Ethics in Counseling at a Glance
In the 6th edition, ethics as a construct and as a formal specialty in counseling are more clearly examined. The principles related to the philosophical basis of ethics are introduced: autonomy (respect for people’s self-determination), beneficence (doing good), nonmaleficence (not doing harm), justice (fairness in meeting people’s needs), fidelity (keeping promises), and veracity (truth). Fundamental ethical concepts are explored by using these principles as an evaluative lens.
The book continues to focus on ethical topics, primarily those that guide counseling practice and professional behavior . It also provides a theoretical rationale for ethical codes and guidelines and explores the relationship between them and case law. It discusses the legal and ethical responsibilities of counselor educators and supervisors. It introduces decision making frameworks for handling ethical dilemmas and uses them to organize a review of issues that arise in counseling practice, including clinical practice, working with minors, determining or assigning competency, supervision, research, and school counseling. Additionally, ethical issues in the evaluator and research roles are explored.
Counseling Ethics and the Law
The Legal Considerations in Counseling section of the 6th edition describes key legal considerations that all counselors must be aware of. These include the legal implications of confidentiality and privileged communication, informed consent, diversity and cultural sensitivity, mandatory reporting laws, record keeping practices, conflict of interest, program-based requirements, program evaluation requirements, client rights, and termination of counseling relationships.
The chapter provides guidance on how to begin to think about these issues in counseling so as to best serve clients and take the necessary steps to protect confidentiality and privileged communication. It also provides an overview of how to navigate mandatory reporting issues and fully understand client rights under HIPAA, HITECH, and 42 CFR Part 2.
The new 6th edition also includes several references to how these legal issues may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It explains how the legal requirements for a counselor to stop all communication with a client if they become suicidal or homicidal do not apply to telephone and video counseling, and raises questions about civil liability for therapist suicide.
Ethical and Professional Dilemmas in Counseling
Professional issues refer to the standards or common practices that professional organizations establish, as well as ethical and legal concerns adjusted to fit professional contexts. As counselors work in growing numbers within schools, hospitals, and government settings, they may face pressures from site administrators or organizational policies that create problematic ethics and professional dilemmas. Counselors who conform to organizational policies may encounter boundary violations while counselors who give primacy to larger ethical codes can encounter institutional hostility. Counselors may also lack insight into to the sometimes conflicting roles and responsibilities these multiple positions entail. Guidelines indicate that counselors need to be clear about the relationships among their multiple roles to help them avoid dual relationships. Counselors may also need to consult with supervisors, colleagues, and boards of ethics regarding boundary issues. The following guidelines aim to promote public confidence in the counseling profession through ethical practices regarding professional relationships: Counselors need to be aware of the specific requirements governing their licensures or certifications. Counselors must remain knowledgeable about the limits of their professional competence. Counselors should not accept employment under conditions in which they foresee unethical practices or conflicts of interest. Counselors may be granted authority to act outside the standard scope of their practice as long as the action is justified given their ethical obligations and professional responsibilities. When conflicts between ethics and law occur, counselors may have to act in ways to comply with both. Counselors must continuously weigh the balance between support and challenge, as well as the need to establish clear professional boundaries and manage the inherent emotional risks of counseling.
Boundary issues arise whenever a counselor’s relationships and interactions with clients or other professionals go outside the normal practices. In discussing boundary issues, counselors should focus on the difference between dual relationships, boundary crossings, and boundary violations: Dual relationships are those that exist when two plus roles exist between a mental health professional and a client, to the extent that the former could be exploited in some way to lead to harm. Examples of dual relationships could include when family members of a client are also counseled by the counselor, or when the counselor and client work at the same organization. Boundary crossings are certain kinds of dual relationships that may be benign, such as visiting the home of a client who has a terminal illness. Boundary violations are those that result in exploitation and harm to the client. Performing services outside of the usual bounds of the counselor’s practice. Continuing education, for instance, may be outside of the counselor’s usual field of practice and require supervision.
Cultural Diversity and Counseling Ethics
Addressing Cultural Competence and Ethical Practice in Counseling
A fundamental aspect of ethical practice is the counselor’s competence to work with the unique needs of the culturally diverse communities they seek to serve. Competence has been the cornerstone of ethics education, yet the notion of cultural competence is evolving to meet the needs of the context in which we work. The sixth edition of the American Counseling Association’s (2014) ethical guidelines addresses how counselors will work within their own areas of competence and how they pursue competence with regard to working with clients representing diverse backgrounds.
The existence of ethical and legal issues specific to diverse settings and populations—of course—demands that the professional seek to understand those laws and policies as well as professional ethical (e.g., ACA, APA) standards. This is where cultural competence and ethical practice converge as there are variables associated with different settings and populations including risk factors, milestones, and how to interact with a variety of populations that will impact a person’s ability to develop culturally-appropriate ethical guidelines. Yet, the process of maintaining and increasing one’s competence is also reflective of our own self-awareness. That is, we must be aware of our own need for understanding and growth as we interact with others who come from different backgrounds and may be in different settings. Cultural competence is not a final status, it is a continual iterative process of self-awareness and attending to who we are and what we know, or would like to know; where counseling is likely to take place; and who we will likely encounter as our work continues. Those components are part of ethical practice, that is, they exist because of a moral judgment about what is right (and wrong), or the proper action to take, and what would happen in a given situation. In other words, cultural competence is part of the larger discussion of ethical practice of what to do and not do, and when, and in what ways.
Real-life Applications and Ethical Scenarios in Counseling
The 6th edition includes numerous additions to its this examine the unique complexities found in the modern-day counseling environment. Chronicling both cases and applied theoretical analysis of situations, these scenario-based studies offer a rare glimpse into navigating ethical, legal, and professional issues confronted by counselors in real world situations. Real world case studies have been added to the sixth edition examining situations including: Suicide assessment in and emergency situation detailing the intricacies of suicidological assessments and how they differ while evaluating in client in an emergency setting. Social media and sexual boundaries the emergence of social media has confronted counselors with a plethora of new dilemmas , including sexual exploitation. This case study examines in detail all of the nuanced challenges when it comes to social media across several counseling contexts. Parental involvement and confidentiality child and adolescent counseling present unique challenges, especially when it comes to guardians and parents. This case study details the ethical decision making involved in utilizing parent feedback without violating client confidentiality. Informed consent and group work in a school setting this case study illustrates the importance of informed consent in group therapy across a variety of contexts, from adult therapy to focused groups for adolescent clients.
Recent Developments: New Directions in Ethical Guidelines
The 6th edition of the book includes some recent changes and updates to ethical guidelines that have implications for practicing counselors today. As mentioned previously, the American Counseling Association issued several apologies over the past few years for holding policies that were later deemed discriminatory. One of the epigraphs in the book by Sue et al. mentions this apparent human tendency to revise rules over time rather than completely tearing down the rules and starting over from scratch. With that attitude in mind, the book includes the recently updated ethical guidelines provided by the ACA. Relevant to supervision, the authors write, "This Dual Relationship includes a new obligation for supervisors to train supervisees to foster ethical decision making and best practices related to boundary crossing and dual relationships." This is a topic supervisors and supervisees alike need to be more informed about when it comes to their responsibilities to each other and their clients.
Another recently revised ethical guideline in the 6th edition of Mastering Competencies also relates to boundaries. According to Sue et al., the ACA recently changed its ethical guidelines so that counselors are now required to have a self-monitoring plan for refraining from entering into dual or nonprofessional relationships with clients. The implications here emphasize the importance of recognizing the difference between a dual relationship and a nonprofessional relationship. The first represents a relationship that is not always negative, but can create a potential conflict of interest (sometimes even helping a client other times creating boundaries that are being crossed inappropriately). Nonprofessional relationships often refer to romantic and sexual relationships that should not be taking place between a counselor and a client. Even with a relationship that may benefit a client, like picking up a homeless client to take them for lunch, the ACA now says this is still an example of a dual relationship and must be avoided. It is important for counselors to be aware of these newly clarified boundary requirements in the 6th edition of Mastering Competencies, to avoid having boundaries blurred between themselves and their clients.
The Future of Ethical Questions in Counseling
As noted in the 6th edition, the counseling profession is constantly evolving along with the professions’ understanding of the ethical, legal, and professional issues that counseling is both solving and causing. While ongoing advances in research, technology, and information continue to shape best practices, the profession must also adapt to older ethical issues like HIIPPA, informed consent, and culturally based concerns. But the question then becomes, what next for the field? What issue is going to challenge the profession next and what will ethics’ impact be on the future of counseling? In the 6th edition , Dr. Duane E. Schneider’s final chapter focuses specifically on these changing trends in the field. He discusses the future directions of counseling ethics and provides expert guidance to help counselors understand the many variables and potential solutions. Remaining neutral and fact-based, Schneider develops seven predictions: While all seven predictions are strong, he notes that the one that will demand the most counseling attention in the years ahead is prediction #5: Counseling will continue to be an ethical profession, but issues of sexual misconduct will continue to dominate the ethical/legal dialogue.