PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR - Mental Health Academy

THE PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR03 2007FEATUREBook ReviewCulturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making in CounselingHouser, R., Wilczenski, F.L., & Ham, M. (2006).Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making inCounseling. London: Sage Publications Ltd334 pagesISBN: 1-4129-0587-7Counsellors are active participants in thecounselling process, and the intimaterelational aspect of counselling such asethical decision making requires thatcounsellors have an understanding ofethics that goes beyond a basicknowledge of counselling skills andethical codes. Expanding counsellors’knowledge base to includephilosophical and moralconsiderations has the potential to domuch more than strengthen theircapacity to make ethical decisionsand conduct themselves as ethicalprofessionals. Familiarity with suchconsiderations may also serve as theunifying structure for exploring theessence of counselling, that is,what counselling is about and whoa counsellor is as an individual and as a professional.Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making inCounseling presents a hermeneutic orientation andframework to address contextual issues in ethicaldecision-making in counselling and psychotherapy.Hermeneutics is the theory and practice ofinterpretation. The word derives from the Greek god,Hermes, whose task was to communicate messagesfrom the gods to the ordinary mortals. Authors suggestthat the ethical decision-making includes a widerhorizon than pure interpretation of existing ethicalcodes. Emphasising that ethical decision making is anongoing process with no easy answers, the bookoffers a paradigm for decision-making and providesreaders with the knowledge and understanding theyneed to effectively think through issues.Authors Rick Houser, Felicia Wilczenski andMarryAnna Ham incorporate broadperspectives of ethical theories fromWestern, Eastern, Middle Eastern andSouthern hemisphere perspectives.Utilising numerous case studies,authors present a comprehensiveexploration of counselling ethics in acultural context. Examining theimplications and consequences ofcompetent multicultural counselling,they present ethical dilemmas arising inface-to-face counselling interactions andsupervisory relationships.This is an ideal textbook for studentsand educators in counselling and/orpsychology programmes. The book is alsoan essential guide for social workers andhealth professionals who work inmulticultural environments. Although the publication iscreated in a different cultural environment, manyaspects have practical and universal application toevery professional working in a multicultural context.Copies of Culturally Relevant Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling are available for $70.30 + $8.50postage and handling. To order a copy, simplycontact your local Student Support Centre or call:1800 657 667.TREASURES FOR INSPIRATION“Of course if you like your kids, if you love them from the moment they begin, you yourselfbegin all over again, in them, with them, and so there is something more to the world again.”~William Saroyan20