Ethics in Counseling

Ethics in Counseling

Marlo Featherson

Liberty University

Abstract

 The paper will discuss ethical issues in counseling. The challenges in counseling will cause an ethical dilemma for the helping professional. Multicultural diversity, dual relationships, confidentiality and its limits are will be discussed and reviewed. Counselors are faced with ethical dilemmas that are difficult to resolve but they are expected to resolve ethically.

Key words:  ethic, multicultural diversity, dual relationships, confidentiality

In this paper the author will discuss ethic in counseling. Mental health professionals are obligated to explain informed consent, dual relationship and confidentially and its limits to their client.         U.S. society is composed of people from different races, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, religions, indigenous heritages, first languages, economic levels, and family backgrounds and makeup. A competent counselors are needed to meet the challenge of serving this emerging population, whose values are often different from those of the dominant society (Henriksen & Trusty, 2005).  

        The APA and ACA ethics Code and the professional obligation to act only in ways consistent with each client's best interests. In the Introduction, ACA (2005) affirms the profession's dedication to society and the mission to which counselors are called: "ACA members are dedicated to the enhancement of human development throughout the life span.

Association members recognize diversity and embrace a cross-cultural approach in support of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of people" (p. 3). More specifically, ACA (2005) proposed five main purposes for its code of ethics: (a) to clarify the nature of ethical responsibilities, (b) to support the mission of the organization, (c) to establish principles that inform best practice, (d) to assist members in constructing a course of action, and (e) to serve as the basis for processing ethical complaints and inquiries.

All individuals’ interactions involves interpretations of roles and personal boundaries.  Justice  & Garland (2010) states, these roles and boundaries dictate appropriate versus inappropriate behavior between a person and family, friends, co-workers, and professionals, ultimately helping society to create a sense of structure and expectations for social interactions. In the counseling field, it is essential for clients to trust the therapist and be able to reveal delicate information about themselves.

Many times when an individual is coming in for therapy the individual is exposed and looking to improve the worth of life. This is the purpose why confidentiality is highly imperative in therapy. Still it is also important for the client to know that confidentiality may be broken in certain circumstances. As mentioned by Harris et al., according to Koocher et al. (2008), despite ethical guidelines, confidentiality creates some of the most challenging and confusing ethical dilemmas. Mental health professional have responsible for informing the client of all of these guidelines.