ETHICS

Introduction to Professional Ethics

Table of Contents

Ethical codes1

Difference between law and ethics2

Steps in ethical decision making2

APA ethics code and the addictions counseling3

Unethical behavior of colleagues4

References5

Introduction to Professional Ethics

Ethical codes

Code of ethics provides guidelines for the mental health practitioners. They meant to promote the welfare of consumers and provide a clear and professional stance of the organization. Different organizations develop their own codes of ethics. Most of these organizations have broad and general instead of precise and specific. The purpose of following the code of ethics is to translate it into the professional behavior. The ethics code improves the performance of the health practitioners and prevents them from exploiting their clients (Corey & Callanan, 2010).

The ethics code is updated periodically. The latest ethics codes American Counseling Association (ACA) (2005) and APA (2002) are an updated version of the ethics code followed ten years back. In order to enrich the ethics code, many organizations also issue casebooks that serve as a reference for ethical standards that form part of the ethics code. Examples of such casebook include A Guide to the 2002 Revision of the American Psychological Association's Ethics Code and The Social Work Ethics Casebook: Cases and Commentary (Corey & Callanan, 2010). It is important to note here that although ethical codes are updated on a periodic basis, to address the few found ethical dilemmas faced by mental health practitioners, none of these codes provides readymade answers to a situation faced by a mental health practitioner (Toriello & Benshoff, 2003). The best practice for the health practitioner, when following the ethics code, is to use his own judgment.

Every updated version of ethics code contains cultural considerations and a places a continued emphasis on the role of diversity in counseling practice (Corey & Callanan, 2010). Moreover, the updated versions of ethics code try to include the impact of technological advancements on counseling and how they relate to impaired professionals. The codes of ethics have to be updated in order to ensure that counselors have latest ethics code, that meets all their needs and the needs of the customers they cater to. Moreover, the ethics code tend to give more importance to laws, regulations and risk management practices and give less weightage to best practices. The upcoming version of ethics code should address this. The ethics code has been updated in the years 1993, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Difference between law and ...