Over the last decade, conscience objections have surfaced in the public arena, raising questions as to whether counselors may legally refuse services to LGBTQ+ clients due to a counselor’s personally held beliefs. These laws not only deny services to LGBTQ+ clients, but are in direct violation of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014). In addition to values-based referrals, this presentation will address other challenging and complex ethical and legal issues all counselors, particularly those working with LGBTQ+ adults, need to know.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the impact of conscience clause legislation on the counseling profession.
Examine the intersection of values and ethics in counseling.
Source: Using Technology to Enhance Clinical Supervision, edited by Tony Rousmaniere and Edina Renfro-Michel
Description: In this chapter, we focus on ethical guidelines that are available for counseling supervisors and the underlying ethical principles and virtues to consider in the use of technology-assisted-supervision (TAS).
Objectives:
Examine guidance from the literature, ethical principles, and virtue ethics on the use of technology in clinical supervision.
Explore common ethical issues counselors encounter in technology-assisted supervision (TAS).
The historical antecedents leading to the formation and implementation of institutional review boards (IRBs) are rooted in human tragedies from a multicultural context. An understanding and practice of ethical behavior in research is a federal mandate as well as a professional obligation. The requirements of meeting this charge, from both a legal and moral standpoint, are explored in this chapter.
Objectives:
Understand historical antecedents leading to the formation and implementation of institutional review boards, federal guidelines, and research ethics
Examine federal regulations from Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP)
Source: Counseling Research: A Practitioner-Scholar Approach by Richard S. Balkin and David M. Kleist
The 2014 ACA Code of Ethics outlines the ethical responsibilities of its members and provides guidance to counselors in fulfilling their professional responsibilities. The ethics code is revised every seven to 10 years to reflect changes in society; changes in the way we, as professional counselors, view our relationships with our clients; and our evolving view of competent practice.
As the counseling profession matures, actions that the American Counseling Association takes help crystalize who we are as a profession. Ethics, foundational moral principles and professional values are central to who we are, what we believe and how we should carry out our responsibilities to others. Each iteration of the ACA Code of Ethics, beginning with the 1961 code, has attempted to highlight that.
ACA’s ethics codes have always put clients first. The 2014 ACA Code of Ethics built upon previous codes to further clarify the expectations for ethical behavior by counselors. The current code makes it clear that counseling is about the client, not the counselor.
Learning Objectives:
Develop an understanding of some changes to the 2014 Code of Ethics;
Understand the issues regarding personal values in counseling; and
Gain an understanding of competence and referrals.
*Counselors requiring New York State approval must contact ACA upon completion to obtain customized CE certificate
Counselors often face difficult situations when counseling
clients with different belief systems. Understanding how one’s own value system
can affect the ability to counsel effectively is the first step to navigating
tricky client sessions and situations. Dr. Stephanie Dailey will discuss ways
counselors can support their clients without sacrificing their own values.
Learning Objectives:
In this webinar participants will:
Understand how personal values can influence a client session
Learn ways to make effective and ethical decisions
Review strategies to prevent the imposition of counselor personal values
*Counselors requiring New York State approval must contact ACA upon completion to obtain customized CE certificate*
Client confidentiality laws mean that closing a practice, even temporarily, comes with certain rules and restrictions. In this webinar, counselors will learn how to create an emergency closure plan that meets those confidentiality laws and protects clients and counselors.
Learning Objectives:
In this webinar participants will:
Understand the importance of preparing for the unexpected: severe illness, disability, death or other sudden professional practice closure.
Learn crucial steps in closing a practice, whether expected (e.g., retirement or job change) or unexpected, including considerations in appointing a records custodian, notice to clients, etc.
Resources for planning for the future, for counselors and mental health professionals of any age and any stage of professional life.
*Counselors requiring New York State approval must contact ACA upon completion to obtain customized CE certificate*
Technology offers new and efficient tools to help practitioners work with clients. Whether you’re opening new channels of communication, seeking to understand client interactions, or providing services entirely online, technology is now integral to professional counseling. As professional counselors and educators use more and newer technology, it's important to understand standards of practice, ethical and legal implications. In this webinar, Counseling Today’s Tech Tutor, Rob Reinhardt, gives an update on prominent technologies - including email, texting, and distance counselor (telehealth). Learn how the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics and laws, such as HIPAA.
Learning Objectives:
In this webinar participants will:
1) Understand how HIPAA and technology affect one another.
2) Learn best-practice tips to remain HIPAA compliant while using technology in a practice.
You might think that graduate student interns and beginning practitioners working toward their licenses would be the most likely of all counselors to adhere to the ACA Code of Ethics (2014). Their ethics instruction is recent so their knowledge is up to date and they are working under supervision. Yet, interns and new professionals may be at the greatest risk for inadvertently violating the most fundamental ethical standards. In this Session attendees will learn how to avoid beginner mistakes.
Learning Objectives:
Describe the ethical missteps most often made by inexperienced counselors and the common thread that underlies these missteps
Articulate several strategies for avoiding “beginners’ mistakes”
Apply strategies appropriate to their work setting and clientele, to strengthen their sense of ethical selfhood.
Counselors who identify as LGBTQ+ often struggle with whether to disclose this identity to their clients. We will explore some of those struggles and review literature that addresses how disclosure may be performed ethically, as well as how disclosure of LGBTQ+ identity may serve to advocate for the LGBTQ+ population by role modeling and normalization. We will present an ethical decision-making model specifically for LGBTQ+ identity disclosure and apply the model to case vignettes through a group discussion.
Learning Objectives:
Attendees will learn about the challenges that LGBTQ+ counselors face when considering disclosing this identity to clients through research and case examples.
Attendees will review literature concerning self-disclosure and advocacy while exploring how these two concepts may interact specifically in regards to LGBTQ+ identity disclosure.
Attendees will engage in an experiential activity in which they utilize an ethical decision making model to approach a number of vignettes regarding LGBTQ+ identity disclosure.
Over the last decade, conscience objections have surfaced in the public arena, raising questions as to whether counselors may legally refuse services to LGBTQ+ clients due to a counselor’s personally held beliefs. These laws not only deny services to LGBTQ+ clients, but are in direct violation of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014). In addition to values-based referrals, this presentation will address other challenging and complex ethical and legal issues all counselors, particularly those working with LGBTQ+ adults, need to know.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the impact of conscience clause legislation on the counseling profession.
Examine the intersection of values and ethics in counseling.
