INTERNATIONAL CODE OF ETHICS AND CONDUCT
(FOR ALL COUNSELLORS, VOLUNTEERS AND EMPLOYEES AFFILIATED TO LIFELINE INTERNATIONAL)
Purpose:
Competence:
1) To establish and maintain the standards of service being provided by LifeLine International through affiliated centres.
2) To protect and inform the public of what can be expected from this service at all levels.
Values:The standards comprise such values as affiliation, integrity, competence, confidentiality and responsibility
Accreditation and affiliation:Centres accepting this code of ethics and conduct accept their responsibility to LifeLine International and recognise their commitment to the well being of their National structure, their Centre, local community, counsellors, colleagues and callers/clients.
January 2004.
CODE OF ETHICS
CODE OF ETHICS
Introduction
The code of ethics is a framework, introduced as one of the requirements for member country accreditation; within which all centres are affiliated to LifeLine International and all counsellors, volunteers and employees agree to adhere to. Telephone Volunteer’s Role:- The LifeLine service is offered as a short term ‘Crisis Intervention’ service and as ongoing support to people who are currently receiving professional care and treatment.
- Counselling is understood to mean ‘facilitating the functional mental well being of another’. The work can be carried out with individuals or groups, telephonically, face to face or using current technology. It is to be practised within a counselling/listening setting with competent and knowledgeable counsellors/volunteers.
- The intention of the Telephone Volunteer is to respond respectfully to the whole person in ways that relieve distress and facilitate healthy choices when facing their current crisis.
- The volunteer relationship by its nature is confidential.
- Telephone volunteering is a deliberately undertaken responsibility.
- Individuals are responsible for adhering to the principles of this Code of Ethics.
- Telephone Volunteers are committed to respecting the dignity, worth, culture, spirituality and uniqueness of every person they encounter. They are to acknowledge the ultimate right of every person to self determination, whilst maintaining due regard for the interests of others.
- Telephone Volunteers accept a responsibility to encourage and facilitate the ‘life skills’ development of the caller / client within their structure of relationships and support systems.
- Telephone Volunteers are responsible for setting and monitoring the boundaries of professionalism and their role, making these clear to the caller / client.
- Telephone volunteers respect callers / clients as people working towards achieving a creative balance between autonomy and the requirements of living in the community. In this context, telephone volunteers help people make their own decisions and desired changes in the light of their own beliefs and values.
- Telephone volunteers are responsible for recognising their own emotional needs, beliefs, and attitudes and the inappropriateness of projecting these onto a caller / client in their situation. Telephone volunteers are to actively participate in activities and structures that will satisfy their particular needs.
- At no time is a telephone volunteer permitted to sexually, physically or verbally violate their counselling relationship.
- Telephone volunteers are to undergo basic training, selection and probation before being offered the status of telephone volunteer within the organisation.
- Maintaining good standards of work involves continuing self evaluation, self development, and supervision on the part of the volunteer. Structures to facilitate this must be provided within the centre.
- The service offered by telephone volunteers is to be monitored regularly by reports and regular supervision from a competent supervisor.
- Telephone volunteers are accountable to their centre, their colleagues and their callers / clients for what they do and why. They have a responsibility to maintain their effectiveness, resilience, and ability to serve their community in a helping capacity, to know when their personal resources are depleted and to seek help or withdraw from telephone volunteering temporarily or permanently.
- Telephone volunteers are to acknowledge the limits of their competence and at all times adhere to the laws of the country and state in which they function
CODE OF CONDUCT
Introduction:
The code of conduct is intended to provide more specific information and guidance in the implementation of the Code of Ethics.
Management:
(Please note that this section covers counselling using telephone contact, face to face contact or current information systems. Some aspects are intended to apply more to one than the other).
- Counsellors / Volunteers are answerable to their Centre for counselling training, qualifications and the methods that they use.
- Counsellors should make it very clear what they are prepared to offer the caller/client in the counselling process. This should include the number and duration of the sessions as well as any financial commitment on the part of the caller/client.
- Counsellors should explore the expectations of the caller/client in seeking counselling. Establish if the caller/client is involved in any other helping relationships or therapy of relevance. Acknowledge the counsellors obligation to work co-operatively with such and other sources of help that the caller/client might have.
- Counsellors / Volunteers should recognise any conflict between their obligation to the caller/client and their loyalties and responsibilities as a LifeLine advocate.
- Counsellors / Volunteers are to take account of their limitations of their competence and make appropriate referrals when required. It is also the counsellors / volunteers responsibility, as far as possible, to verify the competence and integrity of such a referral.
- Counsellors / Volunteers take the responsibility of terminating the immediate counselling when the client has received the help they sought.
- The LifeLine Centre, as the agency, takes responsibility for deciding when it is apparent that counselling in no longer of benefit.
- Any information about the caller/clients, whether obtained directly, indirectly or by inference must be treated in confidence. This could include name, address, biographical details and any other details of the caller/client’s life and circumstances that could lead to the unwanted identification of the caller/client.
- ‘In confidence’ means not revealing any information to any other person or through any public medium, except to those to whom the counsellor / volunteer owes accountability within their Centre.
- While being aware of the two points mentioned above IF counsellors / volunteers believe that a caller/client could cause danger or injury to others, they will advise the caller/client of limits to confidentiality and take appropriate action to warn individuals or the authorities. The ‘authority’ of the Centre MUST be notified of and participate in any such action especially where the clauses of common law apply.
- Similar limits to confidentiality should be explained to the caller/client in cases where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there are threats to the caller/client’s own life or safety. Counsellors / Volunteers may need to involve third parties. Wherever possible, the caller / client should be involved in decisions that may require advising and engaging others.
- Information about identifiably specific callers/clients is only used for publication in journals or meetings with permission from the caller/client and supported by the ‘authority’ of the Centre. Anonymity must be preserved as telephone services infer such assurance.
- Counsellors / Volunteers discussion of callers/clients with professional colleagues should be purposeful and to the ultimate benefit of the counselling process with the caller/client.
- Counsellors / Volunteers may not speak independently on behalf of their Centre without prior permission of the ‘authority’ of that centre. This includes ALL aspects of the Centres work.
- Counsellors / Volunteers may not display an affiliation with their Centre in a manner that falsely implies the sponsorship or verification of the organisation.
