Chapter 1- Introduction to Professional Ethics Flashcards
Codes of Ethics fulfill what three objectives
1) Educate professionals
2) mechanism for professional accountability
3) Serve as a catalysts for improving practice
What is the primary purpose of a code of ethics?
Safeguard the welfare of clients
The community standard is generally less rigorous than the ethical standard? T/F
True
Pertains to the standards that govern the conduct of its professional members
Ethics
The body of rules that govern the affairs of people within a community, state, or country.
Law
Define the minimum standards society will tolerate, which are enforced by the government.
Law
The law usually overrules ethics? T/F
True
How does one clarity whether a legal issue is involved?
a) legal proceedings have been initiated
b) lawyers are involved
c) the practitioner is in danger of having a complaint filed against him or her for misconduct.
Limiting your scope of practice to obeying statutes and following ethical standards is inadequate is what kind of ethics?
Fear-based ethics
Striving for the highest level of ethical care for your client is what kind of ethics?
Concerned based ethics
Ethical standards primary protect the client, but also help the clinician in what way?
Their own self-care
In ethical dilemmas involving legal issues, a wise course of action is to…
Seek advice from legal counsel and tho discuss the situation with colleges familiar with the law
Ethical codes undergo periodic revisions and are best viewed as living documents. They are usually review every ? years.
5-10 years
Duties of regulating boards are:
1) to determine standards for admission into the profession
2) to screen applicants applying for certification or licensure
3) to regulate the practice of. psychotherapy for the public good
4) to conduct disciplinary proceedings involving violations of standards of professional conduct as defined by law
Pertains to beliefs and attitudes that provide direction to everyday living.
Values
Pertains to the beliefs we hold about what constitutes right conduct
Ethics
Is concerned with perspectives. of right and proper conduct and involves an evaluation of actions on the basis of some broader cultural context or religious standard.
Morality
Represents aspirational goals, or the maximum or ideal set by the profession, practiced through your professional behavior and interactions.
Ethics
What’s another name for community standards?
Mores
Is usually defined as the care that is ordinarily exercised by others practicing within that specialty in the professional community?
Reasonableness
Has some relationship tho ethical behavior, yet it is possible to act unprofessionally and still not act unethically. ie not retuning a client’s phone call.
Professionalism
A level of ethical functioning wherein counsellors act in compliance with minimal standards, acknowledging the basic “musts” and “must nots.”
Mandatory ethics
Describes the highest standards of thinking and conduct professional counsellors seek, and it requires that counsellors do more than simply meet the letter of the ethics codes.
Aspirational ethics
Focuses not only on how professionals can harm clients but on how therapists can do better at helping clients.
Positive Ethics
Most violations of ethics probably happen inadvertently in clinical practice, it’s not always extreme violations of established codes.
Unethical
A set of obligations and a method that focuses on moral issues with the goals of
a) solving a particular dilemma or set of dilemmas and
b) establishing a framework to guide future ethical thinking and behavior.
Principle ethics
Focuses on the character traits of the counsellor and nonobligatory ideals to which professionals aspire rather than on solving specific ethical dilemmas. Asks the questions “Is this situation unethical?”
Virtue ethics
What are six moral principles the form the foundation of functioning at the highest ethical level as a professional.
Autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity and veracity.
Refers to the promotion of self-determination, or the freedom of clients to be self-governing within their social and cultural framework.
Autonomy
Means avoiding doing harm
nonmaleficence
Refers to doing good for others and to promoting the well-being of clients.
Beneficence
Means to be fair by giving equally to others and to treat other justly.
Justice
Means that professionals make realistic commitments and do their best to keep these promises. This entails fulfilling one’s responsibilities of trust in a relationship.
Fidelity
Means truthfulness, which involves the practitioner’s obligation to deal honestly with clients.
Veracity
This involves taking adequate care of ourselves so that we are able to implement the moral principles and virtues that are fundamental ethical concepts.
Self-Care
Focuses primarily on the social aspects of decision making in counselling. Shares some aspects with the feminist model but..
Social constructionist model
Addresses the need for including cultural factors in the process of resolving ethical dilemmas.
Transcultural integrative model
Steps in Transcultural integrative model for making ethical decisions.
- Identify the problem or dilemma
- Identify the potential issues involved
- Review the relevant ethics codes.
- Know the applicable laws and regulations
- Obtain consultation
- Consider possible and probable courses of action
- Enumerate and consider the possible consequences of various decisions.
- Choose what appears to be the best course of action.
