VERIFIED
Ethics
for
Counselors
INTRODUCTION
Ethical
issues
do
not
exist
within
a
vacuum;
rather,
they
emerge,
evolve,
and
adapt
within
the
sociocultural
context
of
a
particular
society.
In
past
decades,
the
field
of
professional
ethics
has
received
increased
attention.
Much
of
the
discussion
began
in
the
1960s
in
the
medical
field,
where
the
blending
of
ethics,
legalities,
and
medicine
has
become
known
as
bioethics.
Its
emergence
occurred
because
there
was
a
need
to
talk
about
how
research
and
healthcare
decisions
and
regulations
could
be
made,
who
could
make
them,
and
what
their
long-term
implications
would
be.
In
the
late
1960s,
philosophers,
theologians,
physicians,
lawyers,
policy
makers,
and
legislators
began
to
write
about
these
questions,
hold
conferences,
establish
institutes,
and
publish
journals
for
the
study
of
bioethics.
Around
the
same
time,
many
existing
professional
organizations
and
agencies,
such
as
those
for
counseling,
social
work,
and
law
enforcement,
began
implementing
their
own
ethical
codes.
When
a
new
institution
is
young,
the
creation
of
a
formal
code
of
ethics
is
standard
practice
to
inform
prospective
members,
unify,
advise,
and
protect
existing
members,
help
resolve
ethics
issues,
protect
those
who
the
profession
serves,
and
help
establish
and
distinguish
an
organization,
agency,
and
its
members.
HISTORICAL
CONTEXT
OF
COUNSELING
ETHICS VERIFIED
HISTORY
OF
COUNSELING
IN
THE
UNITED
STATES
Modern
psychology
began
with
the
work
of
Sigmund
Freud
in
the
1880s
in
Vienna.
By
the
early
and
mid-20th
century,
Sigmund
Freud's
psychoanalytical
theories
were
being
challenged,
most
notably
by
American
psychologist
Carl
Rogers.
While
Freud
examined
the
effects
of
the
unconscious
mind
upon
patients,
Rogers'
work
focused
on
environmental
factors,
the
patient's
experience
in
the
world,
and
the
person-centered
approach
[50]
.
It
was
during
this
same
time
period
that
advanced
education
in
medicine
and
certification
was
becoming
required
for
psychoanalysts,
because
in
the
United
States,
analysis
of
the
mind
was
viewed
as
a
medical
endeavor
[50]
.
Frank
Parsons,
often
called
the
father
of
vocational
guidance,
had
established
the
new
field
of
career
counseling
between
the
years
1906
and
1908
[52]
.
Rogers
borrowed
Parson's
label,
"counselor,"
and
extended
it
to
individuals
who
were
educated
in
and
practiced
behavioral
health
both
outside
of
the
field
of
medicine
and
toward
different
goals
than
medical
psychoanalysis
[50]
.
This
helped
remove
some
of
the
prejudice
against
non-medically
trained
professionals
and
shifted
the
emphasis
away
from
treating
clients
purely
as
medical
patients
to
helping
individuals
and
groups
realize
their
developmental
goals.
The
relatively
new
field
of
counseling
that
stemmed
from
Parsons'
vocational
guidance
movement
and
Rogers'
work
was
of
particular
value
during
World
War
II,
when
the
need
for
vocational
training
became
acute,
and
after
the
war,
when
a
large
number
of
people
were
integrating
back
into
a
society
that
had
become
profoundly
different
[51,
52]
.
Some
returned
with
psychologic
problems,
and
many
were
left
with
disabilities.
Many
more
had
come
home
to
a
country
where
they
could
not
find
jobs.
Around
this
time,
the
American
Psychological
Association
(APA)
and
the
Veterans
Administration
(VA)
both
formed
counseling
psychology
branches.
The
post-war
era
was
a
defining
period
because
the
need
for
trained
professionals
was
so
great,
and
counselors
were
increasingly
seen
as
critical
human
service
providers
in
the
fields
of
psychology
and
employment
services.
Guidance
counseling,
with
a
focus
on
educational
and
career
advancement,
was
still
seen
as
a
somewhat
separate
profession.
Today,
each
branch
of
counseling
is
considered
a
practical
application
of
psychology
because
the
focus
on
human
development
and
wellness
issues
deals VERIFIED
directly
with
strategies
to
enable
personal
and
family
growth,
career
development,
and
life
enhancement
[53]
.
In
addition,
counselors
advocate
for
patients
and
clients
and
connect
them
to
services.
HISTORY
OF
ETHICS
Ethics
have
been
discussed
in
various
arenas
since
ancient
times.
The
ethics
that
most
Western
counselors
are
familiar
with
are
derivatives
of
the
virtue
ethics
system
developed
by
Greek
philosophers
such
as
Socrates,
Plato,
and
most
notably,
Aristotle,
in
the
5th
century
B.C.E.
Virtue
ethics
were
thought
to
be
a
way
to
make
decisions
in
life
that
developed
strong
personal
character,
based
on
attaining
permanent
happiness
through
knowledge,
reason,
restraint,
and
striving
for
excellence
in
physical
and
intellectual
pursuits
[54]
.
The
word
ethics
has
evolved
from
the
ancient
Greek
word
ethikos
,
meaning
moral
character,
and
implies
that
a
personal
character
is
constructed.
The
ability
to
engage
in
the
ethical
decision-making
process,
or
thinking
analytically
about
how
an
action
will
be
viewed
in
the
context
of
the
community
by
applying
its
upheld
virtues,
develops
strong
character.
The
action
will
be
viewed
by
others
who
can
determine
that
the
decision-maker
is
a
virtuous
person
if
the
outcome
is
in
line
with
the
values
of
society.
The
community
will
have
positive
feelings
about
the
person,
the
person
will
have
positive
self-esteem,
and
the
end
result
will
be
happiness.
The
virtues
(i.e.,
values)
of
a
particular
society
are
based
on
what
has
been
deemed
important
to
that
society;
for
example,
liberty
and
justice
are
among
the
most
important
American
values.
It
could
be
said
that
one
who
upholds
these
values
with
the
sole
intention
of
being
virtuous
is
acting
in
a
righteous
way
according
to
Aristotelian
virtue
ethics
[54]
.
In
other
words,
virtues
are
values,
and
being
virtuous
is
acting
ethically.
It
must
be
acknowledged
that
not
all
societies
have
similar
values
and
not
all
subgroups
or
individuals
in
a
society
have
values
similar
to
the
mainstream.
Therefore,
codes
of
ethics
must
be
developed
to
unify,
guide,
and
protect
individuals
belonging
to
a
group
or
institution
and
to
protect
the
institution
itself.
A
familiar
historical
code
of
ethics,
the
Hippocratic
Oath,
also
comes
from
Greece
during
the
same
time
period
as
Aristotle's
philosophies
and
embodies
the
values
of
ancient
Greek
ethics.
A
few
of
the
oath's
ethical
principles,
translated
from
the
original VERIFIED
text
and
listed
here,
relate
to
specific
counseling
ethical
principles
that
will
be
discussed
later
in
this
course
[55]
:
I
will
use
those
dietary
regimens
which
will
benefit
my
patients
according
to
my
greatest
ability
and
judgment,
and
I
will
do
no
harm
or
injustice
to
them.
(
Ethical
principles
of
beneficence
and
nonmaleficence
)
I
will
not
use
the
knife,
even
upon
those
suffering
from
stones,
but
I
will
leave
this
to
those
who
are
trained
in
this
craft.
(
Ethical
principle
of
competence
)
Into
whatever
homes
I
go,
I
will
enter
them
for
the
benefit
of
the
sick,
avoiding
any
voluntary
act
of
impropriety
or
corruption,
including
the
seduction
of
women
or
men,
whether
they
are
free
men
or
slaves.
(
Ethical
principle
of
maintaining
appropriate
relationships
)
Whatever
I
see
or
hear
in
the
lives
of
my
patients,
whether
in
connection
with
my
professional
practice
or
not,
which
ought
not
to
be
spoken
of
outside,
I
will
keep
secret,
as
considering
all
such
things
to
be
private.
(
Ethical
principles
of
confidentiality,
trust,
and
privacy
)
Although
Hippocrates'
wrote
this
oath
roughly
2,500
years
ago,
the
ideas
remain
pertinent
to
health
care
today.
This
is
likely
due
to
the
fact
that
the
Hippocratic
Oath
is
based
on
principles
that
are
universally
applicable.
Because
Aristotelian
virtue
ethics
can
be
adapted
to
fit
any
society
or
institution
by
reprioritizing
the
values
to
achieve
positive
end
goals
congruent
with
"normal"
community
values,
many
offshoots
of
virtue
ethics
exist.
With
the
rise
of
Christianity
in
the
Middle
Ages
came
theologic
ethical
systems
derived
from
the
Aristotelian
notion
of
virtue
ethics.
St.
Augustine,
in
the
4th
century
C.E.,
put
forth
the
idea
that
a
relationship
with
and
love
of
God,
in
addition
to
acting
from
virtue,
leads
to
happiness
[54]
.
In
the
13th
century
C.E.,
St.
Thomas
Aquinas
developed
another
Christian
system
of
ethics
by
simply
adding
the
values
of
faith,
hope,
and
charity
to
the
established
virtues
of
Aristotelian
ethics
[54]
.
These
two
ethical
systems,
Aristotelian
virtue
ethics
and
Christian
ethics,
form
the
foundation
of
most
ethical
systems
and
codes
used
in
modern
Western
society.
It
should
be
understood
that
other
ethical
systems
have
contributed
to
Western
