Ethical Counselling Practice amid Legal and Institutional Constraints among Counsellors in Bomet, Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.68050/JAMS.2026.697Keywords:
Ethical practice, professional codes, ethical dilemmas, counselling psychology.Abstract
Ethical counseling is a discourse often done through a universal professional codes lens. However, it is deeply rooted in local legal frameworks. In Kenya, the swift authentication of the counseling profession presented much-needed accountability. This process has also generated new, complex ethical tensions for those on the ground. While global and local studies exist, a major gap remains in understanding the daily realities of counselors working in health facilities and schools, particularly in Bomet County. Guided by the complementary theories of principlism and virtue ethics, this study looked into how counselors balance ethical and personal values with the strict requirements of institutional law. Rather than seeing ethical codes as inflexible rules, this research views ethical practice as a lived, negotiated process, reshaped by relationships and specific situations. The study explored how counselors experienced and navigated ethical dilemmas and made ethical decisions amid legal and institutional tensions. It also examined how and where they sought counseling support when overwhelmed. Using a phenomenological design, the study conducted one-on-one encounters with ten counselors purposefully selected from local health facilities and schools through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. The study identified several serious challenges: maintaining confidentiality, unclear boundaries in navigating dual relationships, and conflicting roles that come with operating in a close, interwoven community. Additionally, elevated burnout, fueled by a lack of professional supervision at both the institutional and county level, emerged as well. Bomet County’s rural landscape requires a tailored approach. This study recommends that health facilities prioritize dedicated counseling spaces and that professional bodies take an active role in policymaking. Most importantly, there is an urgent need to train more supervisors to provide the professional support and mentorship that counselors in the field so desperately need.
References
1. Akhurst, J. E., & Leach, M. M. (2023). Confidentiality, informed consent, and multiple relationships in four emerging regions. Ethics & Behavior, 33(3), 175–182.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2022.2152339.
2. Akhurst, J. E., & Leach, M. M. (2023). Confidentiality, informed consent, and multiple relationships in four emerging regions. Ethics & Behavior, 33(3), 175–182.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2022.2152339.
3. American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics.
4. American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/.
5. American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/
6. BACP. (2026). Workplace Counselling Competence Framework: User Guide (confidentiality, organizational aims vs ethics, time-limited work).bacp.co+2
7. Banks, S. (2021). Ethics and values in social work (5th ed.). Palgrave.
8. Banks, S., Cai, T., de Jonge, E., Shears, J., Shum, M., Sobočan, A. M., Strom, K., Truell, R., Úriz, M. J., & Weinber, M. (2020). Practicing ethically during COVID-19: Social work challenges and responses. International Social Work, 63(5), 569–583. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872820949614
9. Barsky, A. E. (2024). Clinicians in court. Guilford Publications.
10. Beauchamp, T., & Childress, J. (2019). Principles of biomedical ethics: marking its fortieth anniversary. The American journal of bioethics, 19(11), 9-12.
11. Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Sage.
12. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
13. Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA). (2020). Code of Ethics. https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CCPA-2020-Code-of-Ethics-E-Book-EN.pdfccpa-accp
14. Chatzifotiou, C., & Papoul, E. (2022). Social workers dealing with ethical dilemmas in the course of their professional work: The Greek experience. The British Journal of Social Work, 52(8), 4795–4814.
https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcac084
15. Childress, J. F., & Beauchamp, T. L. (2023). The Evolution of Principlism. Vita brevis, ars longa. Aktuelle Perspektiven zu Geschichte, Theorie und Ethik der Medizin, 145-153.
16. Constitution of Kenya. (2010). Constitution of Kenya. Laws of Kenya.
https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/2010/constitution/eng%402010-09-03
17. Corey, G., Corey, M. S., Corey, C., & Callanan, P. (2021). Issues and ethics in the helping professions (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.
18. Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
19. Data Protection Act (No. 24 of 2019), Cap. 411C (Kenya). (2019). Laws of Kenya.
https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/2019/24/eng%402022-12.
20. Doukas, D. J., Ozar, D. T., Darragh, M., de Groot, J. M., Carter, B. S., & Stout, N. (2022). Virtue and care ethics & humanism in medical education: A scoping review. BMC Medical Education, 22(1), 131.
21. Dursun, S., & Mankolli, H. (2021). The value of nature: A virtue ethics perspective. GNOSI: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Theory and Praxis, 4(1), 1–15.
22. Dursun, S., & Mankolli, H. (2021). The value of nature: virtue ethics perspective. GNOSI: An
23. Egunjobi, J. P. (2021). Child response styles to parenting. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 5(12), 652–658.
24. Gachenia, L. & Mwenje, M. (2021). Challenges Counselors Face in Effecting School Counseling Programs for Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students in Kiambu County, Kenya. International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling, 6 (38), 24–34. DOI:
10.35631/IJEPC.638003.
25. Grande, V., Lennerfors, T. T., Peters, A. K., & von Hausswolff, K. (2024). The virtuous, the caring, and the free: Ethical theory to understand the ethics of the teacher as a role model in engineering education. European Journal of Engineering Education, 49(1), 1–21.
26. Irawan, T. M. I. A., Solehuddin, M., Suryahadikusumah, A. R., & Asiedu, A. (2025). The ethical landscape of guidance and counseling services: Philosophical foundations, implementation, and challenges in the digital era. Counsenesia: Indonesian Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 6(2), 467–482.
27. Jacob, S., Decker, D. M., Timmerman Lugg, E., & Diamond, E. (2022). Ethics and law for school psychologists (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
28. John, S., Mani, B. P., & Jose, B. (2025). Caught between confidentiality and compulsion: The global ethics–law dilemma in psychotherapy. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1665158.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1665158.
29. Kenya Counsellors and Psychologists Act, Cap. 253C. (2014). Laws of Kenya.
https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/2014/14/eng%402022-12-31/source,
30. Kibati, P., Wakesho, F., Mwatha, S., Mariga, D., Ihahi, J., Kioko, D., & Sullivan, K. M. (2025). Prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminth infections in Narok and Bomet Counties, Kenya: Evidence from program monitoring. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 19(12), e0012415.
31. Knapp, S., Fingerhut, R., Gottlieb, M. C., & Handelsman, M. M. (2024). What are the primary ethical considerations of evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence? In F. T. L. Leong, J. L. Callahan, J. Zimmerman, M. J. Constantino, & C. F. Eubanks (Eds.), APA handbook of psychotherapy: Evidence-based practice, practice-based evidence, and contextual participant-driven practice (pp. 307–322). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000354-020.
32. Koçyiğit Özyiğit, M. (2022). Challenges and Ethical Issues in Counseling Supervision from Faculty Supervisors’ Perspective. Participatory Educational Research, 9(5), 305-329.
https://doi.org/10.17275/per.22.116.9.5,
33. Levitt, D. H., Neukrug, E. S., & Carlisle, K. L. (2022). Mental health counselors’ perceptions of ethical behaviors. Counseling and Values, 67(1), 88–103. https://doi.org/10.1163/21610008-bja10027.
34. Luepker, E. T. (2022). Record keeping in psychotherapy and counseling: Ethics, practice and supervision. Routledge.
35. McCleary, D. F., & Dawes, J. (2023). School psychology ethics in the workplace. Routledge.
36. Mougan, C., & Brand, J. (2023). Kantian deontology meets AI alignment: Towards morally grounded fairness metrics. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.05227.
37. Mougan, C., & Brand, J. (2023). Kantian deontology meets AI alignment: Towards morally grounded fairness metrics. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2311.05227.
38. Njonge, T. (2025). Dilemmas and ethical issues faced by counsellors practicing in rural areas in Kenya. Journal of Guidance and Counselling (JGC), 4(1), 65–74.
39. Odero, B. A., & Groenewald, C. (2025). From Paper to Platform: Ethics Review in a Digital Age–A Kenyan Case. Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 15562646251380741.
40. Oktadinata, d., fitri, s., & wahyuni, e. (2025). Ethical dilemma: challenges and impacts on school counselor welfare. In proceedings of the education and psychology international conference (pp. 35-50).
41. Oppong, V. B., Osafo, J., & Ofori-Atta, A. (2022). Ethical dilemmas in psychological services in Ghana: the views of clinical psychologists. Ethics & Behavior, 32(3), 273–284.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2021.1895795.
42. Regmi, B. P. (2024). Qualitative research design: A discussion on its types. Research Journal, 9(1), 37–45.
43. Remley, T. P., Jr., & Herlihy, B. (2020). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling (5th ed.). Pearson Education.
44. Rutkowska, E., Furmańska, J., Marques, C. C., Martins, M. J., Lane, H., & Meixner, J. (2025). Psychotherapists’ ethical dilemmas regarding online and face-to-face psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: Survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e69154.
45. Schirmer, J. (2025). Virtue in the practice of psychotherapy: an operational theory of therapist way of being.
46. Selvam, S. G., Kiige, J. W., & Soko, J. (2022). Conceptualizing and measuring hospitality in relation to wellbeing in Kenya: is hospitality a character strength? In Embracing well-being in diverse African contexts: Research perspectives (pp. 99-121). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
47. Şensoy, G., & İkiz, F. E. (2023). Ethical dilemmas of school counsellors: A vignette study. Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools, 33(1), 102–115.
48. Sorensen, J. L. (2025). Ethical issues in treating substance use disorders. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2024.2394765
49. Steigerwald, P., Burghardt, J., Rudolph, E., & Albrecht, J. (2026). AI Systems in Text-Based Online Counselling: Ethical Considerations across Three Implementation Approaches. arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.08878.
50. Steinberg, D. (2020). Principlism. In The Multidisciplinary Nature of Morality and Applied Ethics (pp. 175-183). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
51. Tavallali & Cox (2019). Addressing the crisis in campus counseling centers: organizational perspective (administrative realities, crisis capacity).
52. Tu, S. F., Yeh, A. H., & Chan, M. F. (2023). Ethical dilemmas experienced by counseling psychologists in Taiwan. Ethics & Behavior, 34(3), 175–188.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2023.2177164.
53. Van Nistelrooij, I., & Visse, M. (2019). Me? The invisible call of responsibility and its promise for care ethics: A phenomenological view. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 22(2), 275–285. doi.org.
54. Viscarret, J-J., Ballestero, A., Úriz, M-J., & Idareta, F. (2022). What ethical dilemmas do social workers face in the healthcare area in Spain? Social Work in Public Health, 38, 135–146.
https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2022.2104414
55. Wessels, S., & Swart, E. (2024). Ethical dilemmas experienced by school psychologists in South Africa. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 12(2), 109–123.
https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2024.2336235.
56. Williams, H. (2021). The Meaning of “Phenomenology”: Qualitative and Philosophical Phenomenological Research Methods. The Qualitative Report, 26(2), 366-385.
https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/ 2021.4587.
57. Xing, W., & Zheng, Y. (2025). Ethical dilemmas in the development of college psychological counseling under cultural integration. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1636563.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1636563.
58. Ylvisaker, S., & Rugkåsa, M. (2022). Dilemmas and conflicting pressures in social work practice. European Journal of Social Work, 25(4), 643–654. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2021.1954884
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Studies (JAMS) are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), unless otherwise stated. Authors retain copyright of their work and grant JAMS the right of first publication.
