Ethical Practice in the Human Services

Richard D. Parsons, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus in Counselor Education at West Chester University. He has over 45 years of experience in university teaching and clinical practice. Dr. Parsons has authored over 100 books, chapters, and professional articles. His most recent books include AI (Artificial Intelligence): Facilitating the Delivery of Mental Health Services (Cognella); Art Therapy: A Creative and Effective Approach to the Treatment of PTSD (Cognella); Positive Psychology: Science and Application of Psycho-Emotional Health and Well-being (Cognella), Brief Psychotherapy: Time-Limited and Effective Treatment (Cognella), and Facilitating Growth Through Lifespan Development (Cognella). Dr. Parsons also serves as the creator and editor of two book series: Counseling and Professional Identity, a 24-book series targeting counselor educators (Sage Publishing), and The Student Success Series, a ten-book series (Cognella Academic Publishing).Karen L. Dickinson, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Counselor Education at West Chester University of Pennsylvania and Chairperson of the Department. Dr. Dickinson has over 15 years of experience teaching at the university level in counseling preparation programs and has spent over three decades in the K-12 educational system, supporting students as a school counselor, as well as a general education and special education teacher.Dr. Dickinson is the co-author for the following books: Counselor Wellness: Caring for Self to Care for Others (Cognella Academic Publications);  School Counselor as Consultant: Expanding Impact from Intervention to Prevention (Cognella Academic Press); A Student’s Guide to Handling Stress for Cognella, Inc. and Ethical Practice: Beyond Knowing Ethics to Being Ethical for Sage Publications, and a contributing author for Working with Students with Disabilities, a text for school counselors, and ancillary author for Field Experience: Transitioning from Student to Professional, both for Sage. She has presented nationally and internationally on the topic of bullying and students with disabilities. Other presentations and research focus on the school counselor as advocate and leader and training the 21st-century school counselor to support diverse student populations.

An invaluable resource for all professors who train human service majors at the undergraduate level.

• Authors’ PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsPart I: Foundations of Ethical PracticeChapter 1: Ethics – Core to Professional HelpingChapter ObjectivesThe Helping Process: A Blending of Art and ScienceThe Helping Process: The Meeting of Client and HelperThe Role of the Client in the Process of ChangeThe Role of the Helper in the Process of ChangeConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 2: Professional Codes of Ethics: A Comparative LensChapter ObjectivesFormal Ethical Standards: A Mark of a ProfessionStandards Across the ProfessionsBeyond Knowing: A Call to BEING EthicalConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 3: From Knowing Ethics to Being EthicalValue Directing PracticeThe Need for Ethical ClarificationLiving the Foundational Ethical ValuesBeneficence and NonmaleficenceFidelity and ResponsibilityIntegrityRespect for Dignity and AutonomyVeracitySocial JusticeConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 4: Contemporary Models of Ethical Decision-Making in Counseling PracticeThe Shift from Rules to ProcessPractice-Based Models: Pragmatism from the FieldIntegrative Models: Bringing in Morals, Context, and StakeholdersEthics Across WorldviewsValues-Based Conflict and Ethical BracketingCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 5: Informed ConsentChapter ObjectivesThe Rationale for Informed ConsentInformed Consent Across the ProfessionsChallenges to Informed ConsentA Personal, Value-Based ResponseConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 6: ConfidentialityChapter ObjectivesConfidentiality: A Fundamental Ethical PrincipleDifferent Than PrivilegeLimits to Confidentiality and PrivilegeLegal Decisions Regarding Confidentiality and Privileged CommunicationsBeyond Professional Standards: A Personal Moral ResponseConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesAdditional SourcesReferencesChapter 7: Conflict: Being ‘Ethical’ within the Real WorldChapter ObjectivesServing the Individual within a SystemEthical Culture of Social SystemsWho Is the Client?Organizational Conflict and Ethical ResponsibilityBeyond Professional Standards: A Personal Moral ResponseConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 8: Boundaries and the Ethical Use of PowerChapter ObjectivesSetting and Maintaining Professional BoundariesBoundary Violations and Boundary CrossingsProfessional Objectivity: Essential to Professional BoundariesDual Relationships: Crossing and/or Mixing BoundariesSexual Intimacy: A Clear Violation of Professional BoundariesContemporary Challenges to BoundariesLegal and Fiduciary ConsiderationsBeyond Professional Standards: A Personal Moral ResponseA Concluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 9: Ethical Practice in an Increasingly Diverse WorldObjectivesPrejudice – Pervasive in and throughout the Helping ProfessionResponding to the ChallengeConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 10: Ethical Challenges in the Age of AIAI as an Interactive Agent and Relational PartnerAccountability and LiabilityInformed ConsentData Protection and ConfidentialityBoundaries in Digital PracticeConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 11: Ethics and the LawChapter ObjectivesThe Helping Process as a Legal ContractThe Legal Foundation of Ethical PracticeConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 12: Professional Formation and the Maintenance of Competence: The Role of Supervisors, Mentors and ColleaguesCompetency: Knowing What to Do, and Having the Skills to Do ItSupervision: Ethically MandatedEthical Challenges in SupervisionMentoring and Collegial Consultation as Ethical PracticeConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 13: The Ethics of Self-CareObjectivesCompetency: More Than Knowledge andBurnoutCompassion FatigueThe Ethical ChallengeThe Ethical ResponseIntervening in the Face of Burnout and Compassion FatigueConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesChapter 14: From Knowing to Being — The Ethical Self in PracticeThe Limitations of Ethics as KnowledgeEthical Formation: From Principle to IdentityChallenges to Ethical FormationPractices for Cultivating Ethical BeingConcluding Case IllustrationCooperative Learning ExerciseSummaryImportant TermsAdditional ResourcesReferencesAppendix A: Professional OrganizationsAppendix B: Codes of Ethics and Standards of Professional Practice