Counseling Ethics Essay

Ethics ar based on philosophical principles and these guidelines assist a practician in qualification the best doable decisions for the welfare of the invitees and the practitioner himself. Ethics are normative or critical in genius and tinct human conduct and moral decision. Morality describes decision devising and judgement by an individual concerning an concomitant or human behaviour. This is greatly influenced by the determine he or she has acquired or formed as a result of external influence or indoctrination. Value is an enduring belief that a particular proposition that a specific end-state of conduct is desirable (McLeod, 1998). Terminal and instrumental values are two types of values where the former refer to the desired end-state of existence, for character wisdom and the later refer to the mode of conduct that leads to it, for example broad-mindedness .Values then influence and determine the decisions we choose to make in our daily lives.In providing an effectiv e, therapeutic therapy, a practitioner dishing a customer encountering dilemma in decision- making may adopt the octet step ideal approach to think through the ethical enigmas (Corey, Corey & C all in allanan, 2007). The steps of the model are expound as follows flavour 1- Identify the problem or dilemma.In the first step the existence of the problem essentialinessiness be recognised. The nature of the problem has to be ascertained. Identify if it is an ethical, legal, moral, professional or clinical problem. The practitioners and the clients insights regarding the problem must be examined. Consultation with the client can write down at this stage as problems are being identified. Looking at the problem from antithetical perspectives is profitable as most ethical dilemmas are complex.Step 2 Identify the potential issues involved.From the collected information, foreign ones must be discarded. The critical issues must be noted and described. The welfare of those inv olved their rights and responsibilities must be prized. Ethical principles relevant to the problem must be identified and examined with the client. In doing so the moral principles namely, autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice and fidelity must be makeed and applied to thesituation. The safety and welfare of the client and practitioner cannot be compromised speckle potential issues are being sorted out.Step 3- Review the relevant ethics codes.The practitioner must stress direction that can be found from the professional codes of ethics. They provide a basis for accountability, and through their enforcement, provide protection for clients from unethical practices (Corey, 1997). Practitioner must also examine the agreeability of his values with the relevant codes. Should they be in conflict, he must have a rationale to support his stance. It is essential to consider congruency of these values and ethics with those of the clients. The practitioner must undertake clarity of the ethical codes and if they are relevant with the state laws of the region.Step 4- Know the applicable laws and regulations.The practitioner should be up to date with the specific and relevant laws that apply to the ethical issue. This is particularly critical in situations which deal with belongings or breaching of confidentiality, reporting of babe or elder abuse, record keeping, assessment, diagnosis, issues pertaining to dangers to self or others and the grounds of malpractice.Step 5- Obtain consultation.Consulting with colleagues to obtain different perspectives on the problems is generally considered to be helpful. Seeking legal counsel for legal questions is prudent along with consulting a person with an expertise in an unfamiliar culture to serve a client from that culture. In access the practitioner must understand current rules and regulations of the agency or organization that he or she is blend ins for. It is wise for the nature of the consultation and suggest ions provided to be documented. These records would illustrate the practitioners attempt to adhere to the comp boths standard practice.Step 6- Consider possible and probable mannequins of action.At this point a proclivity of a variety of courses of action may be identifiedthrough brainstorming. The practitioner could discuss with the client as well as other professionals the available options. The possibilities could be identified for probable courses of actions and these should be documented.Step 7- Enumerate the consequences of various decisions.From the various possible courses of actions, implications of each course must be examined. The questions of who will be affected and to what extent will the clients decision to pursue the actions affect them must be wide-awakely examined. Again using the fundamental moral principles as a framework, the client must get together with the practitioner to ascertain the probable outcomes and consequences. If new ethical issues arise from the selected course of action, a re-evaluation of the action must be pursued.Step 8- Decide on what appears to be the best course of action.Careful consideration of all information received from different sources deliberately and with sensitivity to cross cultural issues is critical before making the best decision. Once making the decision, informing the supervisor, implementing and documenting the decision follows. Reflecting on the experience considering any follow up action could result in finding a solution for the client.While the procedural steps may help in resolving ethical matters, some implications may be noted. Firstly, the client enters a cooperative affinity with the practitioner. The implication is that the client with the practitioners help must draw out the detail of the problem. This implicates that the client should refrain from coveting relevant information to enable an accurate analysis of the issue. This is to ascertain the true nature of the problem whether it is an ethical, legal, moral, professional, or clinical one. The different perspectives of the problem must be explored. What are the insights the client and practitioner have regarding the problem? (Corey et al., 2007). Failing which the consequence is an unnecessary delay in resolving the problem as there will be an inaccurate analysis of the situation.Secondly, in identifying the potential issues, all the persons involved in the problem must be identified. The implication of failing to identify any one individual who may be affected by the decision of the client would be unethical. The welfare, rights and responsibilities of those affected by the decision power create a different set of problems. The decision would then have to be reversed and a new course of action would have to be pursued. It is to therefore necessary to explore to what extent the course of the action will affect the client and the others (Corey et al., 2007).Next the values and ethics of the client and the p ractitioner must be evaluated and the degree of congruency noted. This implicates that the relevant ethical principles that are identified to the problem should not be in conflict with those of the client and the practitioner. If there are disagreements, then they must be supported with a rationale. If necessary, guidance must be sought from the relevant organization to clarify the professional codes to the particular problem. Otherwise consequently, the clients decision may violate the ethical codes relevant to the issue.The client must be certified of the relevant and most recent laws or regulations that apply to the situation. He must look out for any law or regulations that have a bearing on the situation. The implication of his ignorance is that he may contribute into problems with the law. The practitioner too must abide by the rules, regulations and policies of the workplace. When in doubt practitioner must seek professional advice. The client must be informed of legal issu es related to confidentiality, abuse of the vulnerable, record keeping and grounds for malpractice. If the practitioner discovers a criminal act by a client for example, sex with an under-aged daughter he has the moral responsibility to report him. The practitioner has the ethical responsibility to discuss with the client on the implications of his actions before reporting the incident. The client must understand the implications of his actions that violate the law.The fundamental moral principles may be considered as framework for evaluating the consequences of the given course of action. The client mustdecide the principles that apply to the situation specifically and prioritise them. By thinking through these ethical principles, professional can better evaluate their options in such complex situations. Prioritising the principles can help the client and practitioner to work through the steps of the decision-making model (Elizabeth, 2010). There are implications however when prio ritizing one over another. The practitioner encourages the client to exercise autonomy i.e. making a free choice. In doing so, the client must have the concept of doing no damage or non-maleficence and acting in justice (Elizabeth, 2010). Conflict can arise when subscribing to justice which may result in the necessity of treating an individual differently. Though not easy to apply equal weightage to all the principles, it will help to explore an ethical dilemma and resolve it with the least damage to the welfare of those affected.The model may be usable when clients seek help in making decisions in their life regarding relationship issues. A client may be caught in a loveless marriage and be involved in an extra-marital occasion and seek advice to take the next step in his life. The dilemma of whether to dissolve his marriage and move on with his life or stay in the marriage to fulfil his duties towards his wife and children is one that needs careful consideration. A divorce woul d mean breaking up of his family and causing a disruption in the relationship with his children. Staying in the marriage would mean the sacrifice of his love life. Analysing his situation using the model can barf light to clarify the implications of his actions and weigh the consequences.The model may help clients to make decisions at their place of work regarding conflicting work practices. An office worker may be tormented by the wrong practices of her familiar spirit colleagues. She may be facing a dilemma as to whether to report her colleagues to the management or unfreeze a blind eye to the situation. The model can help the client to analyse the situation and evaluate her moral values. She would then be able to make an ethical decision that would do least harm to those involved in the situation.In conclusion, the eight step model can be a useful tool in helping a practitioner to guide clients to make sound decisions that do not haveconflict with their ethics and are aligned with the laws and regulations of the region. In doing so the practitioner must ensure that he or she is operating in the best interest of the clients.