Sue Cornforth

Controversies in Counselling: Re-thinking Therapy's Ethical Base Sue Cornforth

This book addresses the many controversies that beset the practice of counselling/psychotherapy. It does this by investigating the ethical principles that underlie therapeutic practice, in order to discover what guidance is offered in seeking resolution. The author uses a form of critical, Foucauldian discourse analysis to explore how several ethical principles are acted out in therapy. The discussion ranges from theoretical philosophy to a close analysis of text drawing on specific examples from professional practice in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The book shows how these core ethical beliefs not only determine the focus of therapy, but are also reponsible for the ongoing controversies. The author makes the claim that, at the heart of the matter, is the way these principles work to separate human beings from the rest of the natural world. The book indicates new ways of re-thinking ethics, in order to restore our relationship with the environment.