Comparing Codes of Ethics Essays

The Code of Ethics defines the behavior standards with which physicians must comply. The AMA Code of Ethics is designed as a concise document outlining the basic duties and responsibilities of physicians.

An essential job duty for any healthcare professional is to be able to service clients. The Code of Ethics (1999) outlines that service means to use the knowledge that a social worker has acquired through training and education to assist clients with issues that are inhibiting them from living their life completely and without suffering. By this definition, a social worker’s job is to assist a client with real-life issues, such as depression and anxiety, which are faced by the majority of the elderly population (Richardson & Barusch, 2006). For a social worker, assisting clients who face mental illness means

The ACA and NAADAC code of ethics will help the counselor with decision making. When the counselor is not sure how to act or say about an issue, it is important that she goes back and review the ACA and NAADAC code of ethics to make sure she is not being biased or discriminating a client in her practice. ACA and NAADAC is a guide that will help the counselor to reference.

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,

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).

ACA (2005) is developed by members from multiple capacities with no mention of who these people are or their position in life, yet AACC (2004) tells who each person is and other sources used to adopt their code.

Video presentation: The video clip was quite interesting I found it to be very educational as to the legal obligations of therapists in the mental health field. There were issues that were brought up that were quite important, such as therapists need to understand confidentiality, privileged information, and a therapists responsibility related to reporting suspected child abuse, elder abuse, and/or suicidal ideations, and possibly the most important of them all is a therapists duty to warn. The first case they were

A focal motivation behind the ACA Code of Ethics is to guide instructors in suitable activity to best serve customers and advance the estimations of the advising calling (ACA, 2005). During a time of legitimate, clinical, and financial responsibility, record keeping and ethical behavior are critical parts of expert directing. Keeping record is important because:

There are several ethical dilemmas that the mental health professionals that are working as a team will face including “ensuring that the client has given informed consent, maintaining client confidentiality, and involving professionals, paraprofessionals, and family in appropriate coordinated processes that benefit the client” (Paproski & Haverkamp, 2000, p.96).

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.

This is also stated in subsection 1-421 of the AACC code of ethics (AACC Law and Ethics Committee, 2004, p 12). However, the ACA guidelines with regards to this area are more comprehensive and clearly stated than the AACC guidelines. Section B of the ACA code of ethics provides guidelines on how a counselor can maintain client confidentiality in various circumstances such as incapacity of client, when treatment calls for services with others and even in consulting other counselors (American Counseling Association, 2005, p 7-9). On the other hand, the guidelines of the AACC are more limited in scope as can be seen in Section ES1-400 (AACC Law and Ethics Committee, 2004, p 11-13).

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:

First both code of ethics require helping professionals to consume proper education, awareness, and knowledge. Both codes strive for protection of the welfare of clients. Each code in the ACA and AMHC is designed to guide helping professionals to make ethical decisions regarding clients. Not only do the ACA and AMHC protect clients, but professionals as well. It is important both code of ethics function in the same manner in order for helping professionals to be guided ethically (ACA & AMHC).

The RRICC model was developed to highlight the primary values supported in all ethics codes associated with various mental health professions both in the United States and abroad (Plante, 2004). RRICC stands for the values of respect, responsibility, integrity, competence, and concern. Therefore, being thoughtful of ethical principles such as respect, responsibility, integrity, competence, and concern for others as well as possible ethical dilemmas and getting appropriate training and ongoing consultation can greatly help the professional navigating these often very challenging waters (Plante,