Transcript Chapter Nine Copyright © 2012 Brooks/Cole, a division of Cengage Learning, Inc. Professional Concerns.

Chapter Nine
Copyright © 2012 Brooks/Cole, a division of Cengage Learning, Inc.
Professional Concerns
Codes of ethics
Competence and responsibility
Confidentiality
Clients’ rights
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Ethical Considerations
Autonomy
Nonmaleficence
Beneficence
Justice
Fidelity
Veracity
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Ethical Principles
This represents the commitment to respect
a client’s right to define his or her own
problem
This serves to foster self-determination
and support for client independence
Remember empowerment
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Autonomy
This means that the professional will not
cause the client harm
In providing service the professional will
not take risks that might bring to the client
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Nonmaleficence
This defines an act in someone’s best
interest
This is client focus and acts with the
client’s best interest in mind
This also means occasionally opposing
other interests
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Beneficence
This means that the profession will act to
promote equality of access for clients
The profession is intentional fair in all
interactions
The profession adheres to principles of
nondiscrimination
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Justice
This means to honor the trust a clients
place in their helper
It works to avoid the erosion of that trust
It mean that the profession works to fulfill
and maintain their responsibility toward
clients
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Fidelity
Professionals are honest with clients
The professional is committed to providing
clients with all the information they need
It also means the providing of fair and
honest feedback
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Veracity
Goals or aims of profession
Protection for client
Guidelines for professional behavior
Professional identity
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Codes of Ethics
The primary purpose of for a code of
ethics is to establish guidelines for
professional behavior and to assist
members of a profession in establishing a
professional identity
They can serve as a benchmark in the
enforcement of ethical standards
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Codes of Ethics: Purpose and
Limitations
Codes of ethics do have limitations; they
cannot foresee or address every issue
Once again, however, they do provide a
frame work for ethical behavior in general
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Codes of Ethics: Purpose and
Limitations
While a code of ethics may include a
confidentiality provision it cannot
supersede legal obligations as stated by a
legislative body
California Supreme Courts, in Tarasoff
(1976) has ruled that there is a duty to
warn potential victims of danger
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Codes of Ethics: Purpose and
Limitations
The profession
The law
Diversity
Technology
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Ethics and
Codes of ethics usually provide a means
for a profession to police itself
This self-regulation usually provides for
two types of discipline related to a violation
– Informal
– Formal
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Codes of Ethics and the
Profession
Informal discipline is seen in the subtle
and not-so-subtle ways in which
colleagues exert pressure on one another
to encourage the appropriate ethical
behavior
Formal discipline is generally public and a
professional may be censured or barred
from the profession
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Codes of Ethics and the
Profession
The law is generally supportive or, at the
very least, neutral toward ethical codes
The law does, however, intervene and
override an ethical code to protect the
publics health, safety, and welfare
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Codes of Ethics and the Law
The Ethical Standards of Human Service
Professionals has a preamble stating:
– [The need for] “an appreciation of human
beings in all their diversity”
– This essentially requires the knowledge
necessary to provide each client with
“respect, acceptance, and dignity…”
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Codes of Ethics and Diversity
The ever increasing use of technology has
created a number of concerns for the
Human Services Professional
– The most obvious areas of concern deal with
confidentiality and the multitude of electronic
means of communication
– The Web, teleconferencing, voice mail, email,
etc. present points of concern
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Codes of Ethics and
Technology
Academic training
Practical training
Supervised experience
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Competence
Protect clients
Support profession
Promote justice
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Responsibility
Privileged communication
Relative confidentiality
Concerns about technology
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Confidentiality
Right to privacy
Informed consent
Professional disclosure
statement
Protection
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Clients’ Rights
Moral responsibleness
Model
–Identify problem
–Consult
–Explore options
–Choose and act
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Ethical Decision Making