Code of Ethics and Practice: Preface

The ISPC, like other professional bodies, recognises the importance of having a code of ethics and practice that all members and prospective members must agree and adhere to. The purpose of the code is primarily to protect the interests of clients and Counsellors (members) and secondly to protect the reputation of the society.

The ISPC acknowledges and respects that some prospective members may already be guided by codes or standards of other counselling organisations. Accordingly, we have drawn up a code of ethics and practice that we believe all Counsellors and those employing counselling skills would be able to agree to. By agreeing to this code of ethics and practice Counsellors will be accepting that they have a duty to clients, to other Counsellors and to those employing counselling skills within the counselling profession.

By agreeing to this code of ethics and practice, Counsellors will not be prohibited from following the code of ethics and practice that they had followed previously. In the unlikely event that there should be a conflict of interest between the code of ethics and practice that the Counsellor adheres to and the code of principle of the ISPC, the Counsellor should take up the matter with the Society to try to resolve the issue(s). We believe that this is the fairest way to allow for flexibility and at the same time offer protection to the public, clients and Counsellors alike.

One of the conditions of joining the Society will be that the prospective member must sign an agreement to be bound by the code of ethics and practice and they must state which, if any, codes of practice they already adhere to.

The code of ethics and practice is designed to enable the Counsellor and client to maintain a professional relationship. This relationship must be safe for both parties.

The rules in sections 8 and 9 comprise the Society's code of ethics and practice .