God expects the highest in ethical and moral behavior from His children, including all of us who aspire to be His helpers. He has laid out in His Word very specific standards of practice for His people. These standards cover every area of life. We want to identify what we believe are some of the important ethical issues of helping others and give you some understanding and tools to use as you exercise your abilities in that area.

1. Who Are You?

Since your role as a helper is to guide someone through a process of self-exploration in the light of God’s Word, we believe that you must first go through this same journey. If you don’t have a high level of self-awareness, you run the risk of hurting those with whom you work by defiling them with your issues. According to Hebrews 12:15, our bitter roots left unaddressed will spring up into “poisonous plants” that will hurt others. It would be unethical for you to have major unresolved issues and refuse to work on them while at the same time try to help other people. Have you developed the capacity to be honest with yourself? Do you have a personal testimony of the Holy Spirit’s convicting work and faith in God’s power at work in you? Have you asked yourself why you think you’re qualified to help others?

2. Informed Consent

Helpees are partners in the helping process with both God and you and must be informed about their rights and responsibilities. You can assist helpees in making informed choices. You should inform them in advance of the type of help you’ll give, potential risks, possible benefits, and alternatives to your proposed method of helping. Generally, informed consent requires that the helpee be competent, have clear knowledge of what will occur, especially the possible risks, and come for help voluntarily. As a helper, discuss with your helpees the use of scripture, prayer, faith, and other tools you’ll utilize.

3. Confidentiality

Another right of the helpee and a responsibility for you is the confidentiality of the information shared in the helping process. We note here that part of establishing trust involves making helpees aware of how certain information will be used. Helpees have the right to absolute confidentiality except in cases when the law requires the helper to provide information:

• when the helpee consents to disclosure,
• when there is a duty to warn third parties,
• when the law requires reporting of certain information, such as child or elder abuse,
• when reimbursement or other legal rules require disclosure, or
• when an emergency exists.

As a general principle of helping, obtain the written consent of the helpee before disclosing anything that’s been shared with you in a helping session. You can use a Consent To Release form (see Following Ethical and Legal Practices: Guidelines for Helpers listed in What We Offer) for this purpose. An additional strategy is to ask the helpee to attend a meeting with you and people with whom you and he/she want to share information. Let the helpee control the information flow in that meeting.

4. Record Keeping

While you may not be mandated by law to maintain records of your helping sessions, there are good reasons why you should take this action. Keeping accurate records is one of the best protections in the event of a lawsuit. Good documentation: provides a basis for accountability in the helping process; gives overseers the opportunity to review your work, see the flow of your efforts with this person, and give appropriate guidance; demonstrates your commitment to excellence in your ministry; and allows you to pick up on unfinished themes, remember assignments given, and speedily begin the current session. At a minimum, written records should contain the following information:

• helpee’s name,
• date of the session,
• presenting problem for that session from the helpee’s point of view,
• your objective observations of the helpee,
• your evaluation of the problem,
• what you did to help solve the problem, and
• what you suggested the helpee do before you meet again.

Refer to the helping guidelines and requirements established by your organization or ministry. Make sure the suggestions offered here are compatible with those standards. Continue to make improvements in the legal and ethical aspects of your helping approach.

For more ideas on helping others thrive, see our Archive and What We Offer.