Ethics in Practice Series – serie

`This is an excellent book. It builds well on Peter Jenkins' admirable earlier contribution to our knowledge of the many legal matters that are of vital concern to counsellors (Counselling, Psychotherapy and the Law, SAGE 1997) It is mY intention, as a counsellor and lecturer to make Peter Jenkins' new book required reading for all our students. Indeed I would go as far to say that all counsellors, not matter how experienced they consider themselves, should consider this book as essential reading. As the advert says, "don't leave home without one!" - Norman Claringbull, Counselling at Work

`This is good value for trainees and experienced practitioners alike, provoking reflection and providing a useful reference source' - Sally Scott, Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal

Counsellors and psychotherapists are increasingly seeing the impact of legal issues on their practice and yet many feel under-prepared for the challenges they have to face. Legal Issues in Counselling & Psychotherapy is a much-needed source of advice and reference which examines the rapidly growing range of situations in which therapists find themselves in contact with the law - in their everyday practice, in specialist work, or when facing a legal case against them.

The first part covers the current legal context of therapeutic work including confidentiality, contracts, data protection and court reports. Chapters include: defining work by leading writers from the therapeutic and legal worlds, as well as an illuminating account by a client who brought a successful case against her therapist.

Some areas of therapeutic work are particularly circumscribed by legal issues and the second part examines the specific implications for therapists in relation to:

- working with survivors of sexual abuse

-working in legal settings

-false memory

-the Human Rights Act.

Looking to the future, the book also examines the implications of professional regulation for all counsellors and psychotherapists.

The need for counsellors and psychotherapists to be well informed about the law is rapidly growing. Legal Issues in Counselling & Psychotherapy therefore provides access to essential information which will be of great value to trainees, practitioners and supervisors.

`This thought- provoking book should be required reading for all trainers, practitioners and supervisors. It examines the complex issues that arise when the clinician enters into a relationship with the client beyond the psychotherapeutic boundaries' - Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal

A recent development in the profession is a consideration of the appropriate use of touch. This is looked at in some detail in this book with useful guidelines of the issues to be considered in deciding whether to touch a client or not.

The issue of dual relationships with clients, trainees and supervisees affects most counsellors or psychotherapists at some point in their careers. Many practitioners are unclear about such boundary issues and how, when and if it is appropriate to enter into a dual relationship, whether as a friend, business partner or sexual partner. These relationships are seldom neutral and can have a powerful beneficial or detrimental impact on the person seeking help.

Dual Relationships in Counselling & Psychotherapy examines the circumstances in which such relationships arise and provides guidelines on how to ethically manage, avoid or even to develop dual relationships. It also clearly defines the limits beyond which practitioners must not go.

The book explores: the dangers of sexual relationships; non-sexual relationships (for example, requests for friendship, gift-giving and chance meetings outside the therapy room); and dual relationships which inevitably occur in small communities and minority groups.

Exploring a subject which is often avoided and, for some, even taboo, Dual Relationships in Counselling & Psychotherapy is an invaluable source of advice for trainees and practitioners alike.

`This thought- provoking book should be required reading for all trainers, practitioners and supervisors. It examines the complex issues that arise when the clinician enters into a relationship with the client beyond the psychotherapeutic boundaries' - Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal

A recent development in the profession is a consideration of the appropriate use of touch. This is looked at in some detail in this book with useful guidelines of the issues to be considered in deciding whether to touch a client or not.

The issue of dual relationships with clients, trainees and supervisees affects most counsellors or psychotherapists at some point in their careers. Many practitioners are unclear about such boundary issues and how, when and if it is appropriate to enter into a dual relationship, whether as a friend, business partner or sexual partner. These relationships are seldom neutral and can have a powerful beneficial or detrimental impact on the person seeking help.

Dual Relationships in Counselling & Psychotherapy examines the circumstances in which such relationships arise and provides guidelines on how to ethically manage, avoid or even to develop dual relationships. It also clearly defines the limits beyond which practitioners must not go.

The book explores: the dangers of sexual relationships; non-sexual relationships (for example, requests for friendship, gift-giving and chance meetings outside the therapy room); and dual relationships which inevitably occur in small communities and minority groups.

Exploring a subject which is often avoided and, for some, even taboo, Dual Relationships in Counselling & Psychotherapy is an invaluable source of advice for trainees and practitioners alike.

`I would recommend this text as a basic reading resource for those with an interest in the field as well as those who practice pastoral care and counselling' - Youth & Policy

`This is a useful book that discusses the differences and similarities if pastoral care and counselling' - Quaker Retreat Group Newsletter

`I think Gordon Lynch has produced an admirable introduction to this subject. I believe it should become a 'must' for those undertaking theological training and would also highly commend it to those engaged in the supervisory process' - Gary Haire, Accord

`This book, focusing as it does on the ethics underpinning any pastoral care or counselling relationship, as a real joy to read being well-written, engaging and thought-provoking. Drawing on a rich variety of ethical dilemmas and presenting some complex ethical thinking in a disarmingly simple way, Gordon Lynch invites us to engage more deeply with our own ethical nature. We are encouraged to discover what the good life means to us and how this impacts on pastoral encounters. This book does not give us any easy ethical answers instead it invites us to reflect more deeply on our own ethical viewpoint and how this can inform our pastoral work with clients. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone involved in pastoral care and counselling' - William West, Senior Lecturer in Counselling, University of Manchester

`Beautifully clearly written. This is a text for those who are not experts in ethics or moral reflection. It provides a lucid introduction to the field' - Stephen Pattison, Cardiff University

`This is a very user-friendly book. The writing is lucid, the reader knows at every stage just where he is in understanding the development of the writer's thought, and the material is frequently summarised. It is clear that Gordon Lynch is an expert in this field.… This is a good read' - Alan Mace, Dynamics Newsletter

`This book must be considered a considerable success. The writing is clear and informed and could be used in any course dealing with the training of counsellors or pastoral carers. The line taken is original and demonstrates how pastoral care and counselling should not simply be seen as a series of techniques professionally applied and contractually enforced' - William K Kay, Reviews in Religion and Theology

Pastoral Care & Counselling provides an accessible framework for understanding the role of the pastoral care worker and the ethical dimensions of practice.

Central to the book is the argument that all pastoral practice is inevitably shaped by the pastoral worker's own vision of what it means to live a good life. A thoughtful approach to pastoral work therefore requires pastoral carers to reflect critically about the values that shape their practice and about how the good life can be encouraged or hindered by different aspects of their pastoral encounters.

The book tackles practical concerns such as: boundary issues and the place of friendship in caring relationships; the social and institutional factors which form the context of pastoral care; and what it means to act in an ethical and competent manner.

Accessibly written and illustrated with case examples, Pastoral Care & Counselling will be of interest to those already working in pastoral care and those training in theology and pastoral work.