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618
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Philosophy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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Mod 1 dis 2
Distinguish between moral vs. ethical issues/dilemmas. What role does ethics play in
counseling?
In general, morals deal with issues of right versus wrong and ethics deal with issues of right
versus right. Ethical dilemmas can come about when morals are not enough to determine the best
course of action because there is no way to satisfy all elements of a person’s moral code
(Mitchell, 2018). The distinction between ethics and morals can be tricky but are critical four
mental health clinicians. As counselors we must understand the subtle difference in order to
solve difficult situations both wisely and appropriately. When a counselor refers to ethics, it can
be a fuzzy picture what specifically they are referring to because they can mean code of ethics,
moral values, legal limitations on behavior, community standards, or in some sense of the word it
is meant to encompass any one or all of these concepts (Hill, 2004). In an individual, a moral
defines what their sense of what is right and wrong, reflected in their conscience.
In counseling, ethics plays a role when a counselor is faced with a difficult situation or dilemma.
For example, a counselor may feel it is “morally right” to use all available resources to help
clients, but the moral dilemma is it right to do everything to benefit the client and wrong to leave
some things untried?
Ethical dilemmas, on the other hand may come about when morals are not enough to determine
the best course of action to take. This is because there is no way to satisfy all the elements of a
person’s moral code. This can happen when a counselor feels they
must use every resource to
help the client, but also, they feel they must keep these issues confidential and not able to discuss
them with other counselors.
Another point in counseling when it comes to morals and ethics, is because morals are personal a
counselor may find themselves at a disagreement with a client’s morals. Also, a counselor my
find that their morals do not align with the American Counseling A
ssociation’s ethical code.
Regardless of our own personal opinions or morals, when we work professionally with clients,
we must adhere to the standardized code of the ACA’s ethical code and other professional
organizations code of ethics over our own. “The
ACA's ethical code includes instructions on the
appropriate relationship between counselors and their patients, the rules of confidentiality, details
of counselors' professional responsibilities, guidelines for relationships with other counselors and
syst
ems for making choices in other ethical dilemmas” (Mitchell, 2018).
Reference
Hill, A. L. (2004). Ethical Analysis in Counseling: A Case for Narrative Ethics, Moral Visions,
and Virtue Ethics.
Counseling and Values, 48
(2), 131-148. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-
journals/ethical-analysis-counseling-case-narrative-ethics/docview/207579900/se-2
Mitchell, S. (2018). Ethics vs. morals in counseling. Career Trend. Retrieved from Ethics Vs.
Morals in Counseling (careertrend.com)
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