Code of Ethics: Eight Principles

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Autonomy1

Beneficence1

Justice2

Principle 1: Legal Standards and Moral Standards2

Principle 2: Responsibility3

Principle 3: Non-Discrimination4

Principle 4: Competence5

Principle 5: Confidentiality6

Principle 6: Inter-professional Relationships7

Principle 7: Client Welfare8

Principle 8: Publication Credit8

Conclusion9

Code of Ethics: Eight Principles

Introduction

Ethics is defined as the, discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligations.

Or

Ethics are the principles of conduct governing a group or individual. (Webster's Dictionary)

It is very important for every professional to act in an ethical manner. That is why the subject of ethics is of immense importance for every professional. The ethical consideration outlines the way in which professionals should conduct their professional lives.

Principle 1: Legal Standards and Moral Standards

The drug and alcoholism counselor should not claim in direct or by implication, any professional affiliation or qualification that counselor does not possess. There is stated purpose of National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, the counselor should never and by no means use the name of association for the purpose other than the stated purposes of the association.

The counselor should not let anyone use his or her name with any product or service; this will be considered as misleading and incorrect and will be dealt accordingly (Washington. 1996).

The person, counselor works with is not in a position to write a book on this subject. This is the reason that he is reluctant to use his name. Taking ideas from counselor is one aspect and presenting them in the proper manner is another. The person willing to write the name of the counselor as coauthor, should consider this fact that it will not be wise to say that a counselor has written this book, while counselor has not even seen it yet.

It is not according to the professional standards of the counselor to let his name being used in a book without even reading it. The name of the counselor as an author will be a total lie and fraud. The book which the counselor has not even seen will be claiming to have written by him. This will be against the ethics of the professionalism. The work should be at least read by the counselor and double checked before publishing. This might be justifiable solution in this case.

Principle 2: Responsibility

Responsibility can be dividing in to two headings. The responsibility of the client, and the responsibility of the counselor. However, the responsibilities of the counselor are of the main focus here. Since it is the client in whom benefit this relationship prevails. The responsibility of the counselor is further divided into two, responsibility as a teacher and responsibility as a practitioner.

The drug abuse and alcoholism counselor should deal the professional matters with objectivity and integrity. Counselor should maintain the highest standards in the service the counselor offers. The counselor as a teacher should recognize that his or her primary responsibility is to impart knowledge and skills regarding the chemical dependency in the disease. The counselor should accept the responsibility of the professional challenge arising out of his or her work...