As members of BACP we're committed to consider ethics as we make decisions in all of our working contexts and the implications of our actions outside our professional relationships, ensuring we don't bring the profession into disrepute. 

We must work collaboratively with people using our services, wherever possible and appropriate, to decide on actions that promote fairness, equality and justice. We must embed ethics within all of our relationships in ways that are respectful to all parties, including ourselves. 

We must also work in ways that are mindful of the Section B: Ethical principles, and consistent with the Section C: Core responsibilities, that underpin this Ethical Framework.  

We must be able to explain our reasoning for decisions made and actions taken, and justify planned future courses of action, including how we might need to respond to any unforeseen events. To be able to do this, we need to identify those factors that inform our decision-making and, wherever possible, demonstrate that the decision-making has been undertaken collaboratively, as far as possible, with those who will be impacted by these decisions.  

As the nature of counselling, psychotherapy, coaching, supervision and training is often uncertain, unpredictable and challenging to accurately predict and navigate, there is often not a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer. Decisions made and actions taken should always be with the intention to ensure fairness, equality and justice, in line with this Ethical Framework.

A rationale for ethical decision-making  

There are many ways in which we as members can work with people using our services to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. We must be able to give a rationale that explains our reasoning and an account of the internal and external factors that informed the decisions we made, and actions taken; such as (but not necessarily limited to): 

  • internal factors which may include specific aspects, such as age, culture, gender, disability, sexuality, religious belief, race or ethnicity, as well as the nature of the work undertaken, the context for the work, and the contract agreed. They could also include ethical principles underpinning the work such as transparency and honesty, and any actions taken, or agreed, in respect of collaborative decision-making
  • external factors which are those factors that sit outside the relationship but may impact the relationship or, in turn, be impacted by decisions made in the relationship. These might include the legal obligations and duties a member is generally bound by, the context of the work, other people involved, such as family, friends and other services (if client work), or organisational expectations and requirements for all work, for example 

Our rationale for ethical decision-making needs to include answers to the following questions:  

  1. What are the ethical issues?
  2. What steps, if any, will be taken to engage the person to be impacted by the decision (client, supervisee, trainee, organisation, research participant, for example) in the decision-making process? If we are not doing this, or this is not possible, why not?
  3. What are the relevant internal factors considered in the decision-making process? How will they impact the decision you make?
  4. What are the relevant external factors considered in the decision-making process? How will they impact the decision you make?
  5. What decision(s) were made and actions taken? What was the outcome of them? Were they consistent with the Ethical principles and Core responsibilities set out in the Ethical Framework?
  6. How was the process reviewed, and with whom?

Developing a rationale using these and other relevant questions can be helpful to inform discussions with others, such as supervisors and managers.

When keeping a record of your rationale, you must always be mindful of your duties in relation to confidentiality and data protection obligations more broadly. There may also be occasions when such a rationale is required by others, which must also be recorded in a way that is consistent with good practice around record keeping, and with sufficient detail to provide an account of the decisions made and actions taken.

Collaborative process 

A collaborative process is a fundamental aspect of all ethical practice and decision-making in counselling, psychotherapy, coaching, supervision and training. Collaboration, which considers identity and diversity, involves taking deliberate steps towards mitigating potentially harmful power dynamics and inequalities between people. A need to work collaboratively can arise in various scenarios, which will include collaborating on how a piece of work will be undertaken.

As we develop our rationale for ethical decision-making as shown above, we can use these additional steps to further support our collaborative ethical decision-making:

  1. consider whether you can and should discuss the ethical issue with the person who will or may be impacted by the decision (client, supervisee, trainee, organisation, for example), including the key factors of any actions we may need to take. (See ‘When collaboration might not be possible’, below, for further guidance.)
  2. listen to the person’s perspective and any concerns they have.
  3. personally reflect on the ethical issue, discussing with supervisor or colleagues, as appropriate and if time allows
  4. consider any legal, contractual or organisational duties we may have, and how the Core responsibilities and Ethical principles set out in this framework should be applied
  5. review and identify learnings, including recording decisions made (with reasons) and actions taken

Discussions around shared decision-making between us and others involved in those decisions must be clearly recorded and agreed. This supports transparency and accountability in practice and helps us to articulate a rationale for decisions made and actions taken.

When collaboration might not be possible  

There may be instances where collaboration might not be possible, due to temporary and permanent factors, and where there are statutory responsibilities that need to be met, including (but not necessarily limited to):

  • temporary factors might include issues around a person’s capacity, including mental health distress, risk, age, understanding and a willingness on behalf of the person to engage in a collaborative dialogue
  • permanent factors might include context (where a person’s actions or decision-making capabilities are constrained through law, for example), or statutory responsibilities where there is a legal requirement to report concerns, e.g. for safeguarding reasons
  • personal preferences of others may include occasions where the people we work with will not want to work collaboratively
  • contracts and context of work – our commitment through the application of this Ethical Framework is to collaborative working, however, there may be occasions when our contracts for work, or the context where we are working, specifically exclude collaborative working. Where this is the case, the reasons need to be documented clearly

Read all sections of the Ethical Framework