Disclaimer

Because of the popularity of Dr. Glasser's ideas and the growing ability to communicate through the Internet, many people who are not members of The Institute and who have not taken any of our training may profess knowledge and skills in the implementation of Dr. Glasser’s ideas. The William Glasser Institute cannot possibly monitor all communications over the Internet and therefore, we do not sanction any exchanges that are not on our website.

Through our website you can link to people who are Regional Advisory Board Members of The Institute. Your discussions and exchanges with them, and any views expressed, are not necessarily the views of The William Glasser Institute.

Code of Ethics

1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1.1 This code of ethics, adopted by the William Glasser Institute - Canada, applies to all members of the Canadian Region upon payment of membership in WGI – Canada.

1.2 The William Glasser Institute - Canada recognizes as full members those individuals Certified in Reality Therapy and as associate members those who are in training or have indicated an interest in the ideas of Dr. William Glasser.

2. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE                           
2.1 At all times a member of the William Glasser Institute - Canada must have due regard for the standards of good practice adopted by fellow-members of the Institute and by fellow-professionals who work in the service of others.

2.2 A counsellor is expected to deal with a client in such a way that the client can choose to grow and develop; therefore, criticism, sarcasm or a judgmental attitude are all contrary to the practice and principles of Reality Therapy. .

2.3 A counsellor should be aware of local customs and values and take these into account in counselling.

2.4 Counsellors should monitor their work through regular self-evaluation and, where necessary, seek consultation with or supervision by professionally competent people.


3 RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CLIENT                       
3.1 In Reality Therapy it is recommended that a warm and honest professional relationship be developed with the client. This "professional friendship" is a partnership developed specifically to work for the good of the client.

3.2 Where there is already an ordinary personal friendship or where this develops in counselling, the relationship is no longer a professional counselling one and the counsellor should so inform the client.

3.3 Since friendship is often one of the unfulfilled needs of clients, it is the counsellor's duty to help such clients develop friendship skills. The counsellor should not encourage the client to become dependent on the counsellor for friendship or other needs.

3.4 When a counsellor is learning new approaches or skills, these should not be used with a client without the latter's awareness and consent. Similarly, the client should be aware if all or part of the counselling process contributes to statistical or research work of any kind.

3.5 In all training components, ideally the faculty member and the trainee should not have a relationship as family member, partner or work-colleague. The relationship should be free of all conflicts of interest that might be damaging to the trainee, the faculty member or the Institute. In the case of special dilemmas about this, the matter should be referred to the counsellor’s professional association and/or may be referred to the WGI - Canada Executive for advice.


4. CONFIDENTIALITY                               
4.1 Members should treat all information obtained from their clients in the course of counselling with the level of confidentiality that is declared to the client at the outset of counselling. These limits should only be breached where necessary to protect the safety of the client or others.

4.2 The counsellor should not use confidential information for any personal advantage or gain.


5 REFERRAL, CONSULTATION AND INTERVENTION
5.1 The counsellor should learn from the client if any other professional help is being sought and should ensure that his or her own intervention will not jeopardize the work of other helpers. Clients should be asked to inform that person of the fact that they are seeing us.

5.2 If the counsellor believes that he or she can be of no further help to a client, then the client should be informed as soon as possible. If the counsellor believes that the client should seek other professional help instead of or in addition to counselling, he or she should inform the client of this fact. .

5.3 The counsellor should take all due care only to make referrals or recommendations to other professionals who have the relevant competence to deal adequately with the referral.


6 INFORMATION ABOUT THE CLIENT                   
6.1 Where information about the client is stored in any form, this fact should be made known to the client and he or she should have direct access to such information as well as control over its use or destruction.

6.2 No audio or video recording of a counselling session should be undertaken without advance approval of the client and the client retains control over its subsequent use or destruction.

6.3 In obtaining information from or about a client, the counsellor should deal only with what may be necessary for the client's welfare.

6.4 All forms of recorded material relating to counselling sessions require the informed consent of the client and must be kept with the utmost care and confidentiality. In the case of computerized data all due care must be given to security of access, security of data transfer and security of erasure with full respect for the rights of the individual and the law.


7 COUNSELLOR'S VALUES                           
7.1 Where the counsellor's personal values are relevant to the subject matter of the counselling, the counsellor should make these clear to the client so that the client may be aware of the counsellor's bias in the matter.


8 ADVERTISING
8.1 The counsellor should state his or her qualifications relevant to counselling and whether one holds the credentials of the Order of Psychologists or the Canadian Counsellor Certification. Membership in the Canadian Counselling Association does not mean a person has the credentials necessary to be accorded the CCC. In the case of Reality Therapy this should include the statement "Reality Therapy Certified” and not to be confused with the above-mentioned credentials.

8.2 Areas of experience, qualifications and expertise may be mentioned but should be stated accurately and modestly.

8.3 No guarantee of "solution" or "cure" may be given.

8.4 In advertising Reality Therapy there should be no criticism, any explicit or implicit comparison of other counsellors or approaches.

8.5 Where assistants or associates of a counsellor are not "Reality Therapy Certified" this should be made clear in advertising if they are mentioned or implied.

8.6 Any form of advertising should be acceptable to fellow-members of WGI - Canada.

8.7 Counsellors should not display an affiliation with an organization in a manner that falsely implies the sponsorship or verification of that organization.


9 PROFESSIONAL DECLARATION                   
9.1 At all times the counsellor should be strictly honest with the client. All statements made in advertising, in a professional declaration or in any other communication to clients must be true in the strictest sense and should not be open to any possible misinterpretation.

9.2 At the outset of counselling, the client should be informed of the counsellor's approach, expectations about confidentiality, qualifications, experience, expertise, limitations of the counselling, ground rules, responsibilities of counsellor and client, possible duration and fees (including additional expenses, surcharges and taxes).

9.3 The counsellor should not accept a client who appears to be outside the counsellor's competence.

9.4 The client should be told that complaints or grievances about the counselling service may be forwarded to the appropriate Order or Association and/or to the Executive of WGI - Canada, and the correspondence address of WGI - Canada should be freely available to the client. The Executive of WGI - Canada will then be responsible for investigating the matter, consulting with The William Glasser Institute and deciding on a course of action.

9.5 Where an impartial enquiry is sought by either client or counsellor, a third party or parties acceptable to both must be asked to investigate the matter. The William Glasser Institute - Canada will then decide the course of action following the referee's verdict and recommendations. Appeals may be directed to The William Glasser Institute which will be the ultimate authority in such cases.
Updated 2005