Content

As members of a profession counsellors abide by a set of ethical standards so as to enhance their ability to work for the betterment of their clients. Although our ethical obligations are set out in the ACA Code of Ethics and Practice this document cannot hope to encapsulate all the nuances of day-to-day therapeutic work. Therefore in this unit you will be asked to consider the law, morality, ethics, and virtuous behaviour. You will also be asked to aspire to best practice. However, most importantly you will be exposed to a variety of counselling contexts and their associated ethical problems and asked to reason-out justifiable solutions. In this way the present unit is intended to be highly practical.

Unit code: CO2007Z

Unit status: Approved (Minor revision)

Points: 18.0

Unit level: Undergraduate Level 2

Unit discipline: Counselling

Delivery Mode: Blended

Proposing College: School of Professional Practice - Counselling

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Learning outcomes

1.

Identify common counselling situations which prose risk for either the client or counsellor given implicit ethical concerns.

2.

Identify legal and ethical obligations within a counsellor’s scope and jurisdiction of practice.

3.

Reason-out solutions to common counselling scenarios which prose risk for either the client or counsellor given implicit ethical concerns.

4.

Articulate notions of best-practice as similar to, and different from, adequate legal/ethical practice.

Unit sequence

Offering: This unit is to be taught in year 2, semester 2 (term 3).
Prerequisites: CO1002Z Self, Profession and Society

Pedagogy

Problem-based learning In practice: To understand how to structure a question and use a logical process to derive an outcome which meets appropriate intellectual/professional standards is an important skill for counsellors. Through the provision of various intellectual lenses and associated problems students have the opportunity to engage problem-solving at a deeper level. While this is done effectively with online modules, at a face-to-face intensive, or during online seminars, students also get exposed to: (1) ambiguous problems; (2) problems with multiple answers; (3) problems with probabilistic outcomes; (4) problems with no good answers or no answers at all. In this way they begin to develop a rich understanding of what it is like to work with clients. Assessments are designed to enhance students’ problem-solving skills and to assess their readiness for clinical practice.

Indicative Bibliography

  1. Australian Counselling Association. (2022). Code of Ethics and Practice. Australian Counselling Association.
  2. Australian Psychological Society. (2018). APS code of ethics. Australian Psychological Society.
  3. Cottone, R., Tarvydas, V., & Hartley, M. (2021). Ethics and decision making in counseling and psychotherapy (5th edition). Springer Publishing Ltd.
  4. Gentilin, D. (2022). The origins of ethical failures: Lessons for leaders. Routledge.
  5. Murphy, M., & Hecker, L. (Eds.; 2016). Ethics and professional Issues in couple and family therapy. Routledge.
  6. Pelling, N., & Burton, L. (2019). The Elements of ethical practice: Applied psychology ethics in Australia. Routledge.
  7. Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. (2017). A brief guide to the final report. C’wealth of Australia.
  8. Stone, C. (2022). School counseling principles: Ethics and law (5th edition). American School Counselor Association.
  9. Taleff, M. (2011). Advanced ethics for addiction professionals. Springer.

Textbook is: Cottone, R., Tarvydas, V., & Hartley, M. (2021). Ethics and decision making in counseling and psychotherapy (5th edition). Springer Publishing Ltd.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Skeleton Argument

For 5 different module “Activities” across the unit provide either: (1) a response of approx. 100 words to the question posed; or (2) a response of approx. 100 words to another student’s post. Each response will be marked as satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

500 5.0
Personal Reflection

For 5 different module “Reflection questions” across the unit provide either: (1) a response of approx. 100 words to the question posed; or (2) a response of approx. 100 words to another student’s post. Each response will be marked as satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

500 5.0
Essay

Professional standards name the minimum standards of acceptable practice, whereas best practice is “aspirational”. To help you aspire to best practice consider the first two years of your counselling practice. Construct a plan that will help you move from being a competent graduate to a practitioner known for best practice. In this plan you might like to consider elements such as:

  • Your career ambitions?
  • What client types you’d like to see?
  • What client load would you like to take on?
  • How much supervision you want to receive, from whom, and whether it will be individual supervision, group supervision, peer supervision, or a mix?
  • What professional development activities you’d like to do?
  • What books you might like to read?
  • What professional groups, societies, or organisations might you like to engage with?
  • What further study would be helpful?
  • Who would be a good mentor for you?
  • What personal development initiatives might you like to undertake?
  • What factors in your life need to be adjusted, included, or excluded, to achieve “the good life”.
1300 30.0
Essay

A case study will be provided. For the case study identify the ethical issue(s) present. For each ethical issue you identify apply a consequentialist, deontological, or agent-based lens. Now solve each of the issue(s) identified using relevant professional standards and logic.

1200 30.0
Multiple Choice Quizzes or Tests

Testing core knowledge of ACA practice standards.

1000 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 4 Nov, 2024

Unit record last updated: 2024-11-04 08:50:31 +1100