This will prevent oversimplification, and allow counselors to confront complex issues more effectively. As for the "health and well-being of the self" issue, the author is saying that counselors cannot do their best at helping others unless they take care of themselves with proper diet, exercise, meditation or prayer, self-reflection to promote self-integration, and the study of integral theory. This recommended approach to self-care is called "Integral Life Practice (ILP). A final key concept is the idea of considering the importance of the developmental perspective of the counselor when explaining ethical codes of conduct; in other words, what developmental lines or life questions are at play (cognitive, self, values, morals) when a particular counselor is confronting ethical concerns? And how does his or her developmental level in these different areas affect their approach to the ethical concerns? In other words, like intelligence, professional and personal development consists of various "lines" that can differ greatly within one person. An important question to ask, and another key concept presented is: is the counselor operating on a high level of ethical functioning -- the aspirational level, or on a low-level of functioning -- the mandatory level?
The...
The implications of the article, if taken seriously, are that counselors have greater responsibilities than previously believed toward themselves, other counselors, and clients with respect to taking the time to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit, as well as taking the time to fully examine ethical issues from a multi-quadrant perspective. The author also implies that if this article is not taken seriously, counselors will fail to be the best "helpers" they can be -- they may be acting at a developmental stage lower than required as a result of not facing their own "shadow," they are at risk of oversimplifying ethical issues, and therefore at risk of making erroneous decisions with respect to clients and ethics.
The author's main viewpoints are that post conventional attitudes and actions with respect to ethical dilemmas should be followed and practiced, and that there is a need for a formal ethical decision-making process (such as the four-quadrant integral theory and corresponding method) to guide this practice and complement other decision-making models for a fully integrated approach.
