Code of Ethics of the American Counseling Association
The American Counseling Association (ACA) describes itself as "an educational, scientific, and professional organization whose members work in a variety of settings and serve in multiple capacities." The association has adopted a Code of Ethics that provides guidelines to ACA members around issues of responsible and ethical decision-making.
Five Purposes
According to its Introduction, the ACA Code of Ethics serves five purposes: 1) clarifying members' ethical responsibilities; 2) supporting the ACA mission; 3) establishing principles for behavior and best practices of ACA members; 4) serving as an ethical guide promoting the counseling profession's values; and 5) providing a basis for processing ethical complaints.
Eight Sections
The ACA Code of Ethics address ethical principles required of counselors who subscribe to the organization's purposes. The counseling relationship section (Section A) addresses counselor encouragement of client growth. The sections on confidentiality (B), professional responsibility (C), and professional relationships (D) all address client rights, building trust and boundary-setting between client and counselor. The evaluation and assessment section (E) describes requirements for counselor knowledge of and familiarity with counseling tools, while that on supervision and teaching (F) provides guidelines for training counselors. The research and publication section (G) encourages counselors to add to the profession's knowledge base and describes the proper steps to take. The ethical issues section (H) describes determine and respond to ethical dilemmas and offenses. Section introductions discuss "what counselors should aspire to with regard to ethical behavior and responsibility."
Standards of Practice
This document sets forth the minimal behavioral standards set in the Code of Ethics. Its eight sections describe the information contained in the Code of Ethics in more detail, breaking them down into 51 practice standards.
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