Ethical Consideration of Guidance and Counseling

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY INS Form 01A


DAANBANTAYAN CAMPUS May 16, 2005
Agujo, Daanbatayan, Cebu Revision 2
(SUC Level IV, AACCUP Accredited and ISO 9001 Certified) Page 1 of 8 pages

http://daanbantayanwww.ctu.edu.ph email: [email protected]


Tel. No. (032) 437-8526 Fax No. (032) 437-8523

Name: ________________ Date: ________________


Program: _______ Term: ________________
Course: _______________________________ Professor: ________________

Learning Element
In
Ethical Consideration of Guidance and Counseling

1. Objectives:
1.1 Ensuring the integrity of practitioner-client relationships;
1.2 Enhancing the quality of professional knowledge and its application; and
1.3 Fostering a sense of self that is meaningful to the person/s concerned.

2. Documentation:
2.1 http://ethics.iit.edu/ecodes/node/5132
2.2 https://counseling.education.wm.edu/blog/ethics-in-counseling#:~:text=Beneficence%3A
%20Mental%20health%20and%20well,professional%20commitments%2C%20promises
%20and%20responsibilities
2.3 https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/ethical-decision-making-process/

3. Content Outline:
3.1 Ethical Consideration of Guidance and Counseling
3.1.1 Ethical Principles
3.1.1.1 The Counseling Relationship
3.1.1.2.Confidentiality and Privacy
3.1.1.3 Professional Responsibility
3.1.1.4 Relationships With Other Professionals
3.1.1.5 Evaluation, Assessment and Interpretation
3.1.1.6 Supervision, Training and Teaching
3.1.1.7 Research and Publication
3.1.1.8 Distance Counseling, Technology and Social Media
3.1.1.9 Resolving Ethical Issues
3.1.2 Ethical Dilemma
3.1.2.1 Autonomy
3.1.2.2 Non-maleficence
3.1.2.3 Beneficence
3.1.2.4 Justice
3.1.2.5 Fidelity
3.1.3 The Ethical Decision-Making Model
3.1.3.1. Identify the problem.
3.1.3.2. Apply the ACA Code of Ethics.
3.1.3.3. Determine the nature and dimensions of the dilemma.
3.1.3.4. Generate potential courses of action.
3.1.3.5. Consider the potential consequences of all options and determine
a course of action.
3.1.3.6. Evaluate the selected course of action.
3.1.3.7. Implement the course of action.

4. Report Proper:

a. Introduction:

Counseling is an art and science.


It’s a short term, interpersonal,
theory based, helping
profession. Its aim is to resolve
developmental and situational
difficulties. Counseling
helps to bring change in life:
Change in thought; Change in
emotion; and Change in
behavior. Both the American
Counseling Association (ACA)
and Division 17
(Counseling Psychology) of the
American Psychological
Association (APA) have
defined counseling on
numerous occasions. Their
definitions contain a number of
common points, some of which
follow.
Counseling is a profession.
Practitioners should complete a
prescribed course of study
usually leading to a master’s
degree or a doctorate degree.
Counselors are members of
organizations that set
professional and ethical
standards and promote state
licensing
and certification by national
associations (Wittmer & Loesch,
1986). The process of
certification and licensing and the
adherence to ethical codes assure
the public that the
counselor meets minimal
educational and professional
standards. Counselors should
possess personal qualities of
maturity, empathy, and warmth.
Overall, counseling is
active and differs considerably
from passively listening to
problems.
Counseling deals with personal,
social, vocational,
empowerment, and educational
concerns. Counselors work only
in areas in which they have
expertise. These areas
may include intra- and
interpersonal concerns related to
school or college adjustment,
psychological health, aging,
marriage/ family issues,
employment, and rehabilitation.
Counseling is conducted with
persons who are considered to
function within the
“normal range”. Clients have
adjustment, development, or
situational concerns; and
their problems require short-
term intervention. They are not
considered “sick” but
“stuck”. Sometimes they just need
information, but usually they are
looking for a way
to clarify and use the
information they already
possess. Counseling is theory-
based
and takes place in a structured
setting. Counselors draw from a
number of theories
and work in a structured
environment, such as an office
setting, with various
individuals, groups and families.
Counseling is a process in which
clients learn how to make
decisions and formulate
new ways of behaving, feeling,
and thinking. Counselors focus
on the goals their
clients wish to achieve. Clients
explore their present levels of
functioning and the
changes that must be made to
achieve personal objectives. Thus,
counseling involves
both choice and change,
evolving through distinct stages
such as exploration, goal
setting, and action (Brammer,
1993; Egan, 1990).
Counseling encompasses various
subspecialties. Subspecialties
include school or
college counseling, marriage and
family counseling, psychological
health counseling,
Essentials of Counseling
23
gerontological counseling,
rehabilitation counseling,
addiction counseling, and career
counseling. Each has specific
educational and experimental
requirements for the
practitioners.
Thus, counseling can be more
precisely defined as relatively
short-term, interpersonal,
theory-based processes of
helping persons who are basically
psychologically healthy
resolve developmental and
situational problems. Counseling
activities are guided by
ethical and legal standards and
go through distinct stages from
initiation to
termination. Personal, social,
vocational, and educational
matters are all areas of
concern; and the profession
encompasses a number of
subspecialties. A practitioner
must complete a required course
of study on either the master’s or
doctoral level.
Important goals of counseling are
as: Facilitating behavioral change;
Enhancing one’s
coping skill; Promoting
decision making; Improving
relationships; and Facilitating
one’s potentials.
Facilitating Behavior Change:
Rogers (1961) stated that
behavior changes as a
necessary result of counseling
process; although specific
behaviors receive little
emphasis during the counseling
experience. Dustin and George
(1971), on the other
hand, suggest that the counselor
must establish specific
counseling goals. Almost all
theorists agree to bring about a
change in behavior enabling the
client to live a more
productive and satisfying life.
They believe that the specific
goals make both
understand the specific change.
Enhancing Coping Skills: Few
people completely achieve
developmental tasks.
Inconsistency of significant others
can result in ineffective learning
in children. New
interpersonal or occupational
role demands may create an
overload and excessive
anxiety. Counselor helps
individuals to cope effectively.
Promoting Decision Making:
Counselor just promotes not
makes decisions.
Counselor provides information,
clarifies and sorts out personal
characteristics and
emotions, and even attitudes
affecting decision making. The
client learns to estimate
the probable consequences in
personal sacrifice, time, energy,
money, risk, and the
like.
Improving Relationships: Many
people have problems relating to
others as much of
our life is spent in social
interactions. Bowlby’s attachment
theory states that children
of insecure and rejecting
parents establish their adult
relationships differently than
those of secure and
understanding parents. This
problem can be due to “poor
self
image”, “unstable self-esteem”,
or “inadequate social skills”.
Counselor strives to
helps improve quality of
relationships. Sometimes
counselor improves relationships
by improving client counselor
relationship.
Counseling is an art and science.
It’s a short term, interpersonal,
theory based, helping
profession. Its aim is to resolve
developmental and situational
difficulties. Counseling
helps to bring change in life:
Change in thought; Change in
emotion; and Change in
behavior. Both the American
Counseling Association (ACA)
and Division 17
(Counseling Psychology) of the
American Psychological
Association (APA) have
defined counseling on
numerous occasions. Their
definitions contain a number of
common points, some of which
follow.
Counseling is a profession.
Practitioners should complete a
prescribed course of study
usually leading to a master’s
degree or a doctorate degree.
Counselors are members of
organizations that set
professional and ethical
standards and promote state
licensing
and certification by national
associations (Wittmer & Loesch,
1986). The process of
certification and licensing and the
adherence to ethical codes assure
the public that the
counselor meets minimal
educational and professional
standards. Counselors should
possess personal qualities of
maturity, empathy, and warmth.
Overall, counseling is
active and differs considerably
from passively listening to
problems.
Counseling deals with personal,
social, vocational,
empowerment, and educational
concerns. Counselors work only
in areas in which they have
expertise. These areas
may include intra- and
interpersonal concerns related to
school or college adjustment,
psychological health, aging,
marriage/ family issues,
employment, and rehabilitation.
Counseling is conducted with
persons who are considered to
function within the
“normal range”. Clients have
adjustment, development, or
situational concerns; and
their problems require short-
term intervention. They are not
considered “sick” but
“stuck”. Sometimes they just need
information, but usually they are
looking for a way
to clarify and use the
information they already
possess. Counseling is theory-
based
and takes place in a structured
setting. Counselors draw from a
number of theories
and work in a structured
environment, such as an office
setting, with various
individuals, groups and families.
Counseling is a process in which
clients learn how to make
decisions and formulate
new ways of behaving, feeling,
and thinking. Counselors focus
on the goals their
clients wish to achieve. Clients
explore their present levels of
functioning and the
changes that must be made to
achieve personal objectives. Thus,
counseling involves
both choice and change,
evolving through distinct stages
such as exploration, goal
setting, and action (Brammer,
1993; Egan, 1990).
Counseling encompasses various
subspecialties. Subspecialties
include school or
college counseling, marriage and
family counseling, psychological
health counseling,
Essentials of Counseling
23
gerontological counseling,
rehabilitation counseling,
addiction counseling, and career
counseling. Each has specific
educational and experimental
requirements for the
practitioners.
Thus, counseling can be more
precisely defined as relatively
short-term, interpersonal,
theory-based processes of
helping persons who are basically
psychologically healthy
resolve developmental and
situational problems. Counseling
activities are guided by
ethical and legal standards and
go through distinct stages from
initiation to
termination. Personal, social,
vocational, and educational
matters are all areas of
concern; and the profession
encompasses a number of
subspecialties. A practitioner
must complete a required course
of study on either the master’s or
doctoral level.
Important goals of counseling are
as: Facilitating behavioral change;
Enhancing one’s
coping skill; Promoting
decision making; Improving
relationships; and Facilitating
one’s potentials.
Facilitating Behavior Change:
Rogers (1961) stated that
behavior changes as a
necessary result of counseling
process; although specific
behaviors receive little
emphasis during the counseling
experience. Dustin and George
(1971), on the other
hand, suggest that the counselor
must establish specific
counseling goals. Almost all
theorists agree to bring about a
change in behavior enabling the
client to live a more
productive and satisfying life.
They believe that the specific
goals make both
understand the specific change.
Enhancing Coping Skills: Few
people completely achieve
developmental tasks.
Inconsistency of significant others
can result in ineffective learning
in children. New
interpersonal or occupational
role demands may create an
overload and excessive
anxiety. Counselor helps
individuals to cope effectively.
Promoting Decision Making:
Counselor just promotes not
makes decisions.
Counselor provides information,
clarifies and sorts out personal
characteristics and
emotions, and even attitudes
affecting decision making. The
client learns to estimate
the probable consequences in
personal sacrifice, time, energy,
money, risk, and the
like.
Improving Relationships: Many
people have problems relating to
others as much of
our life is spent in social
interactions. Bowlby’s attachment
theory states that children
of insecure and rejecting
parents establish their adult
relationships differently than
those of secure and
understanding parents. This
problem can be due to “poor
self
image”, “unstable self-esteem”,
or “inadequate social skills”.
Counselor strives to
helps improve quality of
relationships. Sometimes
counselor improves relationships
by improving client counselor
relationship.
Ethical issues arise often in the world of counselling. There are various
issues regarding ethical concerns, such as confidentiality, client referrals, online
therapy or face to face counselling, gift-receiving, and more. There are various
perceptions and decisions to refer clients. According to the research, cognitive
developmental positions have to be considered when considering student
counsellors’ perceptions of ethical decision regarding client referral. Ethical
fluency is also important because it is about the counsellors’ knowledge
regarding ethics and how quick they react ethically towards ethical dilemmas.
Their ethical fluency is determined by their supervisors. For schools, principals
and counsellors have distinct paradigms when it comes to their job scope.
Counsellors are bound by codes of ethics, but not principals. Hence, there may
be a conflict between counsellors and principals of schools. To decrease moral
conflicts, Schools use prefacing scripts when conducting counselling. Ethical
challenges increase with in-home counsellors as compared to casual
counsellors. In terms of culture, dual relationship is one of the ethical issues in
counselling. Ethical issues are still a challenge among counsellors in the
Philippines. It is harder to avoid dual relationship due to culture, which is
interpersonal mutuality, and Face, which is reputation. They do not want to hurt
clients’ feelings and thus receive their gifts. When comparing face-to-face
counselling versus online therapy, the application of online-therapy during
counselling session poses ethical concerns among counsellors although it is
more convenient and flexible in terms of accommodation and schedule.
b. Report Proper:

Keeping a Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics outlines various ethical scenarios for counselors and offers
guidelines for navigating ethical dilemmas in counseling.  The following
guidelines can help you assess how to appropriately and effectively serve your
clients and your profession.

The Counseling Relationship: Counselors must keep the welfare of the client in


mind and establish boundaries that make the client-counselor relationship clear.
This means that clients need to understand the counseling process and have
clearly established counseling goals. Records should be safeguarded and
recorded in an accurate and timely manner. Professional boundaries should
always be maintained, and a romantic or sexual relationship should never occur
between counselors and clients. Session fees should be affordable for the client,
and they should be made clear from the start.

Confidentiality and Privacy: Counselors need to safeguard the individual rights


and privacy of their clients. Trust is the cornerstone of the counseling
relationship, and counselors are responsible for maintaining a trustworthy
partnership. Clients should be made aware if information about them has to be
shared with others outside the counseling relationship, and only essential
information should ever be revealed to outside parties. Counselors are required
to disclose client behaviors that indicate the potential for self-harm or harm to
others. Lastly, if sessions are to be recorded or observed, counselors must first
get the permission of their client.

Professional Responsibility: All counseling practices and treatments should be


grounded in research and accepted practice. The ACA also encourages
counselors to offer pro bono work as a part of their professional activity. In order
to stay abreast of the practice, counselors must understand the need for
continued education and maintain awareness of changing practices and
procedures in the field.

Relationships With Other Professionals: How professional counselors interact


with their peers will influence what services their clients have access to.
Counselors must strive to provide clients with the most comprehensive clinical
and support service available, which means that they should have a basic
knowledge of which additional services are available locally. All positive working
relationships with colleagues should be grounded in respect, even if professional
approaches differ.

Evaluation, Assessment and Interpretation: Without an accurate assessment


of a client’s presenting situation, the individual may not receive appropriate
treatment. Professional counselors must understand the context of the client’s
beliefs, behaviors and cultural background. In giving a diagnosis, counselors
must carefully consider whether the associated treatment and potential outcomes
will do more harm than good to the client.

Supervision, Training and Teaching: Whether you are a counseling student or


instructor, boundaries within your professional relationships are also important to
ethical counseling behavior. Supervisors must maintain a professional
relationship with their students, whether sessions are electronic or face-to-face.
Teachers and supervisors must aim to be fair, honest and accurate when
assessing students or supervisees. Counselor educators and supervisors must
apply pedagogically sound instructional models. In addition, counseling
educators should actively work to recruit and retain a diverse body of students in
support of a commitment to improve diversity in the counseling field.

Research and Publication: Benefits to clients will only be realized if important


research advancements in the field of counseling are shared with practitioners.
Professionals have an ethical obligation to contribute to that knowledge base
whenever possible and to keep aware of its current advancements.

Distance Counseling, Technology and Social Media: Current trends in


technology have changed the field, and today, face-to-face interaction isn’t
always necessary. While distance counseling has removed roadblocks to
counseling services for some, it also comes with new and evolving ethical
considerations. Counselors have to understand new platforms and resources in
order to determine whether they will better serve their clients. These new service
delivery formats also bring increased concerns for confidentiality and privacy that
professionals should be mindful of. And it may seem obvious, but confidential
information should never be shared on social media.

Resolving Ethical Issues: Ethical dilemmas must never be ignored, for the


good of the client, the counselor and, ultimately, the profession itself. Not only
should professional counselors follow a strict personal code of ethics in their
work, they should also hold peers accountable to high ethical standards. The
best practice is always to be proactive and take action, and, if necessary,
cooperate with any investigations into wrongdoing.

Facing an Ethical Dilemma

When challenges arise, the way forward may not immediately be clear. Start by
separating facts from assumptions, bias, hypotheses or suspicions. Determine if
the problem is an ethical, professional, clinical or legal problem (or a
combination). Consult with other professional counselors to get input on resolving
the situation.

Remember, your action or inaction in any situation involving ethics will impact all
parties involved, so let the foundational principles of counseling guide your
decisions:

 Autonomy: Counselors should encourage and enable clients to take


control of the direction of their own lives wherever possible

Respect for Autonomy


The freedom of clients to choose their own direction – respecting that the
client has the ability to make choices free from the constraints of others
(Welfel, 1998; Corey, Corey and Callanan, 2007). The role of the
counsellor is to acknowledge client autonomy and to respect this right.
An autonomous action is one that cannot interfere with the autonomy of
another. An individual is to be aware of the choice taken and the
effect/consequences it has on others (Welfel, 1998).

Limitations to client autonomy apply to those clients who are currently


unable to understand the repercussions of their action – for example
children and mental health patients (Welfel, 1998).

 Nonmaleficence: Counselors’ chosen action or inaction should never


intentionally cause harm

Non-maleficence
This term means to do no harm. It is a concept derived from the medical
profession. Autonomy relates to the individual client, non-maleficence
refers to the abilities of the counsellor. Counsellors have a responsibility to
avoid utilising interventions that could or have the potential to harm clients
(Welfel, 1998; Corey et al., 2007).

In practice counsellors are expected to undertake thorough evaluation of


the client’s concerns and apply appropriately determined and explained
interventions.

 Beneficence: Mental health and well-being should be a priority for the


good of the individual and for society more broadly

Beneficence
Considered the responsibility to do good and to contribute to the welfare of
the client (Forester-Miller and Davis 1996). The counsellor is expected to
do the best for the client and if unable to assist, to offer alternatives as
appropriate.

Welfel (1998, p36) also asserts that beneficence ‘requires that counselors
engage in professional activities that provide general benefit to the public.’

 Justice: Counselors should treat all people fairly and equitably

Justice
Justice means to act in a fair or just manner. It is expected that
counsellors will act in a non-discriminatory manner to individuals or
groups. Forester-Miller and Davis (1996) suggest that although justice
instructs counsellors to act fairly it does not mean treating all individuals
the same rather it relates to equity. It is the counsellor’s ability to
acknowledge inequity and apply intervention to suit.

 Fidelity: Counselors should honor all personal and professional


commitments, promises and responsibilities
Fidelity
This principle deals with the trust relationship between the counsellor and
their client. The interests of the client are placed before those of the
counsellor even if such loyalty (towards the client) is inconvenient or
uncomfortable for the counsellor (Welfel, 1998).

A client needs to be able to trust that the words and actions of the
counsellor are truthful and reliable. The counsellor however, does not
need to share every fleeting thought or reaction.
Ethical Decision-Making Model

We have incorporated the work of Forester-Miller and Rubenstein


(1992), Haas and Malouf (1989), Kitchener (1984), Stadler (1986), and
Van Hoose and Paradise (1979) into a practical, sequential, seven-step,
ethical decision-making model. A description and discussion of the steps
follow. We encourage counselors to consider the worldview of their clients
and others who may be affected in each step of the decision-making
model (Luke, Goodrich, & Gilbride, 2013).
1. Identify the problem.

Gather as much information as you can that will illuminate the


situation. In doing so, it is important to be as specific and objective as
possible. Writing ideas on paper often helps provide clarity. Outline the
facts, separating out innuendos, assumptions, hypotheses, or
suspicions. There are several questions to ask yourself: Is it an ethical,
legal, professional, or clinical problem? Is it a combination of more than
one of these? If a legal question exists, be sure to seek legal advice.

Other questions that may be useful to ask yourself are: Is the issue
related to me and what I am or am not doing? Is it related to a client
and/or the client’s significant others and what they are or are not
doing? Is it related to technology in the provision of services or of
storing records? Is it related to the institution or agency and their
policies and procedures? If the problem can be resolved by
implementing a policy of an institution or agency, you can look to the
agency’s guidelines. It is important to remember that the dilemmas
counselors face are often complex; therefore, a useful guideline is to
examine the problem from several perspectives and avoid searching
for an overly simplistic solution.

2. Apply the ACA Code of Ethics.

After having clarified the problem, refer to the ACA Code of Ethics
(ACA, 2014) to see if the issue is addressed. Also consider any other
state or professional codes that may apply to you (Bradley &
Hendricks, 2008; Brennan, 2013). When reviewing the ethical codes,
be sure to consider any multicultural perspectives of the particular case
(Frame & Williams, 2005). Remember to examine all the nuisances
that exist when technology is involved. If there is an applicable
standard or several standards and they are specific and clear,
following the course of action indicated should lead to a resolution of
the problem. To be able to apply the ethical standards, it is essential
that you have read them carefully and that you understand their
implications.
If the problem is not resolved by reviewing the ACA Code of Ethics,
then you have a complex ethical dilemma and need to proceed with
further steps in the ethical decision-making process (Bradley &
Hendricks, 2008; Forester-Miller & Davis, 1996). Levitt, Farry, and
Mazzarella (2015) indicated that decision-making models can be time
consuming. If it is a complex ethical dilemma, then you should take
time to thoroughly analyze and assess all aspects of the situation and
its potential solutions

3. Determine the nature and dimensions of the dilemma.

There are a few steps to follow to ensure that you have examined the
problem in all of its various dimensions:
• Examine the dilemma’s implications for each of the foundational
principles: autonomy, justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and
fidelity. Decide which of the principles apply to the specific situation,
and determine which principle takes priority for you in this case. In
theory, each principle is of equal value, which means that you will
need to use your professional judgment to determine the priorities
when two or more of them are in conflict.
• Review the relevant professional literature to ensure that you are
using the most current professional thinking and are aware of the
diversity issues involved in the particular situation.
• Consult with experienced professional counselors and/or
supervisors who also abide by the ACA Code of Ethics. As they
review with you the information you have gathered, they may help
you to see other issues that are relevant or provide a perspective
you have not considered. They may also be able to identify aspects
of the dilemma that you are not viewing objectively.
• Consult your state or national professional associations to see if
they can provide help with the dilemma.

4. Generate potential courses of action.


• Brainstorm as many potential courses of action as possible. Be
creative and list all of the options you can think of, even ones that you
are not sure will work.
• In this brainstorming phase, you want to generate as many potential
solutions as possible. Do not worry about judging and eliminating
solutions; you will evaluate them in the next step.
• Whenever possible, consult with at least one colleague who
subscribes to the ACA Code of Ethics to help you generate options.

5. Consider the potential consequences of all options and determine


a course of action.
• Considering the information you have gathered and the priorities you
have set, evaluate each option, being sure to assess the potential
consequences for all of the parties involved. Ponder the implications of
each course of action for the client, for others who will be affected, and
for yourself as a counselor.
• Eliminate the options that clearly do not give the desired results or
that cause even more problematic consequences.
• Review the remaining options to determine which option or
combination of options best fits the situation and addresses the
priorities you have identified.
6. Evaluate the selected course of action.
• Review the selected course of action to see if it presents any new
ethical considerations.
• Apply three simple tests to the selected course of action to ensure
that it is appropriate: justice, publicity, and universality (Stadler, 1986).
Justice: In applying the test of justice, assess your own sense of
fairness by determining whether you would treat others the same in
this situation. Publicity: For the test of publicity, ask yourself whether
you would want your behavior reported in the press. Universality: The
test of universality asks you to assess whether you could recommend
the same course of action to another counselor in the same situation.
• If the course of action you have selected causes any new ethical
issues, then you’ll need to go back to the beginning and reevaluate
each step of the process. Perhaps you have chosen the wrong option
or you might have identified the problem incorrectly.
• If you can answer in the affirmative to each of the questions
suggested by Stadler (1986; thus passing the tests of justice,
publicity, and universality) and you are satisfied that you have
selected an appropriate course of action, then you are ready to move
on to implementation.

7. Implement the course of action.


• Strengthen your resolve to allow you to carry out your plan. Just
because it is the right decision does not mean it will be easy to
implement. Taking the appropriate action in an ethical dilemma is often
difficult.
• After implementing your course of action, it is good practice to follow
up on the situation to assess whether your actions had the anticipated
effect and consequences.

c. Conclusion:

School counselors are part of an educational community. As such,


they are exposed to ethical issues on a daily basis. This means consulting
with teachers, administrators, and parents while serving the needs of
students. Studying and understanding ethical codes can assist school
counselors in attaining a proactive stance when faced with challenges.
Counselors must have knowledge of codes of ethics as well as local,
state, and federal laws; school policies; seek consultation; and stay
informed of changes in order to make ethical decisions. Being fully
informed helps school counselors be prepared in situations that demand
careful judgment and protect the welfare of the children within the school.

It is important to realize that different professionals may choose


different courses of action for the same situation. There is rarely one right
answer to a complex ethical dilemma. However, if you follow a systematic
model, you can be assured that you will be able to give a professional
explanation for the course of action you chose. You should always
document your decision-making process in the client file. It is suggest that
a counselor “is probably acting in an ethically responsible way concerning
a client if (1) he or she has maintained personal and professional honesty,
coupled with (2) the best interests of the client, (3) without malice or
personal gain, and (4) can justify his or her actions as the best judgment
of what should be done based upon the current state of the profession”.
Following this model ethical consideration of guidance and counseling will
help to ensure that all four of these conditions have been met.

d. Schematic Diagram:

Supervision,
Distance Counseling, Trainingand
Technology and Teaching
Relationships With Other Professionals
Social Media
Evaluation, Assessment and Interpretation

Professional Responsibility

Research and Publication


Ethical Principles
Confidentiality and Privacy
Resolving Ethical Issues
The Counseling Relationship

Ethical Consideration
of Guidance and
The Ethical Decision-
Ethical Dilemma
Making Model

Evaluate the selected course of action Identify the problem


Autonomy
Implement the course of action Apply the ACA Code of Ethics
Non-maleficence
Consider the potential consequences of Determine the nature and dimensions
all options and determine a course of of the dilemma
Beneficence action
Generate potential courses of action
Justice
5. Thought Provoking Questions:
Fidelity
1. What are some examples of ethical dilemmas in school Counselling?
2. What are some of the ethical considerations we should consider when
conducting a counseling group in public schools?
3. What do you think would be one of the best steps you could take
toward ending unethical guidance and counseling around the world?
4. How do you manage ethical guidance and counseling over your
emotional principles?
5. If you have the opportunity to change the principles in ethical guidance
and counseling, with a chance to change the entire humanity, what
would it be? Explain your answer.

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