importance of marital support and described how this form of counseling is much more accepted in the culture. Both Iran and Afghanistan emphasize that the acceptability of counseling for couples and families is high among many of those who are highly educated. Iran describes “Recently, it’s much, much better. In premarital counseling for example, a lot of people would go, a lot of new people, and the new bride and groom to be. Before that they would go and see a premarital counselor.” The popularity of counseling among married couples offers hope that ongoing support for the family and individuals may occur. Argentina also describes some of the positive ways that counseling can shift the perspectives of people in relationship by offering a metaphorical monologue: “Well, I have a day with my partner. We are angry. I don’t talk to anybody and I can see the difference where I stay in this way.” Argentina goes on to describe how this relationship can affect other relationships but coming to counseling to talk with someone “is a huge support.”

The commitment to continue supporting family units remains a common cultural emphasis among the participants represented. When describing how important family is within the culture overall, Jamaica explains:

The family unit is critical, so, while it may look fragile and sometimes fractious, as my grandmother would say: Family is family. You know, that’s part of it. We have an old proverb that says: ‘[Your] finger stinks? You don’t cut it off.’ In other words, not because you have a rotten apple in the family, you disown them. You still try until it’s absolutely impossible to do anymore; then you may have to cut the finger off, but that’s not your first course of action. And that includes people overseas, family overseas supporting family here. And I think that happens for many migratory populations, not just Jamaicans.

Others elaborated on the challenges of lacking resources and economic hardship and their negative impact on the family. Samoa explains that ensuring support for families who are struggling is a primary focus of counseling: “The spiritual leaders, the ministers and pastors, they’ve worked quite [hard] to support families.” The problems have become evident, as Samoa describes, “In terms of family systems, [this] will be really for counseling to really take off, because now we’re starting to see a lot of domestic violence here.” Malaysia describes similar concerns evident within the culture as a result of the need for family counseling:

To be honest with you, family is one of the systems that we really need to work with, and due to that, there are a lot of connected issues, such as the drugs and substance abuse, domestic violence, of course mental health counts as one of the issues. And for your information, throughout my state, if I’m not mistaken, we are the highest. We have the highest rate of divorce and then a lot of broken family involved, and a lot of, what do you call that, orphans, as well.

Family counseling interventions may differ according to the context. Participants describe specific approaches for how to consider family involvement in the professional counseling process. This is evident for India, who offers detailed perspectives on how to support families in their culture: “We started out with the Western model of foster family care, you know, selecting strangers to care for the children and then counsel there, you know, the foster parents and the children.” This soon proved to be a poor fit for the culture in India, so they adjusted their approach and, “We realized that those models are not working completely and so we decided. . we had to take on a more familial and community-oriented perspective.” Adapting the model of counseling and “kinship care” to support the needs of children and the foster families that take them increased the success of their efforts. India reports this new model of support was adopted because “what works well in our culture is family-centered counseling and community-centered counseling,. . you can’t keep families and communities out from the context of that individual.” Both India and Samoa explain how even concepts of confidentiality are handled more openly when working with families in counseling within their cultures. As India describes, “Confidentiality, yes, it definitely has a place, but we understand it a little differently, because we have areas where we need to share it.”

In a similar way, Wales discusses ways of seeing counseling integrated into the culture through a focus on learning how to value listening, not only in families but also in the communities in which they live: “So, I think you’ve got these informal networks of value within communities, and some of that is within families, but some of it is wider than that.” In this way, Wales describes the way counselors can offer greater benefit to the people they serve.

Child and School Counseling

Counseling is frequently identified as highly valuable for children, particularly within school settings. The attention of child and school counseling occurs among 50% ( n  = 8) of the participant responses. Wales describes with pride, “Here in Wales, for example, we were one of the first places in the UK [United Kingdom] to have a counselor attached to every primary school.” This approach leads the way for the rest of the UK to follow the example of Wales so that “counselors can advise schools and their schools’ management on aspects of the way they do things which might actually be contributing to the problem.” Malaysia also reports, “Most of the schools in Malaysia, they do have school counselors,” which is identified as a primary venue from which counseling services are offered.

Samoa describes a heightened interest in counseling children, providing an example of a recent training program offering courses in child counseling, where they “just finished one of child abuse, and now it’s child counseling skills, and the interest for to take on these courses are quite difficult to get in.” This reality convinces Samoa that “a lot of more people are taking counseling seriously in Samoa.” Counseling also receives more favorable recognition from the community in Iran. When discussing the values of counseling that exist within the community, Iran shares:

The other thing is any kind of counseling for children. So, children, you know parents, doing anything for children. So, before they wouldn’t go to see a counselor for, you know, for a children’s problem, but at the moment counselors who are working in the area of children, any kind of issue like behavior, school counseling and these things, these are the ones that have a lot of clients.

Canada describes the system of support children receive among Canadian mental health professions: “Children and adolescents do have access to school counseling and they would access through that way.” This approach provides an entry point for many young people, as they can receive further services if needed by receiving a referral to the local health services department. Anything beyond, “how you fit or don’t fit within the school system and problems you’re having there,” would result in having a referral to public health services for more in depth counseling support. When describing how professional counseling can best support needs of the culture, Jamaica expresses,

I think our school counselors have a role to play here, but they are overwhelmed. There are few in a school and what they’re being asked to do is just too much. You’re going through the motions, but are you having an impact? Yes, you may be impacting a few students, but how can you use your position in a role of advocacy as opposed to being just a part of the system?

Other countries, such as Jamaica, reflect a broader concern about how counseling is applied to young people, often centering on behavioral issues. Zimbabwe describes how counseling has often focused on behavioral issues with “teachers in schools and also in communities. . these are the contexts we do this. It’s about the discipline, trying to ensure that, you know, pupils to students behave in school settings.” Similarly, Trinidad explains, “Trinidad and Tobago are in a time where young people are not valued, especially young people who come from poverty-stricken environment, young people who are really struggling.” Trinidad explains how students who need services most are not receiving the services they badly need: “Our education system only focuses on, let’s say the 20% who are able to maneuver their way into the kind of education system that we have; it’s very academic-oriented.” Trinidad calls for increased reform in how the country looks at supporting young people in schools and elsewhere with greater mental health support:

I say that if we look at young people as potential criminals, we will do that [have armed guards around schools]. But if we look at them as potentially productive citizens of this country, we will put more guidance officers, more psychologists, more social workers. . .. We need to really look at our young people as productive citizens, potentially productive citizens, and provide the environment, provide professionals, that will be able to help them.

Faith Integration

Among the valued approaches identified by participants, the importance of faith integration became apparent across a variety of cultural, faith, and religious backgrounds. More than a third of participants (38%, n  = 6) report the significance of faith-based counseling services, describing its integral nature in the culture. Canada reports, “there’s a lot of local counseling and some of them are more Christian-based while others are more open to whoever.” Jamaica likewise reports, “A key place is church-based counseling.” The importance of faith, religious, and spiritual integration in counseling support is regarded highly among the participants who addressed the phenomenon.

Samoa describes the value of spiritual needs and the expectations of the people in the culture: “Yeah, I mean the spiritual side of it’s always going to be there, because in each village is at least one, two, three different denominations of the spiritual leaders—the pastors and ministers.” The churches in Samoa are working to increase mental health awareness among their pastors and leaders of churches. Samoa works as a counselor with the church, but also in a pastoral role. Zimbabwe also describes their own dual roles in both counseling and church ministry: “I am a registered licensed practitioner for counseling, and I am a minister of religion. . . I both assist practicing ministry clergy and also the congregants themselves.” The integration of faith is clear with the experiences of both Samoa and Zimbabwe, and in the multiple professional roles they serve in their communities.

Participants also report that counseling frequently occurs within religious or spiritual locations. Malaysia describes ways counseling becomes integrated with religious beliefs through the religious settings: “My country is Islamic country, so. . I would say if people can use the mosques. . the churches. . this kind of, what do you call that, medium. . . it should be like that.” Malaysia provides reflections on targeting the faith experience of the client, yet they warn, “We need to be very careful as well, when it comes to this churches and mosques and temples. Yeah, because definitely we really need to understand the spiritual, what is it, the religious matters.”

Even if people do not have a religious affiliation, Jamaica explains how “They will make use of the church-based counseling, because there is an inherent trust in religious leaders and of religious leaders.” Integration goes even further with counseling in the church in Jamaica: “Some churches have professional counselors. They offer a space where a professional counselor can operate from at a very discounted rate.” Because of the significant reliance on the church in Jamaica, they share further initiatives to encourage clergy in their efforts to provide mental health support: “And then, of course, there is the pastoral counseling, pastoral work done by pastors. One of the things we have tried to do is to help pastors understand where their limitations are so they don’t cross over into [other] areas.”

While many of the participants share the openness of religious or spiritual institutions offering counseling, Trinidad describe ways in which some faith settings may be restricted to only those ascribing to that particular faith, which can pose some challenges:

There are some spaces that, you know, are Muslim, and they will not accept other faiths. And there are some spaces that are Hindu and they will not accept [others]. Some schools will not. It’s just for Hindu children, [or] it’s just for Muslim children. And if you are not of the faith but you get into the school, you have to follow their faith. . .. You have to do things the way they do it. .. which. .. causes a lot of confusion in the young people.

Indigenous Practices

Participants demonstrate that counselors can recognize the importance of indigenous and traditional practices regularly by observing the values represented within the culture. Indigenous practices were described by 38% ( n  = 6) of the participants in detail. Australia depicts multiple levels and values integrated into the helping roles of the those with indigenous heritage, and how traditional practices have begun emerging as central counseling values in the country. According to Australia, “. . healing practices, particularly from Aboriginal and Torres strait islander peoples are being brought into mainstream counseling. For example, in my professional association, we have like a college of indigenous healing practitioners and those long held historical values.” Australia goes on to describe some of these practices, including dance therapy, storytelling, and going outside on “bush walks.”

Canada underscores some of the ongoing activities related to integrating indigenous practices in counseling: “I’m helping with. . the development of competency and have been on two committees for that. . . I’ve written, and am now working on, indigenous competencies.” Canada offers further illustration of the kinds of inclusivity and welcoming behaviors promoted in their culture:

.. . in my culture there’s something called the ‘ wampum belt.’ It’s a belt that shows inclusivity, that we’re two different people but we are walking together in the same, um, time period, and the same life. And the idea is that you do good on both sides. You do good to each other, and we have many wampum belts. From the time of the fur traders and beyond and our interactions with government. So, it’s. .. a way [of] showing mutual respect.

These examples illustrate how indigenous and traditional practices can be integrated into counseling approaches. India reports the value of cultural applications to counseling values and expresses discomfort because of the dissatisfaction with direct applications of Western models. India explains how counseling models did not always answer questions people in the culture carry: “When we were working with people, we needed to indigenize, we needed to look at it, contextualize it, adapt models to contextualize it, and that is what I kept doing all my, through my years of my teaching.” The work of contextualizing appropriately still eludes the counseling profession at times. Canada concurs, “I would say that [contextualizing] kind of goes with the first nations and indigenous communities as well. You know, it is hard to get culturally appropriate responses from. . the counseling profession.”

Professional counselors also identify indigenous leadership structures as important in many traditional models of helping. Zimbabwe describes ways in which counseling services benefit from engaging leadership structures, because “It has also been provided by community leaders here, I mean the chiefs, the headman, we have those structure in villages here. And also respected members of communities. . [have] traditionally been providing counseling.” Similar to this experience, Iran describes, “before professional counseling coming to Iran, a lot of people would consult with wise man in their family. . still, they are very strong in that area. . [and one] would find some wise people in your area in our area.”

Samoa describes how counseling values relate to Samoan culture in the area of listening, because the experiences and assumptions of the traditional culture place a strong emphasis on the leaders simply giving advice while people listen. This can be very different from a counseling approach, and having the counselor in the role of listening may present a different experience altogether. According to Samoa:

It’s [counseling] moved away from advice giving. It’s kind of always been about advice from someone to another person and often from fathers, chiefs, ‘ matai ,’ who lead families. It’s more about the instructions towards everyone else. The way things are moving in Samoa people are starting to want to be more part of decisions that affect their lives.

Person-Centered Safe Spaces

Several participants (44%, n  = 7) discuss person-centered safe spaces as central to valued counseling approaches. The participants describe the key elements of this theoretical approach in terms of the benefits provided to the culture. Australia explains, “The values around person-centered and relational and just letting people, the talking therapy of letting people, tell their story and being encouraged to wonder about this or expand on that.” Australia also reflects on more formalized descriptions of person-centered approaches:

I guess counseling across Australia taps into the amazing work of, say, Carl Rogers. So the values coming forward around unconditional positive regard, empathy, congruence, they’re very solid ways of working with people, the relational ways of working with people in our country.

Malawi describes some of the ways counselors can meet the needs of clients, including economic, religious, and sexual orientation differences, in a person-centered manner by exercising acceptance regardless of identity. Malawi explains the value of accepting others unconditionally in whatever need they present: “I think it implies very acceptances is the issue, that is a key word here. Because, like I say, the area shapes somebody and determines their world view, or world view determines who they are.” Mexico also describes some of the ways person-centered approaches help people feel accepted and meet their needs by creating this safe atmosphere in counseling:

I think that counselors can really meet those [counseling] needs, just by giving a space for people that is not available anywhere else. . .. It’s the only place I feel safe, is the only place where I can express these. It’s the only place where I feel I’m understood and that I actually am heard. . .. So that people can find that that relief and that safety that they’re looking for. And that, I think that’s what Mexicans need the most from counseling, just feeling safe, feeling heard, and finding alternatives.

The principles of person-centered theory seem to be applied to counseling among the participants in ways that expand beyond original Western applications. India describes ways of counseling individuals with person-centered approaches, but emphasized that applications of these approaches must go beyond just the individual. India clarifies, “Of course we use person-centered approaches, but we use more family-centered approaches. And that has been found much more useful.” To further illustrate the point, India explains, “I was counseling women in marital conflict at a shelter for women. And I did that for two years and we used not only individual person-centered counseling, but we also used group-centered counseling.”

Uruguay describes ways in which the closeness of the counseling relationship in a shared space offers an important way to conceptualize counseling in the country. The notion of contact carries a nuance in the country that highlights further meaning with counseling. Uruguay illuminates how the culture carries a “very particular characteristic of being proximal, being close and intimate. It’s something that Uruguay gives to counseling but it’s something that counseling brings to Uruguay—bringing these concrete space[s] where we can be close and intimate.” Uruguay describes practical applications in the school setting, where there are programs designed to increase contact:

.. . but not only the dialogue and the chance of generating a deep meaning contact, not only speaking or rationally understanding that we are connected, but through other means of contact and doing things more experiential than only rational or academic, where the living experience of meeting with oneself—students, counselors—all that from the theorical framework that the focus of person-centered approach and the Gestalt offers.

Creating safe spaces remains a highly important endeavor among the participants. Trinidad details the importance of establishing a person-centered approach in the spaces they create for clients: “I set up a safe, empathic, non-judgmental space for young people because they were being branded as no good.” In organizations and agencies that treat mental health, these principles are reinforced among those providing direct care. The ability to teach empathy skills was extended beyond counselors and mental health workers to reinforce safety and awareness of child development among parents, family, and the overall population of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad further clarifies, “I opened this space where young people can come and, you know, talk about their dreams and their hopes and their fears, and what have you.” The importance of this application becomes a key area of support. Trinidad concludes, “Counseling is so necessary. We need safe spaces for young people to come in.”

Wales presents similar thoughts with supporting general awareness of person-centered counseling applications, emphasizing how the general public can benefit greatly by recognizing and practicing some of the core principles of active listening. The contributions of counseling values within the culture provided benefit, as Wales emphasizes:

One of the things that, that really has grown exponentially is this whole idea of listening in our culture. That you know, not everybody needs to see a trained counselor, but to have somebody who’s really good at listening, and there’s a modern listening skills courses now for people who aren’t counselors. But they just go on these courses to learn how to listen more and realizing that just being a listening ear can be very healing for some people, you know.

The research team uncovers clear themes expressed regarding counseling values by this diverse group of participants located all over the world. These participants from 16 countries, scattered throughout the globe, offer depth to the conversation of counseling values, and the data in this article focus on ways counselors can recognize valued approaches throughout the world. The results reflect prominent themes of the study, which included marital and family counseling, child and school counseling, faith integration, indigenous practices, and person-centered safe spaces.

The demographic data deliver helpful insights to the knowledge and expertise represented. Two qualified experts in the field of counseling for each of the eight global regions of IAC demonstrated skilled knowledge as counselors, leaders, professors, researchers, and supervisors that provide important insights to the profession internationally. The data reflect advanced degrees, mostly with ten or more years of professional experience, national licenses and certifications, and a variety of leadership roles.

Direct Applications

Applying the knowledge of this study offers a promising direction for global mental health counseling. The identified content areas described in the study provide helpful pillars of counseling values on which further intentional leadership and strategies that may enhance global mental health support. Conceptualizing applications of these data yield three main areas we propose for meaningful and practical applications with those wanting to make a difference in the mental health needs around the world. These applications are summarized as transcultural counseling training, resource adaptability, and bilateral development.

Transcultural Counseling Training

IAC (2022c) launched a transcultural counseling course that offered helpful insights to multiple layers of counseling intervention from countries all over the world. In a similar way that this study integrates input from professionals, this model of exploring transcultural principles in counseling offers a helpful direction for counseling professionals to enhance their awareness of cultural applications applied across cultures. Counselors can utilize this training to develop greater awareness of transcultural principles that transcend culture and identity across individuals, groups, and identities.

The results of this study offer a clear path of training that will enhance counselor awareness of transcultural issues. Professional counselors or counseling programs that wish to advance their knowledge and impact on international counseling can benefit from recognizing the valued approaches described in this study. The development of greater transcultural counseling skills regarding the valued approaches may require specific training in marital and family counseling, child and school counseling, faith integration, indigenous practices, and person-centered safe spaces. Counselor education programs can work to include these approaches, and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP, 2016 ) may consider including the items in future curriculum development. These areas can be understood and applied in a variety of ways depending on the context, such as India’s expanded use of ‘person-centered skills’ with broader group or family interactions.

Many opportunities for engaging international counseling training and experience exist in a variety of venues for clinical mental health counselors. IAC (2022c) continues to advance global efforts through leadership, education, collaboration, and advocacy, and there are frequent opportunities to volunteer for the many initiatives, including research, conferences, and collaboration, taking place throughout the world. The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC, 2012 ) provided similar experiences to enhance international capacity building for the counseling profession. They currently detail professional activities that develop international knowledge through partnerships, education, and service-learning experiences. Other opportunities to enhance transcultural counseling knowledge are through collaborative initiatives for mental health through WHO ( 2022 ) and the United Nations (UN, 2022 ). These resources offer practical ways for professional counselors to increase knowledge and competency with transcultural counseling development.

Resource Adaptability

Counselors have the opportunity to increase knowledge in these valued areas identified throughout the world, but there remains a need for ongoing adaptability among the approaches. Even with identifying the these important themes, the data reflects how this must be understood differently among various cultures. Counseling professionals can be ready to adapt skills, theories, and techniques to appropriately meet the needs of the individuals, groups, and communities they serve.

The research shows a strong focus on person-centered approaches that create safe spaces for people in the counseling room. This aligns with many comments from the literature about how counselor traits and characteristics are far more important than the skills they present (Bojuwoye, 2001 ; Perron et al., 2016 ; Srichannil & Prior, 2014 ). Counselors have a myriad of opportunities to creatively adapt counseling concepts and practices to the appropriate context in which they are offering services. This study proposes an adaptive approach to utilizing counseling knowledge is key for adjusting to needs with marriage and family, child expectations, faith integration, indigenous practices, and person-centered safe spaces. The literature highlighted ways in which this process of adapting well can begin with efforts to enhance counselor self-awareness and development (Chen & Hsiung, 2021 ; Hook & Vera, 2020 ).

Bilateral Development

The research questions of the study were designed to invite cultural insights that may contribute to global professional counseling development. Many insights from the participants reflected ways in which the counseling profession offers benefit to the culture discussed. In a similar manner, the cultures represented in this study contribute to understanding mental health support across cultures, and counselors can benefit from this bilateral perspective on professional counseling development.

Counselors can work to advocate for international counseling benefits different contexts, but counselors can also continue developing the profession based on input from the practice of these international counseling professionals. Counselors can explore concepts foreign their experiences that may enhance the impact of their counseling further. In a similar way, Ægisdóttir and Gerstein ( 2005 ) advocated for the need to incorporate indigenous philosophies into counseling practices to increase flexibility and adaptability. This was evident in the way the participants of this study highlighted nuances with the roles of family, marriage, parenting, and children. Encouraging counselors to learn foreign concepts can enhance development within any cultural context, and these concepts can enhance awareness, knowledge, and skill for serving a variety of people and communities in every country (Duff & Bedi, 2010 ; Hook & Vera, 2020 ).

Limitations

Part of the design for this study was that all the participants were connected through international associations, and all of them were identified through IAC. Associations attract counseling professionals that are drawn to similar interests, so the team acknowledges some responses may have been different with international counseling professionals that are not connected through the same association. Expanding the research beyond this particular group may help further inform the nuances presented in the data, and such expansion may help reduce biased impressions from a homogenous group.

Though the research design provided participants stratified throughout the world, having only two perspectives per region, or one perspective per country, offers only a limited perspective within that region or country. Each country and region no doubt carries many cultures, ethnicities, and people groups that consider mental health and wellbeing differently, and future studies may expand the search for counseling values within each region or country for greater precision of information.

Language is such a vital component of communication. The application and reviewing of the content may have carried nuances that remained unrecognized by the research team. Because English was a second language to most of the participants (and two included translation), the ability to capture all points of emphasis has the potential to be lost. The research team acknowledges the potential for this bias in the research, coding, and conceptualization process. Efforts were made to minimize researcher bias by including a blind review process of coding and verifying the use of each member’s material through participant checking, but even these processes include the potential for miscommunication or misinterpretation.

This study explored the common values of professional counseling that exist among counseling professionals in a wide variety of international cultural contexts. The research questions offer a broad lens from which participants could identify and define the values they recognize within their cultural contexts. An organized system of diversifying findings offered great depth to the conversation about enhancing cultural awareness and practice for counseling professionals wanting to see international counseling develop. The results provide valuable insights to understanding four categories of knowledge for counseling professionals, including: (1) Recognizing valued approaches, (2) Adapting to community settings, (3) Understanding common professional issues, and (4) Maximizing cross-cultural practices.

Due to the depth and detail of content, we desired to enhance the voice of the participants to focus attention on the first concept: recognizing valued approaches to counseling. This content relays the participants’ insights to consider approaches to marital and family counseling, child and school counseling, faith integration, indigenous practices, and person-centered safe spaces. Understanding these concepts provide opportunities for counselors to enhance development, both individually and professionally. Counseling professionals throughout the world are encouraged to apply these concepts by engaging further transcultural or international counseling training, creating resource adaptability, and committing to bilateral development of the profession across all cultures and contexts.

The remaining findings from this study will be shared in future articles. We believe the results of this study spotlight many areas of future research that can advance the discussion of international counseling issues further. The study provides a starting point to increase the conversation around international needs and issues as they relate to the mental health and counseling professions. Future research may replicate the qualitative method described for this study, and explore the insights of professionals across other associations. Additional studies are encouraged to explore the nature of counseling or mental health professionals in different countries and recognize what areas of education best advance counselor effectiveness in each setting.

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Perron, N.C.D., Lim, V.H., Isenman, L. et al. International Counseling Values: Recognizing Valued Approaches Identified by International Counseling Professionals Through Qualitative Inquiry. Int J Adv Counselling 45 , 330–355 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-023-09505-4

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• International counseling
• Counseling values
• Qualitative research
• Counseling professionals
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Home — Essay Samples — Philosophy — Values of Life — My Personal Values in Life

My Personal Values in Life

• Categories: Values of Life

About this sample

Words: 773 |

Published: Jan 31, 2024

Words: 773 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, body paragraph 1: personal value 1, body paragraph 2: personal value 2, body paragraph 3: personal value 3, counterargument.

• Adler, M. J. (2000). The four dimensions of philosophy: Metaphysical, moral, objective, categorical. Routledge.
• Miller, W. R., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field. American Psychologist, 58(1), 24-35.
• Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press.

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