Ethics and Counseling

My current class is an ethics class. It is supposed to be for the future, or current, counselor. However, as with every other class, I am finding it quite applicable to my life as it stands currently.

We have a book with a code of ethics from the different licensing agencies. The codes are long and complicated, but are generally common sense. Although I will adhere to the code for the license I am pursuing, I will adhere to a higher code. For me, the Bible is my code of ethics. If I follow the ways God has laid out for my life, I will not go wrong.

The discussions on the codes and what we would do in a given situation is interesting. There are many gray areas where one would not be breaking a code per se, but would be treading on dangerous ground. Some of the hard things for me personally would be if someone came to me wanting to end their life due to terminal illness. I would feel empathy for them, but I know the end of the story. Or if a young girl was seeking an abortion. I know the pain and emptiness a "quick solution" brings. Could I remain unbiased? What if a client disclosed an affair? What is my moral duty? Because this is a secular program, it is hard to address these concerns from a biblical worldview. There are Christians in the program and some of them come off as very judgemental. So I need to find the balance between always speaking truth, but speaking truth in love. Jesus never said to me "You sinned, I don't love you anymore." He said, "You have sinned, you are hurting, come to me and I will heal your wounds and bring you peace. Now go and share that with others who are hurting." That is my calling in this world filled with such messed up values that we need massive codes of ethics to practice what Jesus did.

I came face to face with an ethical decision this week. Just like when God is teaching me something, the concepts I am learning in school are often reinforced through my daily life. A student called me into the hall and said that she had a problem. She had a test the previous Friday and she chose not to go to one class in order to study for the test the next class. She told her mom that she had come to my class to study. She wanted me to tell her mom that she was in my class. A few years ago, I would have felt bad for her situation, did what she wanted and told her to never do that to me again. This time I told her that I was sorry, but I could not and would not lie. She begged, cried, cajoled. I stood my ground. I told her that anytime she felt the extra need to study, she could come to my room and I would see how I could help her, but that she put me in a bad situation. I let her know I understood her feelings and that I wasn't mad at her, but that I wasn't going to bail her out. She was upset of course, but by standing firm, I know that I am teaching her something about life. For me, in my classroom, and this class in particular, it is about building relationships with the kids and loving them by speaking the truth, in love.

I pray for wisdom, discernment, mercy, and grace as I head down the road to becoming a professional counselor. I know I will be faced with many decisions that will be difficult. I just need to keep my eyes on God and he will guide me.