Parliament has started debating a bill which will regulate counsellors and the counselling profession.

Family Minister Michael Farrugia said anyone who knowingly gave incorrect, fraudulent or misleading information in order to obtain a warrant or to register a society of counsellors would be liable to a fine of €2,330 or 12 months’ imprisonment or both.

He said no one could practise the counselling profession and assume the designation of counsellor without holding a warrant. In the case of a continuous offence, a person would be liable to a fine of €11.65 a day to a maximum of €4,660.

Dr Farrugia said that to date this counselling profession was never regulated and there were unqualified people giving advice. There was no control in this sector, and the consequences could be serious if the advice given was not being dished out by professionals.

He knew that several NGOs had trained people to give counselling service in various sectors but they were not always properly qualified. This law would require proper qualifications and the necessary warrant.

Dr Farrugia said the Bill provided for a council, appointed by the minister, which would establish standards, process applications for warrants, maintain a register and compile a code of ethics. The council would also be empowered to investigate any claim of negligence or misconduct.

Through this law, counselling qualifications would also be recognised internationally, he said.

The experience required for a counsellor to obtain a warrant had been left undefined so that should there need to be an increase or decrease in the requirements, a legislative amendment would not be required.

Dr Farrugia said counsellors were being given the same protection afforded to government employees and there were heavy sanctions if the counsellors are attacked or harmed in any way.

The council would also advise the minister on the experience and qualifications of counsellors and on changes to criteria for standards of practice. Warrants may be given permanently or restricted. The latter would be using experience recognised only by the entity employing that person and would have to work under strict supervision. Persons with a restricted warrant would not have a Masters degree and would not be able to work independently.

Temporary warrant holders, on the other hand would have the necessary qualifications but not enough experience and, until such experience is acquired, a temporary warrant would be conferred.

Paula Mifsud Bonnici (PN) said the opposition was backing this bill because it had already been approved in second reading under the previous legislature.

The profession needed to be regulated because there were counsellors who felt that their work was not always appreciated. There were also clients who were not always convinced of the service given by unqualified persons.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that the counselling profession was first introduced to Malta by the Cana Movement but was better established under the agreement between the government and the Malta Union of Teachers in 1975, introducing the service in government schools.  

She stressed that counsellors were bound by the principle of confidentiality. This was fundamental to build a therapeutic relationship. For this purpose a code of ethics would be drawn up by the Council of Professional Counsellors. She proposed that the council would take note of the code of ethics already established by the Malta Association for the Counselling Profession (MACP). She asked whether counselling associations should be represented on the council.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici asked whether there was any time bar for the issuing of temporary warrants, adding that an individual qualified for a permanent warrant after two years of full time practice or an aggregate of one thousand hours.

She suggested that besides evaluating and establishing new standards, the council would also give advice to the minister on new regulations. 

 


 

 

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