Ethics and Values in Counselling and Psychotherapy

An Evening Seminar facilitated by Dr. Gillian Proctor

6-9pm on Friday 14^th October 2011

For Sartre, we are engaged in a world of values, “my acts cause values to spring up like partridges.” We cannot appeal to anything to justify our values, they are purely an expression of our freedom to be unique individuals; values come before facts or knowledge.Moral philosophers throughout the ages, despite their differences in approaches or ethical principles, generally agree on one thing: an ethical life requires critical reflection and self examination.

How have you chosen the theory/ies you use in counselling?What is your theory about the concerns clients seek counselling for? What do you hope or aim for your clients in therapy?And what do you try to do as a therapist with your clients? When and how do you judge the behaviour of another therapist?Are there things you think are wrong for a therapist to do/be? On what basis do you make these judgements? At the root or core of the responses to these questions are values. Values influence beliefs and ethical principles, shaping and justifying our behaviour.

This workshop will be an opportunity for us to discuss how we make ethicaldecisions as therapists.

My current particular interest in ethics is how we can be accountable in a culture of fear and defensive practice without losing integrity, connection and creativity.

Dr. Gillian Proctor is a Clinical Psychologist working in the NHS in Bradford. She also supervises doctorate research projects. She is author of 'The dynamics of power in psychotherapy and counselling' (PCCS Books: 2002) and co-editor of 'Encountering feminism' (PCCS Books 2004) and Politicising the Person centred approach; An agenda for social change (PCCS Books 2006). She is passionate about ethics, politics and power and about her one year old son Zeb.