The CPA Code Of Ethics And Ethics Of Online Counseling

applications do not diminish the counsellor 's responsibility to act in accordance with the CCPA Code of Ethics” (p. 10).

However, face-to-face counselling is not risk-free and records could be inadvertently accessed as well (Chester & Glass, 2006). Counsellors should thoroughly review the ethics codes and guidelines and use an ethical decision-making model, such as the one offered by the CPA Code of Ethics (2000), to weigh the importance of any conflicting principles and standards before deciding on a course of action with online counselling.

Another ethical area that may be difficult to tread through in online counselling is the duty to obtain informed consent. Clients must understand the risks and benefits associated with online counselling,

These proposed guidelines are connected to the principles, values, and standards of the CPA code of ethics (2000). First, the principle of respect for the dignity of persons is comprised of six guidelines for ethical online practice in the proposed guidelines, which address many of the concerns of online counselling reviewed in the literature. For example, a recommendation is made when obtaining informed consent, in that “psychologists include information about the particular nature, risks (including possible insufficiency, misunderstandings due to lack of visual clues, and technology failure)” (CPA Committee on Ethics, 2006, p. 2). The CCPA Code of Ethics has taken similar steps to address concerns with online counselling, by releasing standards of practice on services delivered using social media and electronic technologies (2015). Similar to the CPA proposed guidelines (2006), the CCPA (2015) reminds psychologists that “Informed consent and disclosure processes must include alerting the client to any Internet counselling credentials or training held by the counsellor and clearly address the risks and benefits of using Internet counselling.” (p.

In this section, I will be using the first six steps of the CPA (2000) ethical decision-making model, while also integrating a few standards and guidelines from the CCPA code of ethics (1999), to solve the following ethical dilemma:

You have recently started to provide online counselling services in addition to your face-to-face counselling services, and have been asked by your agency to provide online therapy to a 54-year old woman whose husband passed away in a car accident two months prior. The woman and her 20-year old daughter were in the car at the time of the accident but had survived. You are informed that the woman is experiencing bouts of non-stop crying, having vivid dreams of her husband, constantly anxious and afraid, and reliving moments of the traumatic accident. You are uncomfortable providing online therapy due to the severity of the woman’s symptoms, recent onset of the trauma, and previous history of suicidal ideation. However, you are also informed that the woman lives in a remote community over two hours away from a counsellor, and five hours away from your office, and she refuses to speak to someone in person about the difficulties she is experiencing due