, PYC4809 EXAM PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT 3
DUE DATE: 12 OCTOBER 2026
Introduction
Counselling is a professional helping process that requires practitioners to balance the
needs, rights and wellbeing of clients with professional and ethical responsibilities.
Counsellors work with people who may disclose highly personal information, experience
emotional difficulties or face complex social circumstances. Ethical practice is therefore
important for protecting clients from harm and ensuring that counselling takes place within a
relationship based on respect, trust and autonomy. Two important ethical principles are
informed consent and confidentiality. Informed consent ensures that clients understand the
nature and conditions of counselling before agreeing to participate, while confidentiality
protects information shared during the counselling process (Corey, 2021). At the same time,
different counselling theories provide frameworks for understanding psychological
difficulties and guiding therapeutic intervention. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
(REBT), for example, places considerable emphasis on the relationship between events,
beliefs and emotional consequences. Person-Centred Therapy, in contrast, focuses
strongly on the therapeutic relationship, empathy, acceptance and the client's capacity for
personal growth (Rogers, 1957). These approaches must also be considered within
culturally diverse counselling environments, where clients may have different beliefs,
languages, values and understandings of psychological wellbeing.
Question 1: Discuss the ethical issues in counselling practice with reference to the
right to informed consent and the dimensions of confidentiality
1.1 The right to informed consent
Informed consent is a fundamental ethical principle in counselling because clients have the
right to make voluntary and informed decisions about whether they wish to participate in
counselling. Consent should not simply involve a client signing a form. It involves providing
sufficient information for the client to understand what counselling involves and to make a
meaningful decision about participation (Corey, 2021).
DUE DATE: 12 OCTOBER 2026
Introduction
Counselling is a professional helping process that requires practitioners to balance the
needs, rights and wellbeing of clients with professional and ethical responsibilities.
Counsellors work with people who may disclose highly personal information, experience
emotional difficulties or face complex social circumstances. Ethical practice is therefore
important for protecting clients from harm and ensuring that counselling takes place within a
relationship based on respect, trust and autonomy. Two important ethical principles are
informed consent and confidentiality. Informed consent ensures that clients understand the
nature and conditions of counselling before agreeing to participate, while confidentiality
protects information shared during the counselling process (Corey, 2021). At the same time,
different counselling theories provide frameworks for understanding psychological
difficulties and guiding therapeutic intervention. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy
(REBT), for example, places considerable emphasis on the relationship between events,
beliefs and emotional consequences. Person-Centred Therapy, in contrast, focuses
strongly on the therapeutic relationship, empathy, acceptance and the client's capacity for
personal growth (Rogers, 1957). These approaches must also be considered within
culturally diverse counselling environments, where clients may have different beliefs,
languages, values and understandings of psychological wellbeing.
Question 1: Discuss the ethical issues in counselling practice with reference to the
right to informed consent and the dimensions of confidentiality
1.1 The right to informed consent
Informed consent is a fundamental ethical principle in counselling because clients have the
right to make voluntary and informed decisions about whether they wish to participate in
counselling. Consent should not simply involve a client signing a form. It involves providing
sufficient information for the client to understand what counselling involves and to make a
meaningful decision about participation (Corey, 2021).
