Unique Sports Counselling adheres to the accepted code of ethics as established by the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) that we summarize as follows:

Values:             A counsellor’s basic values are integrity, impartiality, and respect.

Responsibility:     All reasonable steps should be taken to ensure the client's safety during counselling sessions. Counselling is a non-exploitative activity.

Counsellors must take the same degree of care to work ethically whatever the setting or the financial basis of the counselling contract.

Anti-discriminatory Practice:  Counsellors must consider and address their own prejudices and stereotyping and ensure that an anti-discriminatory approach is integral to their counselling practice.

Contracts:       The terms and conditions on which counselling is offered shall be made clear to clients before counselling begins. Subsequent revision of these terms should be agreed in advance of any changes.

Boundaries:    Counsellors must establish and maintain appropriate boundaries around the counselling relationship. Counsellors must take into account the effects of any overlapping or pre-existing relationship.

Competence:   Counsellors shall take all reasonable steps to monitor and develop their own competence and to work within the limits of that competence. Counsellors must have appropriate, regular and ongoing counselling supervision. (BACP)

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is a means of providing the client with safety and privacy, thus protecting their autonomy. For this reason any limitation on the degree of confidentiality is likely to diminish the effectiveness of counselling.

The counselling contract will include an agreement about the level and limits of confidentiality offered. This agreement can be reviewed and changed by negotiation between counsellor and client.

Exceptional circumstances may arise which give the counsellor good grounds for believing that serious harm may occur to the client or to other people. In such circumstances the client's consent to a change in the agreement about confidentiality should be sought whenever possible, unless there are good grounds for believing the client is no longer willing or able to take responsibility for his/her actions.

 Normally, the decision to break confidentiality should be discussed with the client and should be made only after consultation with the counselling supervisor or, if he/she is not available, an experienced counsellor.