Written for my Advanced Diploma in Counselling - this is an Introduction to Counselling Lecture presented for Trainee Teachers. If used please be kind enough to reference as well.

1. COUNSELLING AND ISSUES
OF IMMORALITY
Challenging your preconceived ideas
on counselling.
By Chris Booth 25th February 2017

2. CONTENTS OF PRESENTATION
 Discovering Preconceived Ideas Of Counselling
 What is Counselling?
 Personal and Professional Ethics
 What is Immorality Within Counselling?
 The Influence of Society
 The Dislocated Teenager

3. TRAINING COLLEGE SURVEY
Do you know what counselling is? 85% Yes
What do you think the primary aim of counselling is? 45% Listening
When do you feel counselling may be needed? 68% Anytime
Have you had any formal education on the act of counselling? 95% No
Have you had any formal education in ethics or ethical policy? 76% No
Have you read your universities ethical policy? 76% No
Would you feel confident counselling a teenage pupil in crisis? 90% No
What would you do if you were approached by a teenage pupil in crisis? 45% Talk
to pupil and liaise with supervisor about the situation

4. Counselling is not:
Advice Giving
Medical Diagnosing
Giving instructions

5. So What is Counselling?
Counselling occurs when a counsellor sees a client in a private and confidential setting to
explore a difficulty the client is having, the distress they may be experiencing or perhaps
their dissatisfaction with life or loss of a sense of direction and purpose. It is always at
the request of the client and no one can properly be 'sent' for counselling. By
listening attentively and patiently the counsellor can begin to perceive the difficulties from the
clients point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, possibly from a slightly
different angle.

6. SELF AND SELF
CONCEPT
Self = The Real self (so the
kitten)
Self Concept = What they see
themselves as (so the lion)
Self Actualisation = When the
lion and the kitten become one.
If we can provide a certain type of
relationship, the other will
discover within themselves the
capacity to use that relationship
for growth and change. And as a
result personal development will
occur.

7. Counselling is:
Listening Empathetically
Exploring Issues
congruently
Unconditional Positive
Regards

8. COUNSELLING AND COUNSELLING
SKILLS
COUNSELLING SKILLS
Non-verbal communication
Paraphrasing
Focussing
Reflecting
Summarising
Open Questions
Silence
COUNSELLING
Professionally Trained
Individual
Bound by a code of ethics and
practices
Able to use a different range of
counselling approaches

9. PERSONAL IMMORALITY: ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN
TEACHERS COUNSELLING OVER COUNSELLORS
DILEMMA
‘COUNSELLING’
MORAL CODE
REPORTS TO HEAD
EMPATHY
CONGRUENCE
U.P.R
CONFIDENTIALITY
BREACH
DILEMMA

10. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Group Work: What are your ethics?
Jack and the Beanstalk:
Work in groups to analyse the ethics in the given text and feedback to
the group after 5 minutes.

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16. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS:
FEEDBACK
Feedback from different groups
You each had three different scenarios:
- normal story,
- one where a fairy tells Jack the giant stole the goods from his father
- one from the giants point of view.
One Question; Many answers
Was it okay for Jack to take the items from the Giant?

17. PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
The word ‘ethics’ comes from the Greek word ‘ethos’ meaning character / or
concerning right and wrong.
Counselling ethics is fundamentally a social process that draws upon many
different sources of ethical insight
Often these sources agree on what is the right or best way to act but this is
not always the case. Slight influences can make a big difference (as found in
the Jack and the Beanstalk exercise)

18. PERSONAL VS PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Personal
• Self created values
• Instilled by family and
friends
• Revealed in
professional situation
through behaviour
Professional
• Values introduced to you
in a professional
organisation.
• Maintains a sense of
discipline and decorum
• Make the employee
responsible.

19. Alcohol
Drugs
Pressure
PERSONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS:
GUIDING PRINCIPLES

20. Counselling is also:
Learning
Preparing
Being aware of the
relationship between
society, the client and the
counsellor.

21. KEEPING ETHICS MUSCLES IN SHAPE
The following are 3 ideas to stay in good ethical shape:
• Professional ethical accountability – do you have a network or group of
professionals that you meet with to process ethical concerns as well as be
accountable to / challenged by?
• Professional Ethics Code – When was the last time you had a read of the
professional ethics code of you Professional Association?
• Professional literature – what was the last piece of professional literature you
read that challenged your current thinking on an ethical issue?

22. PERSONAL IMMORALITY: THE
INFLUENCE OF SOCIETY

23. PERSONAL IMMORALITY: THE
INFLUENCE OF SOCIETY
Multi-racial / ethic families
Gay / Lesbian parents or family
members
Students living in foster homes
Non-English speaking parents
Military families
Families living with other family
members e.g. grandparents
Families with non-traditional or
very strong religious practices
(e.g. Jehovah Witnesses who
don’t celebrate Christmases or
Birthdays)

24. THE NUCLEAR STUDENT
HISTORICAL
DISLOCATION
FRAGMENTED
IDEOLOGY
SEARCH
FOR
IMMORTALITY
Lacks sense of community
Lacks sense of identification with
the past and future
Can cause apathy, boredom and
a sense of emptiness
Believes nothing is set in stone,
values, opinion, fact fiction are
all fluidic.
This lead on to being open to
try anything that will ‘broaden’
experience.
They are always
searching for
something else –
historic dislocation
and fragmented
ideology – means no
hope.
They are looking for
something to believe
in.

25. A CRISIS OF IDENTIFY
SOCIAL
DISLOCATION:
A sense that
they have no
roots in the
place they are
at: socially,
financially,
educationally
etc)
SELF-DOUBT
LONELINESS
ALIENATED
PLURALISM:
Coping with ‘the
melting pot ’ of
cultures, value
systems, religions
– and a sense
that the world is
no longer big, as
we are living in a
global village.
ANXIETY FROM
CONFLICTING
AND
CONTRADICTING
VALUE SYSTEMS

26. o Students go through a lot of stressful and challenging times whilst in
education – and a lot of them don’t get any support.
o But by learning and recognising all these Counselling Skills – you can
be that one teacher they remember, who was able to offer them
support when they really needed it.
THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION