1. Raising the Bar:Critical New Conceptsin the 2014ACA Code of Ethics

2. David KaplanACA Chief Professional Officerdkaplan@counseling.orgwww.counseling.org/kaplan 3. Why me? 4. ACA President that appointed the 2005 EthicsRevision Task Force ACA staff liaison to the 2005 code revision ACA staff liaison to the 2014 code revision 5. www.counseling.org/ethics 6. Members of theACA Ethics Revision Task Force Jeannette Baca Janelle Disney Perry Francis (Chair) Gary Goodnough Mary Hermann Shannon Hodges Lynn Linde Linda Shaw Shawn Spurgeon Michelle Wade Richard Watts Erin Martz (staff liaison) David Kaplan (staff Liaison) 7. Why do you need to know this stuff?THE 500 POUND GORILLAEFFECT 8. 9 9. 10 10. 11 11. 12 12. 13 13. 14 14. 15 15. 55,000 professionalcounselors agree to abideby the ACA Code of Ethics 16. 22 state licensing boardshave adopted the ACA Code of Ethics Alaska Arizona Arkansas California District of Columbia Idaho Illinois Iowa Louisiana Massachusetts Mississippi New Jersey North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Utah West Virginia Wyoming 17. The judicial system uses the ACA codeas the ethical standard for counselors Ward v. Wilbanks Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley 18. 19 19. I have been counseling an adult woman with a presenting problemof difficulty in coping with the death of her mother. Her motherand grandmother (who is also deceased) suffered fromprogressive Alzheimers disease. My client revealed to me thatshe administered a lethal dose of sleeping pills to her grandmotherduring the final stages of the Alzheimers, and that she alsocaused the death of her mother by withholding cardiac medication.It was then revealed that it is likely she will have to take care of athird relative with Alzheimers disease, an elderly Aunt. It isimportant to understand that my client is not a bad person and didwhat she did while under tremendous stress and pressure andwith feelings of compassion for the deteriorating condition of hermother and grandmother. My question is in two parts: First, whatare my ethical obligations upon hearing the manner in which myclients mother and grandmother died? Second, am I responsibleto do anything about the upcoming situation with the Aunt? 20. Theme:Raising the Bar21 21. Raising the Bar Professional values Ethical decision making Counselor Educators Counselor Personal values Social media & distancecounseling 22. Raising the Bar Professional values Ethical decision making Counselor Educators Counselor Personal values Social media & distancecounseling 23. Raising the barforprofessional values 24. The values of our professionare now explicitly stated Human development Multiculturalism and diversity Social Justice Safeguarding the counselor-clientrelationship Practicing in a competent & ethical manner 25. And on the more nuts and boltslevelThe code states for the first time that allcounselors must take case notesCounselors create and maintain records anddocumentation necessary for renderingprofessional services. (B.6.a.) 26. And make a reasonableeffort to provide pro-bonoservices(C.6.e) 27. As well as adding awhistleblower policyCounselors do not harass a colleague oremployee or dismiss an employee whohas acted in a responsible and ethicalmanner to expose inappropriateemployer policies or practices. (D.1.i) 28. Raising the barforethical decisionmaking 29. The principles of ethical behaviorare now explicitly stated Autonomy Nonmaleficence Beneficence Justice Fidelity Veracity 30. Along with a new focus on using amethodical approachI.1.b. Ethical Decision MakingWhen counselors are faced with anethical dilemma, they use anddocument, as appropriate, an ethicaldecision making model. 31. An example:A Practitioners Guide toEthical Decision Making byForest-Miller & Daviswww.counseling.org/knowledge-center/ethics 32. Identify the problem Apply the ACA Code of Ethics Determine the dimensions Generate potential courses of action Consider the consequences of all options Select and evaluate an option Implement the course of action 33. Raising the barforcounselor educators 34. Counselor educators now have theethical obligation to provide: Current information & knowledge (F.7.b) Instruction only within their areas ofcompetency (F.7.b) Direct assistance with field placements (F.7.i) Career assistance to students (F.8.b) 35. As well as now explicitly stating theethics of gatekeeping[Counselor educators] recommend dismissal fromtraining programswhen students are unable todemonstrate they can provide competentprofessional services to a range of diverse clients.(F.6.b)Counselor Educators may require students toaddress any personal concerns that have thepotential to affect professional competency (F.8.d) 36. Raising the barforcounselor personalvalues 37. Lets talk lawsuitsWard v. WilbanksKeeton v. Anderson-Wiley 38. ACAs official position on theWard Casewww.counseling.org/knowledge-center/ethicsScroll down to:Ethical Implications of a Critical Legal Case for the CounselingProfession: Ward v. Wilbanks39 39. As a result of these cases 40. An explicit focus onavoiding the imposition of acounselors personal values 41. A.4.b. Personal ValuesCounselors are aware of and avoid imposing their ownvalues, attitudes, beliefs, andbehaviors. 42. Which extends to referralsA.11.bCounselors refrain from referringprospective and current clients basedsolely on the counselors personallyheld values, attitudes, beliefs, andbehaviors43 43. So what does this mean? Our clients are more important than weare. Professional counselors may not denycounseling services to a GLBTQ client (or anindividual belonging to any other protectedclass of clients in C.5) on the basis of thecounselors values. 44. Referrals are to be made on the basis ofskill-based competency, not values. Referral is an issue of last resort.- Kaplan, D.M. (2014). Ethical implications of a critical legalcase for the counseling profession: Ward v. Wilbanks. Journal ofCounseling and Development, 92, 142-146. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00140.x 45. Raising the barforSocial Media & DistanceCounseling 46. Distance Counseling, technologyand social media now get theirown section (H) 47. What the heck is a personal virtualrelationship?A.5.e Personal Virtual Relationships With CurrentClientsCounselors are prohibited from engaging in apersonal virtual relationship with individuals withwhom they have a current counselingrelationship 48. Translation 49. No Friending 50. AndSocial media romancesare treated the same asin-person affairs 51. Other newread between the lines socialmedia imperatives Make your texting rules clear (H.6.b) Dont check out your clients Facebookpage without their permission (H.6.c) 52. Dont disclose confidential informationthrough public social media (H6.d.) Ask yourself if you really want apersonal Facebook page (H.6.a) 53. New distance counselingresponsibilities Determine whether counseling yourclient is legal (H1.b) Verify your clients identity (H.3) Address distance counseling in yourinformed consent procedures (H.2.a) 54. New distance counselingresponsibilities Acknowledge the inherentconfidentiality limits (H.2.b) Encrypt (H.2.d) 55. Mandated clients can choose to refuseservices (A.2.e.) Counselors are now explicitly prohibitedfrom counseling someone with whom theyhave had a previous romantic/sexualrelationship (A.5.b) Self-referrals to your own private practiceare now explicitly prohibited unlesscertain conditions are met (A.10.a) 56. Counselors do not engage in fee splitting orprovide/receive other forms ofremuneration for referrals (A.10.b) A sliding scale is now explicitly acceptable(A.10.c) The use of legal means to collect unpaidfees must be included in your informedconsent documents (A.10.d) 57. Confidentiality now extends to prospectiveclients (B.1.c) The requirement to confirm the diagnosis ofa life-threating disease in order to protectan innocent third party has been removed(B.2.c) In the absence of an agreement to thecontrary, the couple or family is nowconsidered to be the client when conductingcouples or family counseling (B.4.b) 58. There are now explicit guidelines for using casestudies in a classroom (F.7.f) and presentation orpublication (G.5.a) that protect the client Faculty cannot require students to participate inresearch (G.2.b) Faculty cannot submit manuscripts or conductpresentations based on a students work withoutthe students permission and listing the studentas the lead author (G.5.f) 59. WHERE TO GO FROM HERETHE ACA KNOWLEDGE CENTERWWW.COUNSELING.ORG 60. ACA 2014 ethics code resources The code itself Podcast Webinar series Interview series Books* See handout 61. 63 62. 2014 ACA Code of Ethics Resources The code itself is available for download on the ethics section of the ACA website athttp://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/ethics The podcast The NEW 2014 Code of Ethics: An Overview is available on the ACA websiteat http://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/podcasts A comprehensive six-part webinar titled The ACA 2014 Code of Ethics: A 6-part Webinar Series isavailable on the ACA website at http://www.counseling.org/continuing-education/webinars The lead article in the June Counseling Today titled A Living Document of Ethical Guidance focusedon the development and new concepts in the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics. It is also available at CTOnline. Go to http://ct.counseling.org/ and then click on Cover Stories. You can also search CTOnline for other articles on the 2014 code. For example, the August Technology Tutor column wason the new technology ethics in the 2014 code. A six part monthly series New Concepts in the ACA Code of Ethics consisting of interviews withthe Ethics Revision Task Force is being published in Counseling Today. The first one was publishedin the June edition and the interviews are being posted on the ethics section of the ACA website athttp://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/ethics Barbara Herlihy and Gerald Corey have thoroughly revised two bestselling ACA books to includenew concepts on the 2014 Code of Ethics: the ACA Ethical Standards Casebook and BoundaryIssues in Counseling. Part I of the casebook (pp. 1-25) is especially recommended. It is a trulyoutstanding review of new directions in the revised code. Both books are available at the ACAonline bookstore at https://www.counseling.org/publications/bookstore The ACA Ethics Desk Reference for Counselors has been thoroughly revised to speak to the 2014ethics code. It is available through the ACA online bookstore athttps://www.counseling.org/publications/bookstore A benefit of ACA membership is the availability of ethics consults. ACA embers can contact theethics department any time they have a question about the revised code. The professional counselorsin our ethics department sat in on the meetings of the Ethics Revision Task Force and so are well-versedin all of the new concepts and directions as well as intended interpretations. You can contactour ethics department at(800) 347 6647, ext. 314 or ethics@counseling.org Finally, ACA is presenting conference and worship presentations on new concepts in the 2014 ACACode of Ethics at division and branch conferences and workshops. So far, we have confirmed over22 presentations. If you would like to see ACA present a workshop on the 2014 ethics code at yourfavorite division or your branch, please ask them to contact David Kaplan, ACA Chief ProfessionalOfficer at dkaplan@counseling.org 63. Lets Schmooze 64. David KaplanACA Chief Professional Officerdkaplan@counseling.orgwww.counseling.org/kaplan