Part One:

I see a lot of people in this group talking about ethics in the counseling room, what should I do with my clients (patients) what should I not do? Can I do this or can I do that? What happens if this happens and what happens if that happens? I want to tell you that most of this is pure aesthetics, pointless settings, and pointless at best. There is only one thing that matters in a counseling room: the relationship between you and your client. Do you free the depressed from a past that binds them? Do you allow the anxious to look into a positive and realistic future without worry or concern? Do you calm the mind of those who feel the futility of life and replace it with a sense of purpose. You see the broken repaired and after several sessions you smile and say, I don’t need you anymore. Do you feel the frustration, the satisfaction, the euphoria of the transformation of the crisis into one of peace and satisfaction?

As counselors, we are other people’s agents of change: we are the advocates of psychological research that works, we are the unsung heroes no one talks about. We are paid by the hour, we only receive what we deserve for the service we provide. Our value is in the knowledge that we make a living helping others survive a mental hell that normal people only feel in peripheral vision of sadness or ecstatic wonder. Outside of our profession are the rule makers, the judges, the authoritarians, they run our professional associations, our societies, who consider telling us what is ethical, correct, acceptable and we should listen and obey. Very few of these so-called providers of justice have ever dealt with a client, have ever confronted the drama of tears, despair and anger against the world that our clients experience every day. I want to offer them a cup of tea, and what, I want to give them a hug, and what, I want to meet them for coffee, and what, I want to be friends for years, and what, whose business is it? aside from the therapist and his clients.

Clients tell us what they want and can accept, we don’t need others to interpret that or judge our actions, we see the client flourish and improve, not soulless associations or societies that claim privileges over us in our actions and thoughts. We only have one rule: do not harm our clients as we would like them not to harm ourselves; everything else is just self-righteous nonsense.

The second part:

The above statement was in response to hundreds of new and existing counselors constantly asking what they could and could not do with a client in therapy. In previous documents, I have outlined my objections to supervisors, accreditation, licensing, and statutes as the lucrative control of a profession of helpers who are constantly micro-controlled by blind people who cannot see. So no need to repeat myself here. However, to give a more general summary of my belief in the above statement, I feel I must qualify my position.

First, I have been treating patients (clients) for over 35 years professionally and long before that as a people person in various work settings. Like most of my generation I left school at 15 and went to work, started paying taxes, insurance and my mother (together). After a while I did my military service, got married young, had kids, bought houses, got into debt, started businesses, got divorced, stayed single for over 30 years, went to college, remarried, had more children and worked every day of my life. not for a salary in most cases, but as a self-employed entrepreneur in whatever form it takes. In other words, I made money through my own efforts and never depended on someone else to support me. Not always difficult, not always easy, but many life lessons learned. I wasn’t always good but far from bad, I made mistakes but I did what I could to fix things. I saved when I needed it and gave generously when I could. I am a man of science not of religion, I do not want faith in superstition I want certainty in the facts. I am independent in spirit and thought: I go my own way when I can without hurting another. My sense of purpose is to be the best therapist I can to support my family and lifestyle (modest in most cases).

I like to write when I have time, 65 articles and three published books. I enjoy photography and my only real quirk is that I have a good quality professional camera. Second, I am an independent thinker and I refuse to be silenced and intimidated by professional organizations trying to micromanage a people-oriented business. I will listen to my peers and take what feels right to me: I will ignore and rebel against oversight, accreditation, licensing, and the other absurd forms of control with only money in their path of evil. Thirdly, I am 64 years old and society says that in one more year I am above the requirements, they will give me a minimum pension eroded by the politics in the UK of consecutive Conservative governments that betrayed the notion of the welfare state, for a labor party that now betrays the democratic principles of the people by not supporting the Brexit referendum. A country that used to lead the world reduced to a third world in a state of chaos. Like most British citizens, I no longer take pride in telling people that this is where I come from. In this state I can never truly retire and must continue to work until I die or become unable to use my mind any longer. Fourth, I believe that everyone should do their bit for the planet and for others. I’m a vegetarian and becoming a vegan (I never quite make it), I never smoke, I only drink Irish stout from time to time, I choose to have just a few friends and I’m a wildlife advocate myself.

While I can’t save everyone, we all choose our own way to contribute to society and humanity: mine is to be the best therapist I can be. The second part of this article aimed to justify my statement about the freedom of the right to be the therapist I want to be guided by my humanity and care, to follow the science of mind and psychological research that has proven long-term benefits for the individual patient, couples or groups seeking assistance from a professional. I should note here: professional does not mean the micromanaged kitty of societies and organizations that seek to control therapists or counselors who call themselves licensed, credentialed, or chartered (paying for pieces of paper that say they have a right to do something that everyone has a right to do). right to do – help others.) A good education in psychology (broad terms) and the study of types of eclectic therapy that should be turned into useful everyday practical practices.

In Summery: Be the best therapist you can be, trust yourself, trust your clients (patients) be strong and independent.