Ethics of a sympathetic ear
by
Geraldine Hinter
A UniSA study that explored the characteristics of 317 people who
advertise as counsellors in the Australian Yellow Pages revealed that 10
per cent of them did not follow an ethical code of practice.
Dr Nadine Pelling from UniSA’s Centre for Applied Psychological Research, Counselling Group, conducted the study of psychologists and counsellors from the advertised listing along with Doctor of Counselling students Pamela Brear and Margaret Lau.
In comparing counsellors and psychologists who advertise counselling services, the research showed that counsellors charged an average of $80 per session, while psychologists charged an average of $96. Only 2.9 percent of psychologists said they did not adhere to an ethical code of practice.
In general, those advertising counselling services were university-trained professionals, with two-thirds of counsellors and 73 per cent of psychologists reportedly holding either a bachelor or masters degree, and all reported regularly engaging in professional development activities and professional supervision.
The personal characteristics of counsellors and psychologists were similar. They tended to be female, mature, Caucasian, married or partnered, heterosexual, had families and held Christian beliefs, with the majority living in urban areas.
Dr Pelling also studied counsellors who were members of the Australian Counselling Association, one of the main national counselling associations in Australia. The survey produced results from 289 ACA counsellors, and showed they had similar personal characteristics to the advertised counsellors, however, a lower percentage held bachelor or masters degrees and 8.7 per cent reported not specifically following an ethical code in their practice. They charged an average fee of $58 per hour.
Dr Pelling and Dr Michael Proeve from UniSA’s School of Psychology are conducting another study examining the continued engagement of academic, clinical and counselling psychologists in applied areas of psychology. Results are expected later this year.