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No profit grows where is no pleasure
taken.
William Shakespeare |
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Every day do
something that will inch you closer to a
better tomorrow.
Doug Firebaugh |
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Deal with the faults of others as gently
as with your own. Chinese Proverb |
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The whole secret of life is to be
interested in one thing profoundly
and in a thousand things well. Hugh
Walpole |
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We see things not as they are, but as we
are. H. M. Tomlinson |
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Too many people don't care what happens
so long as it doesn't happen to
them.William Howard Taft |
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Leadership is doing what is right when
no one is watching. George Van
Valkenburg |
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You can discover more about a person in
an hour of play than in a year of
conversation. Plato
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Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one
thing until you get there. Josh
Billings |
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The brighter you are, the more you have
to learn. Don Herold
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Do what you can, with what you have,
where you are. Theodore Roosevelt
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There is more to life than increasing
its speed.
Gandhi
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And in the end it's not the years in
your life that count. It's the life in
your years.
Abraham Lincoln
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Success is that old ABC -- ability,
breaks, and courage.
Charles Luckman |
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The price of greatness is
responsibility.
Winston Churchill
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It is not the length of life, but the
depth of life. Ralph Waldo Emerson |
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Wisdom begins in wonder.
Socrates
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Vision without action is a daydream,
Action without vision is a nightmare.
Japanese Proverb
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The beginning is the most important part
of the work.
Plato
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Courage is the mastery of fear, not the
absence of fear.
Mark Twain
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It is better to be making the news than
taking it; to be an actor rather than a
critic.
Winston Churchill
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In matter of principle, stand like a
rock; in matters of taste, swim with the
current.
Thomas Jefferson |
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What we see depends mainly on what we
look for.
John Lubbock |
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You gotta have goals! Zig Ziglar
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Common sense is the knack of
seeing things as they are, and
doing things as they ought to be
done.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
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You can only live once, but if
you live right, once is enough.
Joe E. Lewis
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Nothing is a greater impediment
to being on good terms with
others than being at ill ease
with yourself. Balzac
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Hope is a waking dream.
Aristotle |
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Every day do something that will inch
you closer to a better tomorrow. Doug
Firebaugh |
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Guide to Ethical
Decision Making
Holly Forester-Miller, Ph.D. & Thomas
Davis, Ph.D.
Copyright © 1996, American Counseling
Association.
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Moral Principles
Kitchener (1984) has identified five
moral principles that are viewed as the
cornerstone of our ethical guidelines.
The five principles, autonomy,
justice, beneficence,
nonmaleficence, and fidelity
are each absolute truths in and of
themselves.
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Autonomy is the principle that
addresses the concept of
independence. The essence of this
principle is allowing an individual
the freedom of choice and action. It
addresses the responsibility of
the counselor to encourage clients,
when appropriate, to make their own
decisions and to act on their own
values. There are two important
considerations in encouraging
clients to be autonomous. First,
helping the client to understand how
their decisions and their values may
or may not be received within the
context of the society in which they
live, and how they may impinge on
the rights of others. The second
consideration is related to the
client's ability to make sound and
rational decisions. Persons not
capable of making competent choices,
such as children, and some
individuals with mental handicaps,
should not be allowed to act on
decisions that could harm themselves
or others.
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Nonmaleficence is the concept of not
causing harm to others.
Often explained as "above all do no
harm", this principle is considered
by some to be the most critical of
all the principles, even though
theoretically they are all of equal
weight (Kitchener,
1984; Rosenbaum, 1982; Stadler,
1986). This principle
reflects both the idea of not
inflicting intentional harm, and not
engaging in actions that risk
harming others
(Forester-Miller & Rubenstein,
1992).
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Beneficence reflects the counselor's
responsibility to contribute to
the welfare of the client.
Simply stated it means to do good,
to be proactive and also to prevent
harm when possible
(Forester-Miller & Rubenstein,
1992).
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Justice does not mean treating all
individuals the same. Kitchener
(1984) points out that the formal
meaning of justice is "treating
equals equally and unequals
unequally but in proportion to their
relevant differences" . If an
individual is to be treated
differently, the counselor needs to
be able to offer a rationale that
explains the necessity and
appropriateness of treating this
individual differently.
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Fidelity involves the notions of
loyalty, faithfulness, and honoring
commitments. Clients must be able to
trust the counselor and have faith
in the therapeutic relationship if
growth is to occur. Therefore, the
counselor must take care not to
threaten the therapeutic
relationship nor to leave
obligations unfulfilled.
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Ethical
Decision Making Model
We have
incorporated the work of Van Hoose and Paradise (1979),
Kitchener (1984), Stadler (1986), Haas and Malouf (1989),
Forester-Miller and Rubenstein (1992), and Sileo and Kopala
(1993) into a practical, sequential, seven step, ethical
decision making model. A description and discussion of the steps
follows.
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Identify the
Problem.
Gather as much information as you can that will illuminate
the situation. In doing so, it is important to be as
specific and objective as possible. Writing ideas on paper
may help you gain clarity. Outline the facts, separating out
innuendos, assumptions, hypotheses, or suspicions. There are
several questions you can ask yourself: Is it an ethical,
legal, professional, or clinical problem? Is it a
combination of more than one of these? If a legal question
exists, seek legal advice.
Other questions that it may be useful to ask yourself are:
Is the issue related to me and what I am or am not doing? Is
it related to a client and/or the client's significant
others and what they are or are not doing? Is it related to
the institution or agency and their policies and procedures?
If the problem can be resolved by implementing a policy of
an institution or agency, you can look to the agency's
guidelines. It is good to remember that dilemmas you face
are often complex, so a useful guideline is to examine the
problem from several perspectives and avoid searching for a
simplistic solution.
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Apply the
ACA Code of Ethics.
After you have clarified the problem, refer to the Code of
Ethics (ACA, 2005) to see if the issue is addressed there.
If there is an applicable standard or several standards and
they are specific and clear, following the course of action
indicated should lead to a resolution of the problem. To be
able to apply the ethical standards, it is essential that
you have read them carefully and that you understand their
implications.
If the problem is more complex and a resolution does not
seem apparent, then you probably have a true ethical dilemma
and need to proceed with further steps in the ethical
decision making process.
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Determine
the nature and dimensions of the dilemma.
There are several avenues to follow in order to ensure that
you have examined the problem in all its various dimensions.
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Consider
the moral principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence,
beneficence, justice, and fidelity. Decide which
principles apply to the specific situation, and
determine which principle takes priority for you in this
case. In theory, each principle is of equal value, which
means that it is your challenge to determine the
priorities when two or more of them are in conflict.
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Review
the relevant professional literature to ensure that you
are using the most current professional thinking in
reaching a decision.
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Consult
with experienced professional colleagues and/or
supervisors. As they review with you the information you
have gathered, they may see other issues that are
relevant or provide a perspective you have not
considered. They may also be able to identify aspects of
the dilemma that you are not viewing objectively.
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Consult
your state or national professional associations to see
if they can provide help with the dilemma.
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Generate
potential courses of action.
Brainstorm as many possible courses of action as possible.
Be creative and consider all options. If possible, enlist
the assistance of at least one colleague to help you
generate options.
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Consider the
potential consequences of all options and determine a course
of action.Considering the information you have gathered and the
priorities you have set, evaluate each option and assess the
potential consequences for all the parties involved.
Ponder
the implications of each course of action for the client,
for others who will be effected, and for yourself as a counselor. Eliminate the options that clearly do not give
the desired results or cause even more problematic
consequences. Review the remaining options to determine
which option or combination of options best fits the
situation and addresses the priorities you have identified.
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Evaluate the
selected course of action.
Review the selected course of action to see if it presents
any new ethical considerations. Stadler (1986) suggests
applying three simple tests to the selected course of action
to ensure that it is appropriate. In applying the test of
justice, assess your own sense of fairness by determining
whether you would treat others the same in this situation.
For the test of publicity, ask yourself whether you would
want your behavior reported in the press. The test of
universality asks you to assess whether you could recommend
the same course of action to another counselor in the same
situation.
If the course of action you have selected seems to present
new ethical issues, then you'll need to go back to the
beginning and reevaluate each step of the process. Perhaps
you have chosen the wrong option or you might have
identified the problem incorrectly.
If you can answer in the affirmative to each of the
questions suggested by Stadler (thus passing the tests of
justice, publicity, and universality) and you are satisfied
that you have selected an appropriate course of action, then
you are ready to move on to implementation.
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Implement
the course of action.
Taking the appropriate action in an ethical dilemma is often
difficult. The final step involves strengthening your ego to
allow you to carry out your plan. After implementing your
course of action, it is good practice to follow up on the
situation to assess whether your actions had the anticipated
effect and consequences.
The Ethical
Decision Making Model at a Glance
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Identify the problem.
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Apply the
ACA Code of Ethics.
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Determine
the nature and dimensions of the dilemma.
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Generate
potential courses of action.
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Consider the
potential consequences of all options, choose a course of
action.
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Evaluate the
selected course of action.
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Implement
the course of action.
It is
important to realize that different professionals may implement
different courses of action in the same situation. There is
rarely one right answer to a complex ethical dilemma. However,
if you follow a systematic model, you can be assured that you
will be able to give a professional explanation for the course
of action you chose. Van Hoose and Paradise (1979) suggest that
a counselor "is probably acting in an ethically responsible way
concerning a client if (1) he or she has maintained personal and
professional honesty, coupled with (2) the best interests of the
client, (3) without malice or personal gain, and (4) can justify
his or her actions as the best judgment of what should be done
based upon the current state of the profession" (p.58).
Following this model will help to ensure that all four of these
conditions have been met. |
References
American Counseling Association (2005). Code of Ethics.
Alexandria, VA: Author.
Forester-Miller, H. & Rubenstein, R.L. (1992). Group Counseling:
Ethics and Professional Issues. In D. Capuzzi & D. R. Gross
(Eds.) Introduction to Group Counseling (307-323). Denver, CO:
Love Publishing Co.
Haas, L.J. & Malouf, J.L. (1989). Keeping up the good work: A
practitioner's guide to mental health ethics. Sarasota, FL:
Professional Resource Exchange, Inc.
Kitchener, K. S. (1984). Intuition, critical evaluation and
ethical principles: The foundation for ethical decisions in
counseling psychology. Counseling Psychologist, 12(3), 43-55.
Rosenbaum, M. (1982). Ethical problems of Group Psychotherapy.
In M. Rosenbaum (Ed.), Ethics and values in psychotherapy: A
guidebook (237-257). New York: Free Press.
Sileo, F. & Kopala, M. (1993). An A-B-C-D-E worksheet for
promoting beneficence when considering ethical issues.
Counseling
and Values, 37, 89-95.
Stadler, H. A. (1986). Making hard choices: Clarifying
controversial ethical issues. Counseling & Human Development,
19, 1-10.
Van Hoose, W.H. (1980). Ethics and counseling. Counseling &
Human Development, 13(1), 1-12.
Van Hoose, W.H. & Paradise, L.V. (1979). Ethics in counseling
and psychotherapy: Perspectives in issues and decision-making.
Cranston, RI: Carroll Press.
http://www.counseling.org/
ACA
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Counseling
will assist you in developing strategies
for obtaining what is meaningful to you,
and develop the skills needed to
accomplish your goals. |
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Paola
Bonavolontà |
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Consultant in Marketing and
Personal Growth with experience
in managerial area, individual
counselling, groups
facilitation, training courses. |
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Born in Naples, Italy. Graduated
cum laude
in Economics and Business
Administration at 21, I
left my native town to work for
multinational companies.
Before turning 33 I was Global
Marketing Director in New York.
After that, I felt compelled to
change something, keeping what I
loved about my job, creativity,
team work, cooperation.
I began my entrepreneurial
career facilitating
individuals and organizations
with seminars and
consultancy. |
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Combining Counseling & Marketing
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Marketing
is about raising awareness or creating
the desire for something - including
you, your services, skills and
experience.
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Counseling can assist you in identifying skills, interests, needs and values that matter to you and develop the skills needed to accomplish your goals. |
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Because of my
marketing expertise and as a
councelor I may help you in improving
your behavioral approach, to implement
your strategies, to achieve your
personal and professional objectives. |
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If you
desire to reach a goal,
improve your awareness,
your relationship, your
business standard,
reassess your ambitions,
and major sources of
professional and
personal satisfaction.
let's
talk together
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First 50-minutes
session is
complimentary so
that you and I
will have a
chance to learn
more about each
other to
determine if my
services can be
helpful for you.
Contact me
Paola Bonavolontà
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