ACA+Ethical+Decision-Making+Model

“Counselors are often faced with situations which require sound ethical decision making ability. Determining the appropriate course to take when faced with a difficult ethical dilemma can be a challenge. To assist ACA members in meeting this challenge, the ACA Ethics Committee has developed A Practitioner's Guide to Ethical Decision Making. The intent of this document is to offer professional counselors a framework for sound ethical decision making. The following will address both guiding principles that are globally valuable in ethical decision making, and a model that professionals can utilize as they address ethical questions in their work.”


 * Identify the problem: A pregnant teenager case
 * Personal: Problems the counselor may face himself
 * Daughters of his own and how to separate his feeling about them from Jenny's situations
 * His own views toward teen pregnancy and abortion
 * Client: Problems regarding Jenny
 * Maturity Level
 * Reasons for not telling mom
 * Religious?
 * Other family dynamics
 * Workplace: Problems regarding Michael's place of employment
 * School board policies regarding the issue
 * Legal: Any legal problems he may face
 * Does the counselor have to inform her parents of her pregnancy, regardless of her decision to obtain an abortion or not
 * Ethical: Ethical dilemmas related to this situation
 * Should the counselor tell her parents
 * Being sure not to impost his beliefs onto her
 * Being sure to separate her from his own daughters


 * Apply the ACA Code of Ethics
 * For this case, it’s important to look at the ASCA Code of Ethics, as well as the ACA code of ethics. These codes are similar; however the ASCA code focuses more on specifically counseling minors than does the ACA code.
 * ASCA Code of Ethics
 * Standard A.2.a. : “Inform individual students of the purpose, goals, techniques, and rules of procedure under which they may receive counseling. Disclosure includes the limits of confidentiality in a developmentally appropriate manner. Informed consent requires competence on the part of students to understand the limits of confidentiality and therefore, can be difficult to obtain from students of a certain developmental level”
 * Standard A.2.d.: “Recognize their primary obligation for confidentiality is to the students but balance that obligation with an understanding of parents’/guardians’ legal and inherent rights to be the guiding voice in their children’s lives, especially in value-laden issues. Understand the need to balance students’ ethical rights to make choices, their capacity to give consent or assent and parental or familial legal rights and responsibilities to protect these students and make decisions on their behalf.”
 * Standard A.1.c.: “Respect student’s values, beliefs and cultural background and do not impose the school counselor’s personal values on students or their families.”
 * Standard A.1.d.: “Knowledgeable of laws, regulations, and policies relating to their student and strive to protect and inform students regarding their rights.”


 * ACA Code of Ethics
 * Standard B.2.d.: “To the extent possible, clients are informed before confidential information is disclosed and are involved in the decision making process. When circumstances require the disclosure of confidential information, only essential information is revealed.”
 * Standard C.2.e.: “Counselors take reasonable steps to consult with other counselors or related professionals when they have questions regarding their ethical obligations or professional practice.”


 * Nature and Dimensions of the Dilemma
 * Moral Principals Applied to the Case
 * Autonomy
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Is Jenny mature enough to make a rational decision about her pregnancy and decision to tell her mother?
 * Beneficence
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael needs to be proactive in helping Jenny, but at the same time, be sure that no harm falls upon her, her unborn baby, or her family
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fidelity
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael may be worried that telling Jenny’s mother about her pregnancy may ruin her trust in him. He should work with jenny to find a balance between doing what’s best for her and still maintaining and therapeutic relationship.


 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Potential Courses of Action
 * Inform Jenny's mother without speaking to Jenny first
 * Meet with Jenny again, talk over all of her options and try to get her to tell her mother
 * Let Jenny decide on her own what's best for her
 * Tell the principal or other supervisor about Jenny's situation and let them decide what to do


 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Potential consequences
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If Michael tells Jenny’s mother without Jenny’s knowledge, he will more than likely lose any trust Jenny had in him. He may interrupt her family life in a negative way. He may also ruin his reputation around the school and have other students not trust him if Jenny tells them what happened.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We think this is the best option. Michael’s first meeting with Jenny was short and I don’t think he had enough time to make a real decision about what to do. I think it was a good idea to ask Jenny to come back later so that he may, gather his thoughts and feelings about the subject, as well as determine what ethical and legal options he has. He will need more time with Jenny to determine her maturity level and to gain more facts about the situation so that he can make the most ethical and legally responsible decision.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Before Michael takes this route, I think he needs to meet with her more to determine her mental status and if she’s capable and mature enough to handle this on her own. If he determines that she is, this is a ethically and legally sound option.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If Michael passes Jenny to someone else, not only is he relinquishing his duty as counselor and her advocate, but he would also lose her trust. Michael should determine what is best for Jenny; that’s his job.

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 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Select course of actions
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If we were Michael, we would continue to meet with Jenny to find more out about her situation and her maturity level. If Jenny still did not want to tell her parents, we would try to get her to tell them herself. She may be unaware that she would have to have their consent to have an abortion. This fact alone may persuade her to tell them herself. If we felt like Jenny was mature enough to handle this situation on her own, we would make sure she knew all of her options and that we talked about the consequences of each, but ultimately we would let her make her own decision. We would continue to be there for her for support or if she changed her mind and determined that she wanted to take a different route. In any of these scenarios, we would feel confident that we would treat any other student in the same way. We would feel comfortable if our decision were made public and we would advise any other counselor in my position to do the same.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">"Implement the course of action
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">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.”

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Holly Forester-Miller, Ph.D. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Thomas Davis, Ph.D. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Copyright © 1996, American Counseling Association. A free publication of the <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">American Counseling Association promoting ethical counseling practice in service to the <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">public. -- Printed and bound copies may be purchased in quantity for a nominal fee from <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">the Online Resource Catalog or by calling the ACA Distribution Center at 800.422.2648.