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.
Vaughn, Lewis. Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning and Contemporary Issues 3rd Edition. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. Print.
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
In the mental health profession of counseling, therapy, psychology, psychiatric and social services ethical dilemmas are faced primarily on a daily basis. Being that mental health professionals are working with clients who are often fragile and vulnerable, they must develop an intense awareness of ethical issues. On the other hand, mental health professionals would never intentionally harm their clients, students or colleagues and others whom they work with. Unfortunately, good intentions are not enough to ensure that wrong doings will not occur and mental health professionals have no choice but to make ethically determined decisions. Depending upon the experience and expertise of the professional determines the outcome of the ethical circumstance. For example, if you were practicing mental health professional and had a friend who’s a licensed psychologist, who is invited to attend the wedding of a patient that she has been seeing in court-ordered therapy for a year; what advice would you give your friend?
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).
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
Professional counselors are confronted with ethical decision making on a regular day-to-day basis. This could be both nerve-racking and challenging. In order for a counselor to face these ethical decisions, it is important for them to have guidelines in place for when an ethical or legal situation occurs. The first step is to recognize there is an ethical dilemma, once this is recognized the process to resolve it can be started (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2008).
G.P. Koocher & P. Kieth-Spiegel (1998) pointed out many conflict of dual and multiple role including personal, client/therapist, therapist/supervisor and therapist/colleague, and how they can improve and complicate the counselling process. Boundaries and competence runs along side one another, which made come to conclusion that if the therapist is considering breaking them s/he should know what they breaking and how to break them ethically. Sometimes the outcome of ethical dilemma can only be “determined by the client and counsellor at that time” which could enable the therapist to change the priorities of Ethical principles and modify his/her actions according to the client’s circumstances (T. Bond, 2000:62).
Strengths of the Ethical Decisions Making Model are Kitchener 's Critical Evaluation Model (1984), which involves understanding how ethical decision-making approaches play an important role in the ethical landscape of counseling. It involved the notions of loyalty, faithfulness, and honoring commitments (Kitchener, 1984). It’s best to form trust within the client/counselor relationship and implement faith in the growth of their therapeutic relationship. Kitchener (1984) proposes four goals to strength the model of increasing ethical sensitivity, improving ethical reasoning, developing ethical responsibility and tolerating ambiguity (Kitchener,
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
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)
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2011). Issues and ethics in the helping professions. (8th
Workers in the helping professions endure a massive amount of ethical and professional issues. These issues affect the practice of counseling and the relationship with the client. The book Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions by Corey, Corey, and Hallanan gives many themes that one will encounter throughout their career. The book also gives possible solutions to problems and stimulates different ways to think about issues. The authors of this book provide good knowledge and information for anyone in the helping professions.
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...
Ethics play a major part in individual daily lives. Whether it is in an individual career, business, or family there are ethical values. Based on cultural, economics and religious differences many time the standards of ethics may vary. Some ethical values may be stronger and others may have few rules/laws they may abide by. Ethics are based upon a persons or groups moral principles, as we know some peoples’ morals should be questioned. This is the reason that large organizations have set in place their own ethical principles that they want their members to follow. Any profession that deals with psychology not only follows the organizational ethical rules but that of the American Psychology Association (APA). The APA refers to the ethical guidelines, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Students of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology also follow another set of ethical values known as the TCS Codes of Conduct. Both ethical guidelines focus on the “do’s and don’ts” of the psychology world and that of the school. Both altos discuss at length the consequences of an individual