Counselling and Sexual Orientation - Research Paper Example

Ethic is a branch of axiology which belongs to the four main branches of philosophy (Ethics and Counselling). It focuses and tries to understand the nature of human morality. Ethics explains the accepted and non-accepted customs in a group, community or a society. Therefore, one of the core value that guide counselors is ethic. Ethic was defined in the early society as the engagement of moral behavior and dissociating with wrong behaviors (Ethics and Counselling). However, ethic is used in different fields and environment and in counseling it shapes the discipline because it involve clients disclosure of personal and private matter so as to get therapeutic assistance. Moreover, counselors also are guided by their own morals and religious beliefs. For example, a counselor with a religious background may not be willing to attend to issues of sexual orientation for gay and lesbians. Attending to them would amount to going against his ethical principle. However, this is not usually the case because counseling involves helping those people who are in need and for which therapeutic services would help improves on their health. A Christian fundamentalist counselor is faced with the ethical issue while dealing with cases of gay culture and homosexual behaviors. Christianity rebukes and discourages homosexual and lesbianism and so their counselors would not be willing to attend to the case resulting from such indulgence. The issue of morality is always a topical issue and has evolved to a more complex issue between individuals codes of conduct (Ethics and Counselling). Ethical counseling is among the complex discussion that revolves in the discipline due to the nature of the client and counselors background. Many countries do not have strict laws that guide counseling profession. However, the use of ethical standard is done to ensure that quality services are provided by all counselors. Moreover, counselors are trained of the value of protecting client’s confidentiality. Therefore, counselor should meet the demand of their clients no matter their moral standing because they would minimize danger and aggravation of the problem. Moreover, the ethical of secrecy protect counselors facing accusation of serving the gay community. According to Daniluk and Haverkamp ethical counseling is based on the concept of self-interest, beneficence, autonomy, non-maleficence, fidelity and justice (Ethics and Counselling). Therefore, therapeutic therapy on sexual orientation in guided by the above concepts and it would be better if a fundamentalist psychologist deal also with cases that contravene his religious beliefs to do justice to other who might not share the same beliefs. It would be improper to turn away a client because the services that he requires contravene the moral judgment of a counselor. It would amount to injustice to an innocent client who does not have any other place to seek help other than 30 miles away. Counselors are guided by the principle of beneficent because it takes a central place in the study of morality. The ideas of social program and philanthropy are also guided by this principle and psychologist and counselors are supposed to exercise this principle. The term benevolence describes an act of mercy, charity and kindness (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). It shows the respect of other people, love and a show of goods to the less privileged or people in need. Therefore, a Christian fundamentalist ought to show acts of beneficent to all that come seeking counseling assistance may it lesbians, homosexuals or any other group who engage in immoral sexual behaviors. Moreover, an assistance of gays and lesbians would offer a good platform to discourage the practice. As beneficence is fundamentally the guiding principle in medicine, it is also an important factor in counseling people with sexual orientation problem. The same goal of healing in medical science applies also to counseling (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Counseling sexual orientation victims helps in resolving of self-identity, self-acceptance and building clients self-esteem. Therefore, a counselor should not turn away a gay or lesbian, but rather should help in addressing the problem not unless his health is at risk. The counseling profession abides by the ethics of confidentiality. Counselors face deal with many issues of family and business related problems. Moreover, they also deal with a personal issue such as sexual orientation. For this reason, counselors are prohibited from exposing the issues that they discuss with their clients. Therefore, though engaging with clients needing help as a result of practicing gay or lesbianism contravene the moral standing of counselors, the ethic of confidentiality protect them from the blanket condemnation of supporting a particular culture in the society. The revision of the ACA codes of Ethic in 2005 provided an avenue that allowed counselors to engage in any issue that they face which were previously condemned (Shallcross). The informal interactions were allowed and it became easier for counselors to engage even in informal counseling with all people. Therefore, the case of counselors facing ethical dilemma due religious beliefs can be addressed as an informal counseling while the client wait to secure a professional service thereafter. The informal counseling is important because it will partially help the client while uphold the counselors moral ground. In most of the institution that strain counselors, tutors teach on the ethic of disassociating personal beliefs with the role of the counseling profession. This is important because there are also as many religions as there are counselors and because it is impossible to have especially counselors for specific sub-culture in the society, counseling the profession disallows personal engagement within the profession (Cox). Therefore, a Christian fundamentalist should serve gays and lesbian just as he serves other clients. Client and the counselor share same belief because the quality of service would be better than when they differ in their religious beliefs. However, on conditions of unavailability of such circumstances it is imperative that a religious counselor deal with cases that contravene his faith. In these circumstances, counselors are bound to impose their religious and other values on their clients, but are supposed to abide by their competency to avoid harming the clients (Cox). According to ACA Codes of Ethics, it is not expected that counselors would take on the values of their clients such as lesbianism and gay. The principle of objectivity help to stick to the needs of the client and the role of the counselors is to offer services while aware of their personal values. Though it is hard to compromise religious beliefs, counselors are trained to offer professional services to diverse populations (Cox). Sexual orientation clients are normal human being, but practice sexual orientation different from what are views as right in the society. Therefore, they may have strong religious beliefs, but experience different sexual attraction to people of the same sex (Cox). Therefore, if a religious fundamentalist counselor would attend to people with sexual orientation problem, he or she would realize the challenges that Christian faces. Moreover, such an experience would offer an opportunity to practice counseling to people that deserve counseling the most to uphold Christianity. According to the U.S Supreme court, refusal to counsel homosexual client amount to discrimination and which can harm the client and thus aggravating their problem (Rosik 415). Therefore, given that discrimination is illegal and unhealthy in a profession, a counselor is supposed to counsel all clients that seek services when they have capacity to do so. Moreover, the assumption of counselors denying homosexual clients services because of religious ethic beliefs demonstrates a lack of ethical reasoning that attempt to isolate the ethical codes of conducts (Rosik 417) Counselors are obligated to respect and uphold cultural diversity and avoid discrimination including on sexual orientation. Works Cited Cox, Michelle R. "When Religion and Sexual Orientation Collide." 1 May 2013. Counseling Today . 24 April 2014 . "Ethics and Counselling." 12 March 2010. Australias Institute of Professional Counselling. 24 April 2014 . Rosik, Christopher H. "Legal And Ethical Implications of Refusing to Councel Homosexual Clients." Journal of Counseling & Development (2006): 414-418. Shallcross, Lynne. "Do the Right Thing." 1 April 2011. Counseling Today. 24 April 2014 . "Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy." 2013. Stanford Education. 24 April 2014 . Read More