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Issues and Ethics in the Helping Profession

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?First and foremost, it is essential for a counselor to understand his or her own life principles and belief which includes their capability in handling wide range of cases. As professionals concerned to clarify our own ethical perspectives and understand those of clients and colleagues, we need to know not only what broad and general principles we each hold but also what particular interpretations we give to them. We are then well placed to appraise our own views, to identify where we disagree with others and to work towards mutually acceptable solutions. Besides, the role of counselor should be clear and understandable in order to avoid any misconduct. Counselors use psychological principles to help people understand their difficulties to provide support and to help people find solutions to their problems and put these solutions into practice. The ethical principles to which we subscribe personally may or may not be compatible with our legal system, or the codes of our profession, since they are independent of them. They may, however, be dependent on any religious beliefs we hold. On the other hand, in its simplest form, this view is that our ethical obligation is to do whatever will bring the greatest benefits to everyone. So if everyone is likely to be happier if we tell a lie rather than tell the truth, we should tell the lie. According to this view, actions such as telling a lie or breaking promises are not intrinsically bad, nor are actions such as telling the truth and keeping promises intrinsically good. All actions are ethically neutral, and whether they are right or wrong in particular circumstances depends on whether they lead to the best consequences. The end justifies the means, and since lying is not intrinsically bad, we have no obligation to avoid doing it. This basically enables the counselors to adapt and work with a wide range of clients from different background. The task of dealing with various kind of client is not as easy as it could be explained. The perspective and judgments the client or counselor face might distract the main purpose of the session. Whatever principles people hold, they may see them as part of a ‘fact’ or ‘opinion’ view of morality. So someone may regard it as a fact that morality is based solely on the principle of utility, or may consider that it is so in their opinion, or in the conventional opinion of their culture. Similarly an ethical

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