In “How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living,” author Rushworth M. Kidder defined ethics as: "The capacity to recognize the nature of moral challenges and respond with a will tuned conscience." Counselors are continually faced with the realization that ethical decision-making is an evolutionary process that requires continual open mindedness and an ability to be self-critical. They must possess the ability to recognize their own issues including, counter-transference, the limits of their multi-cultural competence, informed consent and the possible pit-falls associated with multiple relationships; while keeping the best interest of the client as the most central issue. They are not always given a blueprint on how to handle situations and sometimes are forced to rely on instincts and an internal value system.
Professional ethics in my mind is the ability to do what is in the best interest of the client despite the level of difficulty or personal conflict with one’s belief system. In the text, there were several examples where the counselor’s value system were in direct conflict with the problem being framed by the client and they were forced rely on their own level of ethical fitness. In chapter 3 of the Kidder text, Kidder defines Ethical Fitness as “the self-awareness, development and habits of behavior that help people do the harder right even under stressful pressure.” He asserted that ethical fitness is a lifestyle and something you have to practice regularly; in order to have it become second nature.
Though I fully understand that there are laws governing the actions of a counselor and the manner in which he/she can advise a client, what is deemed as reportable ...
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...unseling. Ethics can be defined as an internal barometer used to determine whether actions are right or wrong. It helps define who we are as individuals and provide a basis for establishing our value system. The daily landscape in the counselor world is dynamic with little or no scripted days and scenarios dealing with clients. Rushworth Kidder (1996) put it best when he said:
And little wonder, finally, that as we practice resolving dilemmas we find ethics to be less a goal than a pathway, less a destination than a trip, less an inoculation than a process (p. 174).
Works Cited
1. Kidder, R. M. (1996). How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living. New York. Fireside.
2. Corey, G., Corey, Corey, M. S., & Callahan, P. (2007). Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professionals (8th Ed). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Many counselors enter into the profession because they are interested in helping individuals and have the desire to enhance human development. Though counselors are guided in culture from their own values and beliefs they have about living, ethics supersedes morality. Ethics are rooted in philosophy and are created by professional associations in order to govern those members of the profession. In the field of counseling there are two individual agencies, American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), that both have several similarities and differences within each specific codes of ethics.
Understanding the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) ethical codes is an important aspect of developing one’s professional identity as a mental health counselor. More specifically, in order for a counselor to be professionally competent and ensure he/she is able to uphold ethical boundaries, it is essential that one becomes familiar with the codes. Furthermore, both ethical codes share a multitude of similarities as well as differences, including that the AMHCA code of ethics profoundly draws from the ACA code of ethics. However, it is important to note that the AMHCA code presents ethical criteria geared specifically towards mental health counselors whereas the ACA code
Counselors are faced with many ethical dilemmas that require the counselor to make decisions that are in the best interest of the student. It is important for counselors to use an ethical decision-making model so that consistency is brought to the process of making ethical decisions (Remley & Herlihy, 2014).
Aspirational ethics reach toward higher standards than those of mandatory ethics, requiring the counselor to possess a stronger sense of duty. These principles guide counselors to do more than simply meet the “letter of the law” of the ethics code. The welfare of the client becomes the main focus of the counselor, who takes into consideration not only the interventions, but also the effects on the client. (Kottler & Shepard, 2011) Aspirational ethics include, but are not limited to the following principles.
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2011). Issues and ethics in the helping professions. (8th
Ethics is a doing and learning experience which causes us as humans to keep an open mind to change. Generally, ethics ask us to live mindfully, to think how we act and even how we feel or do things, which can change the outcome. Sometimes we go down certain roads, which may be harder or make things more complicated or complex instead of making an easier option we just take the easier way out, usually the way that calls for
This model identifies five moral principles which are: justice, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and fidelity. These fundamental guidelines are used to clarify issues that involve any given situation. Ethical guidelines may not address all situations, but will allow a counselor to explore ethical dilemmas and conflicting issues. Counselors are responsible to encourage clients to make their own appropriate decisions and to act on their own values. Two important things to consider when counseling client are: autonomous encouragement helps clients understand how their decisions and values that may or may not receive within the context of the society; they live in or may impinge on the rights of others (Kitchener,
Barry, Vincent, Olen, Jeffrey, & Van Camp, Julie C. Applying Ethics: A Text with Readings, Tenth Edition. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011.
So your opinions on the topic may or may not help out the situation and also in some unfortunate cases can send the client into a ‘downward spiral’. By expressing your ethical issues on the topic to your client you may trigger unwanted emotions. These unwanted emotions can drive the client to hurt themselves or even make the client take legal actions towards the counselor. Ways to prevent this from happening is learning your own self-control and what your limits are when its comes to dealing the client. “You want to consider the best action that will protect your client’s needs, but you also want to ask yourself: What is the best action to protect the profession and myself? (Berton, J. D. (2014). Make the Rule to Break the Rule: Setting Your Ethical Standards. Counselor: The Magazine For Addiction Professionals, 15(5), 10-12
Ethical issues in a counseling practice lay the foundation of a therapist in practice. Ethics are at the center of how the counseling process functions and operates in a successful manner for the clients who seek help in such a setting. In order for the counseling profession to be ethical and hold professional recognition, there are many facets that need to be examined and outlined to make sure all counselors and practitioners are functioning at the highest level and withholding their duties required by the counseling profession. The first introduction so to speak of the area of ethics also happens to be one of the first steps in counseling, which is the informed consent. The informed consent provides the basis of what happens or will be happening in a counseling setting and serves to inform the client to their rights, responsibilities, and what to expect. Most importantly, the informed consent is in place for the client’s benefit. It also is important to understand that culture and environment play a role in the treatment of a client and how theories can positively or negatively impact this treatment. Therapists need to understand how to work within the context of a theory while being able to understand the individual in their own environment. Although theories are put into place to serve as a framework, there are also alternative ways to approach counseling, one example being evidence-based practice. Such an approach is very specific, which presents a series of solutions for counseling as a whole, but also brings forth many problems. Every approach or theory introduces ethical concerns that need to be taken into consideration by the entire counseling community and how each can positively and negatively affect clients and the pr...
Informed consent. Counselors, whether in a group or individual counseling setting, must obtain informed consent from their clients. Counselors must disclose information about themselves to their clients. They also need to share with potential clients how long counseling will last and the topics that will be discussed in each session. According to the ACA code of ethics (2006), “informed consent is an ongoing process, and counselors appropriately document discussions of informed consent throughout the counseling relationship” (p. 236). Informed consent in group counseling is tricky because you have multiple clients; however, counselors have the option to meet with each group member individually in order to gain consent from their
Mayhew, Robert. The Journal of Ethics , Vol. 1, No. 4 (1997) , pp. 325-340
Ethics in the counselling and psychotherapy protects the client and the therapist involved in the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic process as a whole; with the concepts that act as a guide for the therapists in provision of good practice and care for the client. The framework is built on values of counselling and psychotherapy; principles of trustworthiness, autonomy, fidelity, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence and self-respect, and provides standards of good practice and care for the practitioner (BACP, 2010). Ethical framework contributes to the development of the therapeutic relationship and process by assisting therapist’s decisions, and guides their behaviour and proceedings within their legal rights and duties. The ethical frame is structured on the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship and the therapists should be aware of their categories and be responsible for their forms. Monitoring and being aware of what goes on in and out of the room physically, emotionally and psychologically is primarily the duty of the therapist.
Maureen H. Miner recommends in his article that any training in ethics will be judged by the quality of ethical choices made by those who complete it. If psychologists are to be recognized as professionals who are committed to best practice, then we should take ethical training very seriously. (Miner, 2005)
In this assignment we will be identifying an ethical dilemma an individual has experienced. We will begin with a short introduction of what an ethical dilemma is, moving on to providing brief details of the dilemma an individual has experienced. We will then go on to selecting one ethical theory, to show how it can help an individual understand and deal with the situation when placed within, followed by a conclusion.