Ethics and Legal Issue
Counselors play unique roles in developing the growth of their clients. They foster the welfare and interests of the client by promoting the formation of healthy relationships. Their work involves adhering to strict moral and ethical principles as defined by the American Counseling Association. The process of developing personal moral values involves evaluating my emotional intelligence and following what is right. It also involves practicing what I hold dearly and remaining truthful to my words (IAMFC, n.d). I need to reflect on the significance of moral values and how my actions can affect others. This is defined as moral sensitivity that equates to empathy. The process of working on my moral judgment is also significant in developing moral values. It entails the most appropriate moral actions that promote the welfare of all the affected people. It also involves moral motivation, which is a decision to behave morally compared to other possible alternatives that are not preferred by other people.
Developing Morals and Values
Ethics and law are intertwined. Violation of ethical conduct can result in legal actions. My ethical position is the guide for my principles and behaviors. I consider law as the system that enforces ethics because it regulates a specific category of people’s behaviors, failure to which penalties arise. I strive to be ethical, which implies abiding by the law that defines professional counselors’ behaviors. Ethics govern professional behaviors while law governs society.
Morals and Values
One of the moral values for a counselor is respect. Their work is to interact with clients that need to be treated with respect in building a counseling relationship. Society has people with diverse backgrounds, nationalities, social class, racial identity, sexual orientation, religion, and gender. Counselors have a duty to conduct themselves in ways acceptable to clients. This includes being fully aware of cultural and personal differences.
Truth is a foundation for successful counseling. This value is critical in establishing counseling relationships and clients’ information. It is significant in building rapport, gaining confidence, and a feeling that the counselor can listen and understand clients’ needs (American Counseling Association, 2014). If they do not trust their instincts from the beginning, the entire counseling session may ultimately fail.
Empathy is the value of understanding the experience of other people. It involves being sensitive to clients’ various experiences, such as thoughts, feelings, and experiences of another. Empathy is an expression of the counselor’s respect for the client whose experience varies with that of the counselor. Understanding the feelings of others is important in initiating the appropriate to the situation.
Ethical Principles in the Lesson
The ethical principle of privacy and confidentiality is hard to uphold. It restricts sharing information without the prior consent of clients. The challenge arises in the gray areas that define confidentiality and privileged communication where clients disclose information related to counseling outside the therapy (IAMFC, n.d). This issue denies counselors the control over the shared information.
Ethical Decision-Making
Ethical decision making is the foundation for solving ethical dilemmas. This framework is ideal in upholding ethical principles such as empathy, trust, and respect. The process involves defining a problem intellectually and emotionally. Counselors need to adhere to the law and ASCA Ethical Standards in determining the possible consequences of their actions (ASCA, 2016). The principles of autonomy, loyalty, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence should come in handy in the process. The identified decision needs to be evaluated, and where possible, the counselors should consult peers before implementing the identified decision.