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Ethical Codes

Ethical issues are often complicated and multifaceted and can be challenging for counselors if they attempt to create simple solutions when dealing with difficult issues. Many ethical issues are gray, not black and white, and it is common for biases and personal values, beliefs, and morality to enter the decision-making process. As a result, ethical codes are designed to provide guidelines and general standards for counselors to deal with a variety of ethical issues and situations.

Ethical issues are regulated by laws and ethical codes. However, most people do not understand the inherent difference between the two. Law is a set of rules established by governments, and it defines the minimum standards that people in society tolerate. Ethics, on the other hand, is a set of ideal standards established by a profession as moral principles that members should adopt as a guide for conduct. As a result, ethical codes are generally broad instead of precise and specific. In addition, ethical codes are edited frequently due to the emergence of new issues or the clarification of old ones. For instance, more clients seek counseling using technology than was the case decades ago; thus, there is a need to address potential issues that might occur when integrating technology into counseling. No clear-cut lines separate ethics and laws; hence, counselors often make ethical decisions based on their maturity, philosophy, experience, and knowledge.

Ethical Codes in the Counseling Profession

The first American Counseling Association (ACA) ethics code was established in 1961, and revisions were made during 1974, 1981, 1988, 1995, and 2005. The first version of the Code of Ethics for Marriage Counselors was developed in 1962, and the eighth revision was published in 1991. The ACA code of ethics is the most well known and practiced by counselors.

Moral Principles in Making Ethical Decisions

The primary reason for counselors to follow an ethical code is to protect clients' welfare, and the following six basic moral principles are priority guidelines designed to help them make most appropriate decisions. Autonomy refers to counselors allowing clients to make their own decisions, with the therapist respecting any choices made. Nonmaleficence means doing no harm, and counselors should strive at all times to avoid hurting clients, even when intentions are worthy. Beneficence means counselors doing what is good for clients. Justice means counselors providing equal treatment to all individuals, regardless of their background, age, gender, religion, ethnicity, etc. Fidelity means counselors making honest promises and honoring their commitments to their clients. Veracity refers to being truthful.

Ethical codes are not blueprints, and therapists will likely be challenged during an ethics application process. It is essential for mental health professionals to understand that potential problems exist and are encountered when counseling ethically. For instance, (a) some issues cannot be handled by simply checking ethical codes, (b) some codes are opaque and difficult to follow, (c) at times, conflict exists within ethical codes as well as among the codes of other organizations, (d) ethical codes are more likely to be reactive than proactive, and (e) conflicts may arise between institutional policies and practices.

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