Collegial Relationships and The Christian Counselor
Collegial Relationships
The helping professional may find him/herself in a situation requiring the reporting of a colleague for unethical behavior. This is a situation not envied by anyone, and one that causes considerable distress to the reporting professional. If the helping professional remembers that the responsibility to the client is paramount, the decision becomes less troublesome.The process of reporting unethical behavior on the part of a colleague begins with a meeting with the alleged offender in which the concerned helping professional outlines his/her concerns. If that process is not sufficient to resolve the issue, the concerned professional must then look for options open to him/her for further action. One of these actions might be a discussion with the alleged offender’s supervisor or a report to the appropriate governing or licensure board.
So many conflicting thoughts and emotions may be at play that it can be distressing to recognize and be in a position to report unethical behavior on the part of a colleague. The honest and ethical helping professional will think of those times when he/she had been tempted. Thoughts of all the mistakes made in one’s personal and professional life may swim to the surface, making one wonder if it’s safe to throw stones lest one’s own glass house be similarly attacked. But in the end, if the welfare of the client is indeed paramount, attempts at resolution must be made even if the attempts bring discomfort.
The Christian Counselor
The Christian counselor is at the same time, just like any other counselor and very different from other counselors. The Christian counselor is just like any other counselor because he/she must obey the same laws and adhere to the same ethical codes of the chosen discipline. The Christian counselor is very different from other counselors because he/she may also answer to a higher authority – that reflected in Christian ethics. However, Sanders (1997) makes an important point when observing that the Christian counselor has the same obligations as the secular helping professional – those of obtaining sufficient training, following both the codes of the profession and the applicable laws, and remaining current in study and research. To be engaged in Christian counseling does not remove one from the necessity of adhering to these requirements.In addition, the ethical and competent helping professional will recognize the necessity of considering the client in the context of his or her environment. The environment for many will include the church, whatever church it may be, and the relationship with God. Unfortunately, in these times of managed care and time limited eligibility for counseling services, the helping professional may be limited to addressing only those superficial issues, often behavioral in nature, that can be dispatched in more rapid fashion. These remedies may be useful, and in fact, may be all that is required or expected. However, to fulfill one’s spiritual destiny may require more than the four or six or eight sessions allowed by the payor source.
Much has been made of the alleged guilt inducing elements of faith, but much has also legitimately been made of the comfort one may find in the arms of the church or the arms of God. Mental health principles encourage, among other things, positive resolution of conflict, recognition of one’s needs and wants, and acquiring the ability to make choices that will bring about the achievement of one’s goals. All of these principles, when followed, assist in the reduction of guilt, simply by doing that which furthers one’s life goals.
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