The seven working principles
CTEVT PSC curriculumCTEVT PSC curriculum: on the official Psychosocial Counselor syllabus, can appear in the exam. Beyond curriculum: added for completeness, not examinable. A chip like 296.2x · F32 is the diagnosis code: the DSM-5's older ICD-9-CM number, then the ICD-10 "F-code" used in hospital records. Non-students can ignore all of these.
| Principle | What it demands (ACA sections) | The Nepali edge-case |
|---|---|---|
| Client welfare first | Dignity and welfare above everything, including the family's wishes (A.1) | When parents demand "fix him", the client is still the young person |
| Informed consent | Explain, verbally and simply: what counselling is, risks, fees, limits; ongoing, not one-time (A.2) | Low literacy → consent by clear conversation, witnessed; minors → assent + guardian consent, weighed against the young person's growing capacity, and never when the guardian is the source of harm |
| Confidentiality & its limits | Nothing shared without consent: EXCEPT serious foreseeable harm to self or others, child abuse, or court order; disclose the minimum (B.1–B.2) | In a small village everyone knows your door; where you park, who greets you: all leak. Session one covers the limits |
| Boundaries & dual relationships | No sexual/romantic contact, current or recent former clients (A.5); avoid overlapping roles; gifts weighed culturally (A.10.f) | Dual relationships are unavoidable in villages: manage them openly and in supervision rather than pretending they don't exist; a khada or fruit may be respect, cash is not |
| Competence & its boundaries | Practice only what you are trained for; know your referral line; monitor your effectiveness (C.2) | You are the only "mental health person" for hours in any direction: the temptation to exceed competence is the ethical test of the job |
| Nondiscrimination | No discrimination by caste, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, status (C.5) | Caste is the test Nepal adds: the same cup of tea, the same chair, the same touch, for every client |
| Records & honesty | Accurate, secure, code-numbered records; honest representation of your qualifications (A.1.b, C.4) | "Counselor" ≠ "doctor": never let a community upgrade your title |
Template in the CTEVT course pack: the Nepali informed-consent form (Nepali_Psychosocial_Informed_Consent_Form) covers exactly what this row requires: voluntary participation and the right to stop, confidentiality and its legal/safety limits, written consent before sharing information, referral possibility, no guaranteed outcome, and guardian signature for minors. Practise explaining every line aloud in plain Nepali.
Self-care is an ethical duty, not a luxury (ACA C.2.g: impairment). Listening to trauma wears the listener: secondary traumatic stress and burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, dread of clients) impair the service.
The curriculum's professionalism list is your maintenance schedule:
- Regular supervision
- Peer support
- Reading and refresher training
- Reasonable caseload
- The same sleep, movement, boundaries, and connection you prescribe to clients
- Care-for-caregiver training
- Knowing when to pause practice
Growth: read journals, consult seniors, join professional associations, attend ToT and higher studies, advocate for counselling services.
Ethical dilemmas: argue each side
1) Your cousin's wife books a session. 2) A 15-year-old discloses abuse but begs you to tell no one. 3) A client's father offers you a goat at Dashain. 4) A client with psychosis refuses referral and the family asks you to "just keep counselling him". For each: which principles collide, what does the code say, and what do you actually do in a Nepali district?
Model reasoning: the 15-year-old scenario
Here the principles collide. The client's right to confidentiality under B.1 says nothing is shared without consent. But A.1 demands that client welfare comes first, and the mandatory reporting duty requires disclosure to protect a child from abuse.
The code does not leave this to your judgment alone. When a child is at risk, the duty to protect overrides confidentiality. You explain the limit to the young person in session one: you cannot promise that what she tells you will stay secret if she is being harmed.
You document the disclosure in the case notes, refer the case to child protection services, and bring the situation to supervision. The outcome is that the child receives protection, the family is supported through the referral process, and the therapeutic relationship is preserved by being honest about the limit from the start.