Ethical Issues in Counseling

ETHICS “A way of thinking about becoming the best practitioner possible.”

Mandatory ethics – deals with the minimum level of

professional practice

Aspirational ethics – higher level of ethics that

addresses doing what is in the best interest of clients

Positive ethics – approach taken by practitioners who

want to do the best for their clients
Putting your
CLIENTS
needs over
your own
“WHOSE NEEDS ARE
BEING MET IN THIS
R E L A T I O N S H I P, M Y
CLIENT’S OR MY OWN?”
Ethical Decision Making

ROLE OF ETHICS CODES

Educate Basis for Protect the clients Provide a basis for

practitioners about accountability from unethical reflecting on and
the responsibilities practices improving your
of the profession professional
practice
PAP CODE OF ETHICS
• RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY OF PERSONS AND PEOPLES
➢ Recognizes the inherent worth of all human beings despite differences
➢ Free informed consent, privacy, confidentiality, fairness

• COMPETENT CARING FOR THE WELL-BEING OF PERSONS AND

PEOPLES
➢ Working for their benefit and, above all, doing no harm
➢ maximizing benefits and minimizing potential harm , correcting harmful effects

• INTEGRITY
➢ Based on honesty, and on truthful, open and accurate communications
➢ avoiding conflicts of interest and declaring them when they cannot be avoided or
are inappropriate to avoid
PAP CODE OF ETHICS

• PROFESSIONAL AND SCIENTIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES TO

SOCIETY
➢Contributing to the knowledge about human behavior and to persons’
understanding of themselves and others and using such knowledge to improve
the condition of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society.

➢They also include conducting its affairs within society in accordance with the
highest ethical standards and encouraging the development of social structures
and policies that benefit all persons and peoples.
 • Confidentiality

• Informed consent

• Client’s well-being

• Relationships

Therapy • Record keeping

• Competent practice

• Working with young people

• Interruption

• Termination
Dimensions of Confidentiality
• Confidentiality – legal duty of therapist to not disclose information about a
client (Ethical concept)

• Privileged communication – bars the disclosure of confidential communications

in a legal proceeding (Legal concept)

Minor client is a victim of incest, rape, abuse, or other crimes

When the client needs hospitalization

When information is made an issue in a court action

The Right of Informed Consent
Client’s well-being
Relationships
 Dual or Multiple
Relationships
• When a therapist assumes two or more roles
simultaneously or sequentially with client

• Sexual or nonsexual relationships

❖MAINTAIN PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES

➢ Boundary crossing –departure from a
commonly accepted practice that could
potentially benefit client

➢ Boundary violation – serious breach that harms

the client and is unethical
 Record Keeping

We keep appropriate records

with our clients and protect
them from unauthorized
disclosure unless regulated by
the court.
Competent
Practice
Working with Young People

• We assess and ensure the balance between young people’s

dependence on adults and carers and their capacity for acting
independently. We carefully consider the issues of young
people such as capacity to give consent, confidentiality issues
and receiving of service independent of the parents and legal
guardian’s responsibility.
Referrals
 We assume orderly and
appropriate resolution of
responsibility for our client in
instances when our therapy
services are terminated.

Interruption
Termination
Thank you! ☺