Post #8 - Ethics

Like many others of you, this week’s readings were very thought provoking for me. I definitely consider myself to be an individual who is culturally open and aware, respectful of all other cultures, races, ethnicities, etc. that I come into contact with. However, despite living in an area that has become increasingly populated with people of Hispanic origin over the past two decades, I have had surprisingly low direct interactional experience with those outside of my race. As I said, it’s not that I’m racist or disrespectful of other cultures and ethnicities in any way, it’s just that I don’t have enough interaction with these different individuals to really be able to speak to appropriate ways to counsel them. Brown’s (2012) statement that, “in a diverse culture such as ours, all counselors need a multicultural approach to career counseling,” (p. 97) really does make me think and worry about my future as a counselor. I haven’t taken the multicultural counseling course that is required in the Clinical program yet, so I’m sure I’ll be much more prepared for and aware of ways to take a multicultural approach to counseling.

In this chapter, Brown (2012) also discusses the ACA Code of Ethics in relation to career counseling. He defined the first principle of the ACA ethics code as necessitating “competence in the use of counseling techniques, coaching strategies, and assessment devices. It also requires counselors to provide up-to-date, accurate information about educational and occupational options. Furthermore, doing no harm requires that counselors develop knowledge of the cultural backgrounds and worldviews of their clients…” (Brown, 2012, p. 82). This standard does call into question whether or not I actually take the time to research and learn about different options and techniques that would help my client, and if not, am I doing more harm than good? It’s a tough question to answer about oneself.

Having taken the Ethics and Professional Practices course last summer, I was already fairly familiar with the code of ethics; as others have pointed out however, it does bring to mind the fact that counseling in any capacity is a serious undertaking, and should not be entered into lightly be either party (counselor or client). It is overwhelming to take in all of the different ethical standards and principles, and when I look at my current job through a more ethical lens, I realize that there are many things that happen in my client’s school that could be considered unethical by some of these standards. What you have to take into consideration, however, is the fact that not everyone who works at this particular school are required to adhere to a specific code of ethical standards like counselors and clinicians are. While I’m sure that teacher and school staff contracts address confidentiality and appropriate vs. inappropriate behaviors with each other and students, it’s different than having an ethical code to be accountable to. I feel like if I start to judge my coworkers as being unethical, I may run the risk of being unethical myself by not taking into account the differences in awareness and training between myself and others.

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10^th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.