Ethics Codes

A comparative analysis of ethics codes of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC), the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), and the American Counseling Association (ACA).

1,432 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2006 United States

Paper Summary:

The various ethics codes of organization display a remarkable amount of diversity in definition and expectations. Many similarities and differences can be noted in the areas of discrimination, fees, sexual intimacies, and teaching and training. This paper compares and analyzes these ethics codes, focusing on the ethics codes of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors (AAPC), the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), and the American Counseling Association (ACA). The differences exist primarily due to the different world view and primary goals of the writers of the individual codes.

From the Paper:

"Sexual intimacies and misconduct as they relate to counselor relationships are other areas that seem to be universally addressed in ethics codes. This is probably the area in which the codes most closely correspond to each other. Each makes the point abundantly clear that all sexual intimacies with current or former clients are unethical. Each code seems to view referral as the preferred method of dealing with former sexual or marriage partners. The ACA lists a moratorium for having sexual contact with a former client as two years (ACA, 1995), while the AACC says that counseling a former sexual partner is never ethical (AACC, 1998). They all agree, however, that these types of sexual intimacies are an exploitation of the power imbalance that exists between a counselor and a client. Both of the faith based organizations, the AAPC and the AACC, go as far as to define intimacies as including any form of overt or covert sexual harassment, as well. "

Sample of Sources Used:

American Association of Christian Counselors. (1998). The AACC Christian Counseling code of Ethics. Retrieved December12, 2003, from http://www.aacc.net
American Association of Pastoral Counselors. (1994, April 28). Code of Ethics. Retrieved December 12, 2003, from http://www.aapc.org/ethics.htm
American Counseling Association. (1995, April). Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. In J.A., Kottler & Robert W Brown. (1999).
Introduction to Therapeutic Counseling, Voices From the Field. (4th ed., pp. 387-403). Samford, CT: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
The Holy Bible. (King James Version).