American Counseling Association Code Of Ethics
The American Counseling Association provides a Code of Ethics (2014) that clearly establishes a set of ethical obligations that ACA members must follow. The Code also guides professional counselors and counselors-in-training to ethical practices and strengthens professional counselor identity. Through this Code, the ACA clarifies its current and prospective members’ ethical responsibilities and informs those who are served by the ACA members. ACA members using the Code’s ethical decision-making guide develop ethical courses of action when faced with dilemmas.
There are many different kinds of ethical dilemmas inherent in counseling. One of them occurs when a counselor’s personal values conflict with the Code of Ethics (2014). At least two …show more content…
Augusta State University (2011), a graduate student was dismissed from her master’s program in counseling after refusing to complete a remediation plan that would help her to separate her religious beliefs about sexuality morality from her professional and ethical counseling obligations (Remley & Herlily, 2016). Furthermore, the remediation plan was designed specifically to address the student’s previously stated desire to impose her own religious and moral values and beliefs on LGBT clients. In 2012, a federal judge in a United States District Court determined that ASU did not violate the student’s rights in their remediation plan or in their dismissal of her (Elliott, 2011). Recently, legislation has been enacted in at least one state (Arizona) which asserts that universities cannot discipline or discriminate against a counseling or other mental healthcare program student if the student’s religious beliefs conflict with the client’s counseling goals, thus, precluding the student from treating the client (Remley & Herlily, …show more content…
The authors particularly recognize the ethical dilemma of value-based conflict in counseling. Francis and Dugger (2014) note that value conflicts are not new in counseling, but that some issues are more recent than others. They suggest that when a counselor is faced with a value conflict, she should think of the potential harm that could befall the client if the counselor imposed her values and beliefs on the client. Because client-centered therapy requires a counselor to have unconditional positive regard, it is hoped that this will convince the counselor to follow the ACA’s ethical guidelines. The following articles discussed are from the “special section” mentioned
There are many different kinds of ethical dilemmas inherent in counseling. One of them occurs when a counselor’s personal values conflict with the Code of Ethics (2014). At least two …show more content…
Augusta State University (2011), a graduate student was dismissed from her master’s program in counseling after refusing to complete a remediation plan that would help her to separate her religious beliefs about sexuality morality from her professional and ethical counseling obligations (Remley & Herlily, 2016). Furthermore, the remediation plan was designed specifically to address the student’s previously stated desire to impose her own religious and moral values and beliefs on LGBT clients. In 2012, a federal judge in a United States District Court determined that ASU did not violate the student’s rights in their remediation plan or in their dismissal of her (Elliott, 2011). Recently, legislation has been enacted in at least one state (Arizona) which asserts that universities cannot discipline or discriminate against a counseling or other mental healthcare program student if the student’s religious beliefs conflict with the client’s counseling goals, thus, precluding the student from treating the client (Remley & Herlily, …show more content…
The authors particularly recognize the ethical dilemma of value-based conflict in counseling. Francis and Dugger (2014) note that value conflicts are not new in counseling, but that some issues are more recent than others. They suggest that when a counselor is faced with a value conflict, she should think of the potential harm that could befall the client if the counselor imposed her values and beliefs on the client. Because client-centered therapy requires a counselor to have unconditional positive regard, it is hoped that this will convince the counselor to follow the ACA’s ethical guidelines. The following articles discussed are from the “special section” mentioned