Code Of Ethics Paper

Upon reflecting on the Code of Ethics I feel that having the Code of Ethics is important within the field of counseling. The Code of Ethics provides a great foundation for counseling, and takes into consideration all aspects of counseling. While the Code of Ethics covers all of the things that I knew would (confidentiality, discrimination, and personal relationships with clients) there were several areas that I have never given thought.

The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions provides the foundations and guidelines for ethical understanding and good practice in counselling work. This enables a counsellor to practice safely in private practice or within an agency. Different agencies may work with other frameworks, for instance the National Counselling Society (NCS), who support counselling and related therapies, and are closely linked with the NHS. (Nationalcounsellingsociety.org). The BACP framework can’t inform a counsellor of specific rights or wrongs, but outlines the values, principles and moral qualities that a counsellor should adhere to, which helps with guidance and ethical decision making and safeguarding client and counsellor. (BACP, 2015)

The American Counseling Association has also developed a Code of Ethics that all counselors are bound to follow to uphold the integrity of the profession. The Code of Ethics has a specific area devoted solely to research and how procedures should be handled. First and foremost, researchers should follow all federal, state, and local laws pertaining to research with human subjects (ACA, 2005). The Code of Ethics also explains that researchers are responsible for the well being of their subjects and they should take special precautions to avoid harm in any way, including physical,

The ACA and MHCA Codes of Ethics is to ensure common standards, guide professionals, and minimize interpersonal strife of professionals, as well as provide clear parameters of behaviors, in order to help meet the changing needs of clients (Ponton, 2009). Counselors use the ethical principles and Code of Ethics, to inform and guide their practice by engaging in practices that are based on research methodologies, providing services that are within their appropriate framework, and work towards fostering client growth (Ponton, 2009).

Professional associations establish codes of ethics to ensure that clinicians uphold the standards of their association in order to protect the clients they serve and the profession they are affiliated with. This paper will compare the codes of ethics of the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and National Association of Social Workers (NASW).

The AASECT ethical code that I can relate to the most is competence and integrity. Competence and integrity relates to a counselor’s responsibility for the consequences of their acts, by commission or omission, and making reasonable efforts for provision of all professional services in an adequate and appropriate manner (Long, Burnett, & Thomas, 2006). As human sexuality counselors, I believe that it is critical for us to maintain client’s confidentiality by ensuring the information obtained from clients is used for counseling purposes only and is kept private and confidential. This can only be done through competent practice and maintenance of professional integrity.

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Counselors need to be guided by the ethical standards set forth by the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics. These standards define ethical conduct in the counseling profession, and provide guidance for maintaining professionalism in any situation. I have become familiar with many of the sections included in the ACA Code of Ethics from the research and assignments completed in this class. Garnering an awareness of the ACA Code of Ethics as it pertains to informed consent, confidentiality, professional responsibility, and resolving ethical issues, has given me confidence to discuss and evaluate the legal issues and ethical obligations associated with this profession. The section regarding professional responsibility of this document resonated with me the most, and elicited a feeling of confidence about counseling ethics and law, that was not present before this class. Professional responsibility sets the tone for everything else we do. As counselors, we must be guided by professionalism and high standards. Standard C.1 of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) states that counselors have a responsibility to read, understand, and follow the ACA Code of Ethics, and abide by all applicable laws and regulations. While there are a plethora of legal and ethical issues that may arise for professional counselors throughout their careers, I feel that this class has given me a broad overview of how to be proactive and use appropriate decision-making tools to work

These publications regarding ethics, American Counseling Association: Code of Ethics (2005) and the American Association of Christian Counseling: Code of Ethics (2004), are available as a reference for use. The purpose of this paper is to compare general and specific elements of the two publications. There are two areas of general exploration: 1) relation to their format for retrieval of specific data, 2) their value or standards basis, if any, from which the publications are written. More specifically three specific areas will be compared. First, the area of informed consent as it relates to the client and the counselor. Second, codes relating to

The ACA Code of Ethics states, “when counselors are faced with ethical dilemmas that are difficult to resolve, they are expected to engage in a carefully considered ethical decision-making process,” (ACA, 2014, p. 3). Throughout these three case studies, I will use the seven-step ethical decision-making model to address the important professional issues, relevant ethical codes, and legal standards (Forester-Miller & Davis, 1996). By applying the steps to each case I will share how I came to my resolutions.

Different organizations are driven by specific sets of code of ethics, which are used to protect many different aspect of the organizations, specifically the client, counselor, and organization. Concerning the standards of a counselor, their ethics are not only provided by the laws of the state or their practice, but also outside sources who present basic values and regulations of ethical standards in their code of ethics. This paper will look at two specific associations: the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Association

I was able to locate the current ethical standards with the American Counseling Association on my desk. An individual can locate a copy of these standards at this website: http://www.counseling.org/resources/codeofethics/TP/home/ct2.aspx. This version was published in 2005 and the next revision is up to the Ethics Revision Task Force. In addition I also have a copy of the American Mental Health Counselors Association Code of ethics. The website is: http://www.amhca.org/. Once at the website, you can look under about AMHCA for a link to the code of ethics or use the following URL:

Becoming a competent ethical therapist is more than knowing the codes of ethics in his/her profession. It is about developing the knowledge and understanding about the code of ethics to make ethical reasoning within the confines of the AAMFT and laws so the practitioner can make the best determination or choice of what to do, especially when the laws and ethical rules become obscured making it difficult to adhered to the code (Gehart, 2014). Every practitioner should always abide by the law even if it conflicts with any part of the code of ethics. But, he/she must abide by the law

In the Code of Ethics of American Counseling Association and The Code of Ethics of National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, there are some similarities and differences from each code of ethics. The similarities between the two codes were: they both describes the ethics of counseling and professionalism in counseling.” Professional counseling is a therapeutic relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals” (American Counseling Association, 2017). Professionalism in counseling is very important. A professional counselor should abide by the code of ethics and can diagnose mental health disorders. Both code of ethics also discussed with any professional that a individual is in has to follow all rules to the Code of Ethics.

The formal definition of ethics is as follows, moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity or alternatively the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles. (Ethics definition: dictionary.com, 2014)