Essential knowledge – for counsellors, psychotherapists and anyone else working with distressed people
This new online course is designed to stimulate deeper thinking about the ethical dilemmas and professional difficulties you may encounter when working with people suffering emotional distress. It gives you sound principles to remember and realistic guidelines to follow whenever difficult ethical situations arise.
Whilst primarily designed for counsellors and psychotherapists, anyone interested in thinking more clearly about ethical matters, including social workers, occupational therapists, mental health workers, medical and legal professionals, can complete the course.
The guidance offered is not a list of static ‘rules’ but a framework of interlocking ideas and insights through which it is possible to create clear and reasonable codes of professional conduct to help ensure we act ethically.
The discussions between the tutors raise important considerations – deriving from real case histories – and give you valuable insights about the evolution of ethical behaviour and the nature of ethical problems today.
Why this course is needed
We live in a world that, despite technological progress, seems to have lost its moral compass. It should go without saying that all therapists should act ethically with their patients, but some don’t. The consequences of this can prove distressing and even damaging for the client involved, and, for the practitioner, can mean anything from public censure, suspension from practice, or full-scale striking off.
So, in addition to following guidelines and a code of practice, therapists need to develop a sound inner intuition of what the right thing to do is in any particular circumstance. However, developing this intuition requires us to escape from our mental pigeon-holes so that we can develop richer patterns of thought, through consideration of a wide range of potential pitfalls and ethical dilemmas, to draw upon and return to throughout our professional lives.
What will you explore
The foundations of ethics
Ethics and human nature
The difference between ethics, morals and the law
The reason ethical dilemmas arise
The HG Code of Ethics
Examples of modern ethical quandaries
Living in a ‘victim culture’ that’s obsessed with blaming
Why ethical behaviour is socially conditioned
The importance of learning from mistakes
Why relying on systems can inhibit flexibility of thought and behaviour
Why organisational rigidity drives bureaucracies to behave unethically
What determines our individual nature, character and mental health
The assumptions we make that get in the way of ethical decision making
Typical case histories dealt with by the HGI’s Registration and Professional Standards Committee
Ethics: needs and wants
Ethics, tribalism and political correctness
Our inbuilt range of moral emotional responses
The illusion of shared perceptions
Three ethical safeguards arising from the Human Givens approach
The importance of spare capacity when helping others
The danger of patients putting therapists on a pedestal
Why technology, using artificial intelligence, raises ethical questions
Accredited CPD certificate
and much more…
Counts towards a Diploma
By taking this course, you could be on your way to completing Part 1 of the Human Givens Diploma – a flexible, part-time psychotherapy course which will deepen your psychological knowledge and increase your ability to help people effectively and quickly.
Course Programme
Part 1The nature of ethical problems
Part 2Ethical Foundations
Part 3Practitioners Code of Conduct
Part 4Case Histories
What's included?
24 Videos
30 Quizzes
Life-long access
CPD Certificate
Course format
This online ethics course is delivered by four distinguished Fellows of the HGI, Sue Saunders, Ian Thomson, Ivan Tyrrell and Denise Winn – their discussions provide much food for thought and draw on real case histories that have come before the HGI’s Registration and Professional Standards Committee.
As with all our online courses, you are required to answer multiple-choice questions designed to add to your knowledge and deepen your understanding: an enjoyable, thought-provoking part of the learning process.
Once you have completed the course, you will receive an Accredited CPD certificate, which counts towards the Human Givens Diploma.
This course has been independently assessed by the internationally recognised CPD Standards Office for 6 hours of CPD training.
Meet your tutors
Ivan Tyrrell
Ivan Tyrrell worked for many years as a psychotherapist and now spends most of his time lecturing and writing.
Read more
Sue Saunders
Sue has worked in training, coaching and psychotherapy for over 30 years. She also has extensive experience in the corporate world.
Read more
Ian Thompson
Ian Thomson is the former deputy chair of the HGI Registration and Professional Standards Committee
Read more
Denise Winn
Denise is a journalist, editor and author specialising in psychology – who has also practised as a human givens therapist since 2000.
Read more