Counsellors’ self-monitoring of day-to-day ethical practice

• Main Author: Stoll, Tara
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/9781

The purpose of this research was to explore how counsellors self-monitor their day-to-day ethical practices. A qualitative methodology, interpretive description (Thorne, Kirkham, & McDonald-Ernes, 1997), was selected as a means of attaining a description of the monitoring process that would depict the commonalities among the participant sample while preserving the unique experience of the individual. Counsellors who had two to seven years of post-graduation (Master's level) experience and who were thought to be self-reflective and familiar with the ethical codes of the counselling profession were nominated by their former University professors. Participants included six female and two male Caucasian counsellors between the ages of 39 and 47. The counsellors engaged in individual audio taped interviews in which they answered the following question: What are the ways that you self-monitor your ethics of practice? The interview began with a free-form description of the monitoring process and concluded with a series of questions pertaining to particular aspects of the monitoring process (e.g., precipitating cues, frequency of engagement). Data analysis involved immersion in individual audio tapes and transcripts, searching for common themes within the individual case, and reflection on the data set as a whole asking, "What is happening here?" and "What am I learning about this?" (Thorne et al., 1997). Results suggest that the monitoring process 1) is a component of day-to-day ethical practice; 2) consists of a set of strategies considered to be either reactive or proactive; and 3) evolves with time and may be somewhat developmental. Results are considered in relation to previous and future research, counsellor training, and regulation of ethical practices of current members of the counselling profession. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate