Counseling of any type always requires a profound ability to not only employ various psychological methodologies but also to be able to guide your patient where an ethical issue is involved.
For its members, American Counseling Association has devised several principles which to follow when faced with an ethical challenge. Similarly, the principles were developed for those who practice counseling in the religious framework.
Both ACA and Christian ethical principles are based on the requirements for non malfeasance, acting for the best benefit of the client, keeping confidentiality, and acting within the boundaries of one’s competence.
It is clear, however, that the ACA principles advocate a higher degree of autonomy while Christian counseling suggests that the counselor should suffer from the client, not just feel for them. This presupposes a higher degree of association with the client’s problems that also requires the counselor to be very strong emotionally and psychologically.
One of the major differences is also the attitude that a counselor should adopt towards his or her clients. ACA does not recommend treating all the patience as equals, though Christian principles in this respect support the view that the counselor should treat his clients as people who are equal, if not better than him.
These ideas are rooted in the traditions of the Bible and reflect the kind of counseling services that a religious believer would expect to get from a religious counselor. At the same time, the ACA principles are more neutral and suggested for the people who interact in the business environment, and thus reflect contemporary business-oriented client relationships.