Introduction to
Professional Ethics
Chapter One
Codes of Ethics
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General ethics codes are often
supplemented by specialty guidelines that
cover inadequately covered areas of
concern.
Ethics codes are usually broad and general
rather than precise and specific.
Ethics codes are not sufficient for
exercising ethical responsibility.
Ethical Limitations
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Some issues cannot be handled only by
relying on ethics codes.
Codes often lack clarity and precision.
Learning ethical codes does not guarantee
ethical practice.
Consumers may not know if a helper is
behaving unethically.
Ethical Limitations continued
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There are sometimes conflicts within
ethics codes.
All ethical codes are not uniform.
Ethical codes are reactive, not proactive.
Your personal values may conflict with an
ethical code standard.
Codes may conflict with institutional rules.
Ethical Limitations continued
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Ethical codes must be adapted to specific
cultures.
Codes may not align with state laws.
Not all members will agree with all
proposed ideas.
Using Codes of Ethics
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Ethics codes do not remove all need for
judgment and ethical reasoning.
Ethics courses often cover laws, disciplinary
codes, and risk management strategies, but do
not focus on best practices.
The primary purpose of a a code of ethics is to
safeguard the welfare of clients.
The community standard (what professionals
actually do) is generally less rigorous than the
ethical standard (what professionals should do).
Objective of Ethical Codes
(Herlihy & Corey, 2006)
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Educate professionals about sound ethical
conduct.
Provide a mechanism for professional
accountability.
Serve as catalysts for improving practice.
Ethical Codes & the Law
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Ethics: the standards that govern the conduct
of its professional members.
Law: the body of rules that govern the affairs
of people within a community, state, or country.
Every code of ethics state that professionals
must act in accordance with relevant federal and
state statutes and government regulations.
Determining IF a Legal Issue is
Involved
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Determine if legal proceedings have been
initiated.
Determine if lawyers are involved.
Determine if the practitioner is in danger
of having a complaint filed against him or
her for misconduct (Remley & Herlihy,
2005).
Ethics Codes and the Law
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Laws and ethics codes are usually put into
place based on what has occurred rather
than being enacted due to what might
occur in the future.
Common places for conflicts between
ethics codes and the law include:
advertising, confidentiality, counseling
minors, and clients’ rights of access to
their own files.
HIV and “The Duty to Warn”
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The ACA’s standard concerning contagious, lifethreatening diseases indicates that practitioners
MAY be justified in reporting to an identifiable
third party, “under certain circumstances.”
Utah’s state statute seems to encourage such
warning.
However, in CA, this ACA standard could conflict
with state law and thus place the individual who
shares this information at risk for fines, civil
penalties, incarceration, and loss of license.
Evolution of Ethics Codes
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Codes are revised periodically.
It was 10 years between the latest revisions for
the ACA and the APA.
Some professional organizations also provide
casebooks which interpret and explain various
ethical standards found in the code.
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These casebooks can never replace the informed
judgment and goodwill of the individual counselor.
Emerging Issues
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Cultural considerations and a continued
emphasis on the role of diversity in
counseling practice.
The influence of technology on
counseling.
Proactively addressing the impaired
professional.
Professional Monitoring of
Practice
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Counselors must sometimes explain to
clients how to lodge an ethical complaint.
Practitioners who are expelled from the
association may also face the loss of their
license or certificate to practice.
Cases that result in expulsion are often
serious enough to involve law enforcement
and criminal charges.
The Stages of an Ethical
Complaint
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(1) The committee launches an investigation and
deliberates on the case.
(2) A disposition is reached.
(3) The complaint may be dismissed.
(4) Specific charges within the complaint may be
dismissed.
(5) The committee may find that ethical
standards have been violated and impose
sanctions.
Types of Sanctions
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Reprimand
Probation or suspension for a specified period of
time
A recommendation that the member be allowed
to resign from the organization
A recommendation that the member be expelled
A recommendation that a specific course of
remedial action be taken.
Key Terms in Ethical Decision
Making
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Values: beliefs and attitudes that provide
direction to everyday living.
Ethics: beliefs we hold about what constitutes
right conduct.
Morality: concerned with perspectives of right
and proper conduct and involves an evaluation
of actions on the basis of some broader cultural
context or religious standard.
Key Terms continued
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Community Standards: mores that vary on
an interdisciplinary, theoretical, and geographical
basis.
Reasonableness: the care that is ordinarily
exercised by others practicing within that
specialty in the professional community.
 Courts have consistently found that mental
health care providers have a duty to exercise
a reasonable degree of skill, knowledge, and
care.
Key Terms continued
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Professionalism: behaving in a
professional manner with clients, other
professionals in the field, and whoever
else one comes into contact with.
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It is possible to act unprofessionally and still
not act unethically (such as not returning a
client’s phone calls promptly, provided it is not
a crisis).
Levels of Ethical Practice
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Mandatory Ethics: a level of ethical
functioning wherein counselors act in compliance
with minimal standards, acknowledging the basic
“musts” and “must nots.”
Aspirational Ethics: the highest standards of
thinking and conduct professional counselors
seek, and it requires that counselors do more
than simply meet the letter of the ethics code.
Levels of Ethical Practice
continued
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Those practicing aspirational ethics think about
the effects their interventions may have on the
welfare of their clients.
When we hear the term “unethical,” we often
think of extreme violations, but in reality, most
violations of ethics probably happen
inadvertently.
Professional literature has not offered much help
in dealing with minor infractions committed by
professionals.
Principle Ethics & Virtue Ethics
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Principle Ethics: a set of obligations and a
method that focuses on moral issues with the
goals of (a) solving a particular dilemma or set
of dilemmas and (b) establishing a framework to
guide future ethical thinking and behavior.
Virtue Ethics: focuses on the character traits
of the counselor and nonobligatory ideals to
which professionals aspire rather than on solving
specific ethical issues.
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Professional counselors should strive to incorporate
both types of ethics.
Core Virtues in Making Ethical
Decisions
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Prudence
Integrity
Respectfulness
Benevolence
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(Meara and colleagues, 1996)
Five Characteristics of
VIRTUOUS professionals
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They do what is right because it is right, not out
of obligation or fear.
They rely on vision and discernment
They have compassion and sensitivity.
They are self-aware.
They are in touch with their community and
understand the importance of community in
moral decision making, policy setting, and
character development.
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(Meara and colleagues, 1996)
Moral Principles to Guide
Decision Making
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Autonomy
Nonmaleficence
Beneficence
Justice
Fidelity
Veracity
Autonomy
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Autonomy: the promotion of selfdetermination, or the freedom of clients to
choose their own direction.
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Helping services are based on Western values
that value individualism.
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Ethical practice involves considering the influence
of cultural variables in the counseling relationship.
Nonmaleficence & Beneficence
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Nonmaleficence: avoiding doing harm, which
includes refraining from actions that risk hurting
clients.
 Behaviors that we often assign diagnostic
labels to, such as inhibition of emotional
expression, hesitation to confront, being
cautious about self-disclosing, or not making
direct eye contact while speaking, may be
considered NORMAL in other cultures.
Beneficence: promoting good for others.
Justice, Fidelity, & Veracity
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Justice: to be fair by giving equally to
others.
Fidelity: means that professionals make
promises and keep these promises.
Veracity: truthfulness.
Steps in Making Ethical
Decisions (Hill et.al, 1995)
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Recognizing a problem
Defining the problem (collaboration with client is
essential at this stage)
Developing solutions (with client)
Choosing a solution
Reviewing the process (with client) and
rechoosing
Implementing and evaluating (with client)
Continuing reflection
Ethical Decision Making Steps
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Identify the problem or dilemma.
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Consultation with your client begins here and
continues throughout the process of working
toward an ethical decision.
Identify the potential issues involved.
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Evaluate the rights, responsibilities, and
welfare of all those who are affected by the
situation.
If possible, involve the client in identifying
potential issues in the situation.
Ethical Decision Making Steps
continued
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Review the relevant ethics codes.
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Consider whether your own values and ethics are
consistent with, or in conflict with, the relevant codes.
Know the applicable laws and regulations.
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This is especially critical in matters of keeping or
breaching confidentiality, reporting child or elder
abuse, dealing with issues pertaining to danger to self
or others, parental rights, record keeping,
assessment, diagnosis, licensing statutes, and the
grounds for malpractice.
Ethical Decision Making Steps
continued
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Obtain consultation.
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Do not limit the individuals with whom you
consult to those who share your viewpoint.
Seeking consultation can protect you in court.
Consider possible and probable courses of
action.
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By listing a wide variety of courses of action,
you may identify a possibility that is
unorthodox but useful.
Ethical Decision Making Steps
continued
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Enumerate the consequences of various
decisions.
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Consider the potential risks and benefits of each
approach.
Decide on what appears to be the best course of
action.
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The more obvious the dilemma, the clearer is the
course of action.
The more subtle the dilemma, the more difficult the
decision will be.
Deciding on the Best Course of
Action continued
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Try not to second-guess your course of action.
Hindsight does not invalidate the decision you
made based on the information you had at
the time.
Deciding on the Best Course of
Action continued
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Evaluate your course of action by asking these
questions:
 How does my action fit with my profession’s code
of ethics?
 To what degree does the action taken consider the
cultural values and experiences of the client?
 How have my own values been affirmed or
challenged?
 How might others evaluate my action?
 What did I learn from dealing with this ethical
dilemma?
Models of Ethical Decision
Making
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Feminist Model: calls for maximum
involvement of the client at every stage of the
process and believes that power should be
equalized in the therapeutic relationship.
Social Constructionist Model: focuses
primarily on the social aspects of decision
making in counseling.
Transcultural Integrative Model: addresses
the need for including cultural factors in the
process of resolving ethical dilemmas.
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Dealing with Suspected
Unethical Behavior of
Colleagues
Most professional organizations have specific
ethical standards that clearly place the
responsibility for confronting recognized
violations squarely on members of their
profession.
Ignoring an ethical violation is considered to be
a violation in itself.
It is usually best to tell a colleague directly when
you have concerns about his/her behavior.
Dealing with Suspected Unethical
Behavior of Colleagues

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Most professional organizations have specific
ethical standards that clearly place the
responsibility for confronting recognized
violations squarely on members of their
profession.
Ignoring an ethical violation is considered to be
a violation in itself.
It is usually best to tell a colleague directly when
you have concerns about his/her behavior.