Code of Ethics
When consulting, my aim is to help the client, but the key thing is that the client first needs to give me permission to enter their world, to feel safe to explore, to share feelings and thoughts. The outcome of the therapy does not depend only on my knowledge, expertise, experience, because the client also has to work, to make an effort. Doing this type of work will be a lifelong learning experience, in order to have and know as many tools and techniques as possible, but I also aim to be authentic, intuitive, creative, serious and playful, to be in control of the process, but also to just float along trusting the process, to be confident, but also to allow myself to be confused, to know, but also to be in the unknown, and to be able to see the whole without analyzing the details. Therefore, in addition to professional development, I set myself the following goals:
• To be in dialogue of “I-you”, where contact is direct, equal, immediate, emphasising the importance of the relationship/contact.
• Avoid any artificiality, the position of a “teacher”, “mother”.
• Do not judge, greet the client where they are and accept them as they are in the moment.
• Not to impose my own vision, but to reflect the client, his inner experiences, his actions, without preconceptions.
• My clients have all the answers, the wisdom, the inner power within themselves, and my goal is to help them access those resources.
• Accept all the client’s feelings and thoughts.
• The aim is not to cure the client, but to help them recognise the power that they have to cure themselves.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Create a safe environment.
• Be sensitively curious.
• Be authentic, allow myself to be me, maintain my own style of counselling. Avoid being something I am not in order to believe, trust or satisfy the client’s wishes.
• Do not throw around suggestions, but give homework when needed.
• Do not make witchcraft from coffee grounds. There are times when counsellors claim to “know” what will happen in the future and impose their own vision: when to split up, when to change jobs, who’s to blame for the problems, etc.
• Be in the present.
• If necessary, or if I feel that I cannot help with my existing expertise, refer the client to another colleague or specialist.
• Listen, explore in order to understand.
• Interrupt the client if I feel the need to.
• Monitor processes not only in the client, but also in myself.
• When experiencing a counter-transference, stay in the present moment, behave appropriately, be aware and in control of the situation.
• Not just to sympathise with the client’s suffering, but to explore and understand the causes of suffering.
• Not to try to change the client in some way, but to help them understand how they have been functioning up to now.
• Not to leave a client with an open “wound”, because I am responsible for the process and its structuring.
• Learn, grow professionally and spiritually.
• Participate in supervision.
• Trust my intuition.
“In order to change, it is first necessary to fully experience and become aware of who you are and what there is, before trying to be what you are not (yet), to achieve what is not (yet). A Beisser
According to J. Zinker, a creative therapist integrates two forms of consciousness, two ways of being in the world (and in the therapeutic relationship):
· ”being firmly attached and relaxed;
· being active and living in passive, receptive wonder;
· analysing the details and seeing the whole picture;
· controlling and navigating the process;
· being confident and allowing yourself to be disturbed;
· being serious and playful with a sense of humour;
· being curious, wanting to know, and allowing oneself to drift into obscurity, unknown;
· coherently experiencing desires, needs and seeing the whole picture at once;
· naming things and experiencing spatial imagery;
· being intelligent and intuitive.”
Waiver of liability
· I do not consider myself a psychologist, psychiatrist or a social worker (“mental health service provider”).
· The therapy or information I provide is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment that may be provided by a physician, nurse practician, physician’s assistant, mental health professional, health care professional, licensed dietician or nutritionist, or any other licensed or registered health care professional.
· I cannot foresee or guarantee that a client will achieve a specific result, and I acknowledge and understand that each individual’s results are different.
· My clients’ results will depend on their commitment, willingness, motivation, actions and many other factors, so there is no guarantee of any particular outcome or results.
Medical Disclaimer Form