The Relationship Between Ethical and Culturally Responsive Counselling Practice and the Five Stage Model of the Counselling Process

By Gigi Levins-Skehill

Ethical counselling involves adhering to a set of moral principles that uphold the wellbeing of the client, counsellor and their therapeutic relationship (PACFA, 2017). Culturally responsive counselling involves awareness of and respect for the uniqueness of clients at cultural and individual levels, as well as a willingness to alter one’s behaviour with the client in culturally appropriate ways (Ivey et al., 2014). This essay will explore the relationship between ethical and culturally responsive counselling, give examples of their application and illustrate how the five ethical principles of counselling are integral to the Five Stage model of the counselling process. For simplicity, the ethical counselling principles will reflect the terminology used in the PACFA Code of Ethics though there may be variations across other texts.

The Code of Ethics of the Psychology and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), states that “ethical practice begins with awareness and understanding of social, cultural and psychological influences and requires relational intelligence, sensitivity and respect” (PACFA, 2017, p.1). This excerpt, taken from the Introduction of the PACFA Code of Ethics (2017), speaks to the responsibility of the therapist to create a safe space for client diversity, not only through their outward conduct within the relationship to the client but also through awareness of social, cultural and psychological influences in their own inner life, that could impact the quality of the therapist-client relationship and in turn, the value of their work together (PACFA, 2017). One example of culturally-responsive counselling then, is for the counsellor to have a practice of self-reflection upon their own privileges, cultural views and biases that could influence the therapeutic relationship (Fogarty et al., 2018).

Another manifestation of culturally responsive counselling is the awareness that not all communication behaviours foster safety and positive relationships cross-culturally (Ivey et al., 2014). Although many non-verbal behaviours have universal meanings – e.g, smiling equating to happiness and a snarl equating to opposition (Zanna, 1996) – both verbal and non-verbal communication are deeply influenced by culture, contributing to the potential for increased misunderstanding in cross-cultural interactions (Matsumoto et al., 2013). Individual difference is also important to consider in navigating diversity, as people from varying backgrounds, even within the same culture will have unique responses, requiring that the counsellor is flexible and diverse in the range of approaches and skills they can utilise (Ivey et al., 2014). In particular, the culturally appropriate use of attending behaviours – verbal tracking, vocal tone, visual eye contact and body-language (Ivey et al., 2014) – is crucial, as these non-verbal behaviours enable the formation of the trust at the heart of the therapeutic alliance, which research shows is the most influential factor in therapeutic outcomes (Michael & Barley, 2001). As stated in the Introduction of the PACFA Code of Ethics (2017, p.1), ethical counselling and culturally responsive counselling are inextricably linked and competency in one requires competency in the other. Both ethical and multicultural competence sit at the foundation of the Counselling Micro-Skills Hierarchy that form the basis and entry point of the counselling journey (Ivey et al., 2014).

The Five Stage Model of the counselling process outlines five key stages that make up the counselling process: empathic relationship, story and strengths, goals, re-story and action (and termination) (Ivey et.al, 2014). Throughout the counselling process, the ethical principles of Trust, Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, Fairness and Self-Respect act as guides to the counsellor and highlight the important responsibilities that counsellors have towards their clients (PACFA, 2017). The ethical principles are integral to the Five Stage model because different ethical dilemmas will arise throughout different stages of the counselling journey, requiring different ethical lenses through which to look and come to the best decisions possible (Forester-Miller & Davis, 2016) whilst upholding the overarching principles of beneficence - acting in the best interests of the client – and non-maleficence - mitigating harm to the client (PACFA, 2017). To illustrate the importance of each principle within the counselling process, the principles have been matched to one of the five stages in the paragraph below, with examples of how and why their guidance could be relevant.

Trust is the first ethical principle of counselling, is at the core of ethical counselling practice (PACFA, 2017) and is especially important in the first stage of the Five Stage Model, which involves establishing an empathic relationship with the client through good listening and the ability to communicate an understanding of the client’s world and inner experience (Ivey, Mary Bradford Ivey, et al., 2014). Without trust, the client will not feel safe to share their vulnerabilities, highlighting the importance of ethical counselling practice to the rest of the counselling journey (Therapeutic Relationship in Counselling | TrainSmart Australia, 2024). At the Story and Strengths stage of the counselling process, the client’s story, including external events, internal qualities and subjective interpretations are revealed, bringing clarity to focus areas for the counselling journey, the inner resources that the client can harness as well as approaches that may be beneficial to use (Sutton, 2021). At this stage, the principle of beneficence is relevant as counsellors collaborate with the client to decide which focus-area would bring the greatest benefit to the client at that time. Fairness is also of importance, as this stage could confront the counsellor with new information about the client and events in their life that could challenge the impartiality of the counsellor. The role of autonomy is strong in the third stage of goal-setting, which promotes the right of the client to make their own decisions and choose their own direction (Ivey, Mary Bradford Ivey, et al., 2014). Beneficence remains important in the fifth stage of re-storying, as the counsellor helps the client to re-story their life in a way that benefits their self-image and wellbeing (Truyens, 2019). Finally, the fifth stage of action and termination, which involves a review of the counselling journey and preparing the client for life after termination of therapy (Sutton, 2021), could draw upon the principles of autonomy, non-maleficence and self-respect, as the counsellor helps to set the client up for wellness and success in their life without therapy, prepares to let go of the therapeutic relationship and look towards their own self-care and replenishment in the cycle of caring (Skovholt, 2005).

In conclusion, ethical and culturally responsive counselling practice form the basis of the counselling process by promoting the development of the therapeutic alliance that will propel and sustain the counselling journey and contribute to therapeutic outcomes. The ethical principles are integral to the Five Stage Model of the counselling process because they help inform and maintain the integrity of the therapeutic alliance across time and context. Just as the counsellor needs to be flexible in their mastery of skills and approaches in order to serve a diverse range of clients, so too must they be strong and flexible in their practice of the ethical principles.

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