Aca Codes of Ethics and Amhca Code of Etics
The American Counseling Association and The American Mental Health Counseling Association adhere to the same code of ethics (Linde, 2010). The purpose of the code of ethics is to address the responsibilities of the people the counselor is involved with professionally (2010). This could be clients, patients, co-workers, other professionals, and other observers that know we are counselors (2010). We must monitor our behaviors by placing ethical standards on our behaviors.
Lynn Shallcross (2011) stated “the code provides us with a clearer professional identity, shapes how the public perceives us and offers guidelines for our professional behavior”, and
“Most of us are trained to ‘do things right.’ Ethics help us to ‘do the right thing.’” The two ways that I am going to discuss are the most troublesome issues that I see on a day to basis in my professional work environment. The first comes from the ACA code of Ethics (2005):A.11.b. Inability to Assist Clients:
If counselors determine an inability to be of professional assistance to clients, they avoid entering or continuing counseling relationships. Counselors are knowledgeable about culturally and clinically appropriate referral resources and suggest these alternatives. If clients decline the suggested referrals, counselors should discontinue the relationship (ACA Code of Ethics, 2005). This is an area we as case managers fall short all the time due to financial commitment to our corporate management and ourselves. I have personally witnessed other case managers holding on to clients just so they can make billable hours for themselves or the company. I personally had an incident with a client a few weeks ago where I knew that I could not provide the correct care for him, and I need to seek an inpatient long term substance abuse facility. I could have held onto the client, and taken him to some 12 step recovery meetings and billed for 3 hour sessions, but did not. I practiced some ethics and referred him to a
Lynn Shallcross (2011) stated “the code provides us with a clearer professional identity, shapes how the public perceives us and offers guidelines for our professional behavior”, and
“Most of us are trained to ‘do things right.’ Ethics help us to ‘do the right thing.’” The two ways that I am going to discuss are the most troublesome issues that I see on a day to basis in my professional work environment. The first comes from the ACA code of Ethics (2005):A.11.b. Inability to Assist Clients:
If counselors determine an inability to be of professional assistance to clients, they avoid entering or continuing counseling relationships. Counselors are knowledgeable about culturally and clinically appropriate referral resources and suggest these alternatives. If clients decline the suggested referrals, counselors should discontinue the relationship (ACA Code of Ethics, 2005). This is an area we as case managers fall short all the time due to financial commitment to our corporate management and ourselves. I have personally witnessed other case managers holding on to clients just so they can make billable hours for themselves or the company. I personally had an incident with a client a few weeks ago where I knew that I could not provide the correct care for him, and I need to seek an inpatient long term substance abuse facility. I could have held onto the client, and taken him to some 12 step recovery meetings and billed for 3 hour sessions, but did not. I practiced some ethics and referred him to a