INTRODUCTION

Higher education (HE) in South Africa is complex as it is made up of different tertiary-level institutions including universities, comprehensive universities, universities of technology, and further education and training (FET) institutions. Also, the cultural diversity of students, educators and society in general has become an integral part of the HE landscape in South Africa. In order to help students deal with the many challenges confronting them, many HE institutions provide some form of psychological, developmental and support service (Pretorius, 2008).

Student counsellors - defined in this chapter as registered psychologists, psychometrists and counsellors - at the psychological service centres are often faced with wide-ranging professional and ethical challenges and dilemmas. Other stakeholders in student counselling include the students themselves, administrative staff members, academic staff members, the parents and families of the students, and the HE community as a whole. The complexity of the student counsellor's role and the wide variety of stakeholders highlights the need for ethical professional practice in Student Counselling and Development (SCD).

This chapter covers professional practice in SCD, major ethical issues in SCD, the ethics surrounding the use of psychometric instruments and ethical practice in HIV/AIDS. Also covered are ethics in supervision, telephonic and online counselling challenges, ethical management of peer help programmes, ethical practice with people with disabilities and resources that can help student counsellors deal with ethical issues.

DEFINITION OF ETHICS IN STUDENT COUNSELLING AND DEVELOPMENT

According to Rossouw (2002, p. 3), ethics are concerned with “what is good or right in human interaction”. Ethical practice in psychology is essential for professionalism and regulation (Strawbridge, 2003). Professional ethics require counselling practitioners to demonstrate the required combination of attributes and skills in their work context (Welfel, 2006). In other words, student counsellors should have the knowledge, skills and judgement to apply effective interventions, respect the human dignity and freedom of students and staff, use the inherent power in their role as student counsellors responsibly, and conduct themselves in ways that promote confidence in psychology as a profession (ibid.).

Koocher and Keith-Spiegel (1998) state that psychologists never intend to harm their clients. However, good intentions are not always a bulwark against wrong actions, and psychologists often have to make difficult ethical decisions.