● autonomy, or fostering the right to control the direction of one’s life ● nonmaleficence or avoiding actions that cause harm ● beneficence, or working for the good of the individual and society by promoting mental health and well-being. ● justice, or treating individuals equitably and fostering fairness and equality ● fidelity, or honoring commitments and keeping promises, including fulfilling one’s responsibilities of trust in professional relationships ● veracity, or dealing truthfully with individuals with whom counselors come into professional contact. According to the ACA (2014), “Counselors’ actions should be consistent with the spirit as well as the letter of these ethical standards.” The ACA standards cover the following nine sections and are described as follows: Each section of the ACA Code of Ethics begins with an introduction. The introduction to each section describes the ethical behavior and responsibility to which counselors aspire. The introductions help set the tone for each section and provide a starting point that invites refection on the ethical standards contained in each part of the ACA Code of Ethics. The standards outline professional responsibilities and provide direction for fulfilling those ethical responsibilities. Section A: The Counseling Relationship Section B: Confidentiality and Privacy Section C: Professional Responsibility Section D: Relationships with Other Professionals Evaluation Section E: Assessment, and Interpretation Section. F: Supervision, Training, and Teaching Section G: Research and Publication Section H: Distance Counseling, Technology, and Social Media Section I: Resolving Ethical Issues services to attain the highest level of quality practice. They are included in the Preamble. The core values of AAMFT embody (AAMFT, 2015): 1. Acceptance, appreciation, and inclusion of a diverse membership 2. Distinctiveness and excellence in training of marriage and family therapists and those desiring to advance their skills, knowledge, and expertise in systemic and relational therapies 3. Responsiveness and excellence in service to members 4. Diversity, equity and excellence in clinical practice, research, education, and administration 5. Integrity evidenced by a high threshold of ethical and honest behavior within Association governance and by members 6. Innovation and the advancement of knowledge of systemic and relational therapies. The AAMFT Ethical Standards, in contrast to the core values, are the rules that therapists are obligated to follow and set the parameters by which their practice will be judged. The AAMFT (2015) states, “Ethical standards are rules of practice upon which the marriage and family therapist is obliged and judged. The introductory paragraph to each standard in the AAMFT Code of Ethics is an aspirational/explanatory orientation to the enforceable standards that follow.” The nine AAMFT standards are listed and explained as follows and will be detailed in forthcoming sections of the course.
The codes of ethics, laws, and regulations stated throughout the course emphasize components of ethical practice that must be followed to achieve the highest the highest level of quality counseling for clients. The ACA Code of Ethics (2014) Section C outlines this responsibility to clients and the community as follows: ● Counselors aspire to open, honest, and accurate communication in dealing with the public and other professionals. ● Counselors facilitate access to counseling services, and they practice in a nondiscriminatory manner within the boundaries of professional and personal competence; they also have a responsibility to abide by the ACA Code of Ethics. ● Counselors actively participate in local, state, and national associations that foster the development and improvement of counseling. ● Counselors are expected to advocate to promote changes at the individual, group, institutional, and societal levels that improve the quality of life for individuals and groups and remove potential barriers to the provision or access of appropriate services being offered. ● Counselors have a responsibility to the public to engage in counseling practices that are based on rigorous research methodologies. ● Counselors are encouraged to contribute to society by devoting a portion of their professional activity to services for which there is little or no financial return (pro bono publico). ● Counselors have a responsibility to read, understand, and follow the ACA Code of Ethics and adhere to applicable laws and regulations. 1. Responsibility to clients: Marriage and family therapists advance the welfare of families and individuals and make reasonable efforts to find the appropriate balance between conflicting goals within the family system. 2. Confidentiality : Marriage and family therapists have unique confidentiality concerns because the client in a therapeutic relationship may be more than one person. Therapists respect and guard the confidences of each individual client. 3. Professional competence and integrity : Marriage and family therapists maintain high standards of professional competence and integrity. 4. Responsibility to students and supervisees : Marriage and family therapists do not exploit the trust and dependency of students and supervisees. 5. Research and publication : Marriage and family therapists respect the dignity and protect the welfare of research participants, and are aware of applicable laws, regulations, and professional standards governing the conduct of research. 6. Technology-assisted professional services : Therapy, supervision, and other professional services engaged in by marriage and family therapists take place over an increasing number of technological platforms. There are great benefits and responsibilities inherent in both the traditional therapeutic and supervision contexts, as well as in the utilization of technologically assisted professional services. These standards address basic ethical requirements of offering therapy, supervision, and related professional services using electronic means.
American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) The aspirational core values of AAMFT inform the therapists practice and provide the foundation for therapeutic
EliteLearning.com/Counselor
Book Code: PCTX1325
Page 54
Powered by FlippingBook