CODE OF ETHICS COMPARISON PAPER 1

Running Head: CODE OF ETHICS COMPARISON PAPER

Name: Salvin Albritton Jr Professor: Dr. Jeff Logue Course: Coun 501-B22 Date: September 4, 2011

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Abstract Code of ethics guides the general principles of an organization. It outlines the purpose of the employees and the rights of the client. This paper studies the code of ethics of the American Association of Christian Counselors and the American Counseling Associations. The similarities and differences of the two codes of ethics are studied in reference to their general guiding principles in relation to discrimination, fees and fraud.

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ACA and AACC Code of Ethics Comparison The code of ethics for the American Association of Christian Counselors was established in the year 2004. It was designed to assist the members of the AACC in serving their clients. The American Counseling Association code of ethics on the other hand was formed in the year 2005. Both of these two codes of ethics were established with an aim of promoting the quality of professional counseling provided by its members. The major difference in the two codes of ethics is that, unlike the American Counseling Association code of ethics, the American Association code of ethics is guided by Christian principles and is therefore written with a biblical foundation. Both of these two codes of ethics seek to protect the client in guiding the way a counselor should carry out his duties and how he should treat the client. They both outline the rights and duties of the client. Discrimination In both the ACA code of ethics (2005) and the AACA code of ethics (2004), the outlined principles in relation to discrimination are similar. The counselors of both organizations are against any discrimination based on ethnicity, age, race, culture, religion, gender identity, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language preference or any other basis that the law prescribes. The Counselors are mindful of the impact that any kind of treatment will have on their clients and, therefore, are careful not to discriminate against students, clients, employees, research participants or supervisees. At the AACC, staffs are hired promoted or evaluated base on merit. The merit is as a result of an individuals credentials, experience, competence, integrity, responsibility, ethical excellence and training. An individual is not hired or promoted based on their race, age,

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gender, ethnicity, medical status, special relationship with other staff or employer, disability and socioeconomic status. Both codes of ethics protect people from being denied advancement, employment, tenure, admission to academic programs or promotions based on their ethnicity. The counselors are prohibited from exploiting, harming or subjecting their clients to unjust discrimination. The two codes of ethics are therefore clear on the discrimination and are also clear on the rights of the clients. Fees In the case of fees, both the ACA code of ethics (2005) and the AACC code of ethics (2004) put the clients financial status into consideration. The AACC code of ethics (2004) provides that the professional counselors will set reasonable and fair fees for the services they offer. The time taken, contracted services and ability of the client to pay should be considered when setting the fees. The financial relationship with the client system and the client seeks to avoid any confusion, misrepresentation and deception about the fees. The ACA code of ethics (2005) provides that, the counselors should consider the locality and the financial status of the client before considering the amount of fees to charge for professional counseling services. The counselors, however, help the clients to find other comparable services with cost that is acceptable if the client finds the established fees structure unaffordable. The rules and schedule for payment shall be set out to the client before counseling. Agreement should be reached at the early stages of the professional relations about the fees and schedules for payment. An accurate and current account on the current and previous charges shall be provided to the client or their representative upon their request. The AACC and ACA codes of ethics provide other provisions that are different from each other in relation to fees. Some of these provisions include charging private fees,

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financial integrity, self-serving financial relations, what to do in case a client fails to pay fees, issues of bartering, accepting gifts and issues on advertising fees. In the AACC code of ethics (2004), counselors are permitted to set their own fees within the bounds of the community, Professional and biblical standards. They are, however, encouraged to consult the fees schedules that are scaled to the ability of the client to pay. This ensures that counseling services are affordable to those that are not financially stable. The code of ethics, however, encourages Christian counselors to look beyond the fees schedule and to offer pro bono services in order to assist those who are not able to pay. Despite the fact that the AACC code of ethics (2004) does not give a provision on the unpaid fees, in the ACA code of ethics (2005), if a client fails to pay the agreed fees, the counselor may choose to take legal measure or use collection agencies. However, the counsel has to inform the client of his intention and offer him an opportunity to pay the amounts due. The ACA code of ethics allows counselors to barter as long as the relationship does not exploit, harm or give the counselor an advantage over the client. The cultural implications that bartering will have should be discussed with the client and any agreement documented in form of a written contract. Gifts are permitted under the ACA code of ethics (2005). However, the challenges that involve accepting gifts are clear to all counselors. They also know that some cultures offer small gifts for showing gratitude and as a token of respect. Counselors should consider the monetary value of a gift, the therapeutic relationship, what motivated the client to give the gift and their motivation for either accepting or declining the gift. The AACC code of ethics (2004) is silent on gifts. In the AACC code of ethics (2004), any form of financial practices that will result in self-serving and greedy outcomes should be avoided by the counselors. Clients should not be selected or their services prolonged just because they are in a position to pay, nor should

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services to those with insufficient fees be terminated quickly. The code of ethics prohibits counselors from dividing fees with other professional or accepting to be paid a fee as a result of making a referral. Problems should not be exaggerated or referrals made based on the interest that the counselor has with an organization or institution. Fraud Both the ACA and AACC codes of ethics provide that the research results should be true and accurate. No fraudulent research should be carried out by the researches. They should ensure that data is not distorted or misrepresented. The conclusion should not be bias with an aim of having it conform to the outcome desired or the agendas preferred. The researchers should, therefore, fully report the research results. They should be accurate and without distortion or alteration of data. The conclusion and data should be simply and clearly reported and all the problems with the research design should be discussed fully. The AACC code of conduct and the ACA code of conduct are, therefore, written with the similar objective of guiding the counselors in carrying out the services and to protect the rights of the clients and any other party. They are the guiding principles for carrying out the core activities of the two organizations.

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Reference American Counseling Association (2005). ACA Code of Ethics. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from http://www.counseling.org/Resources/CodeOfEthics/TP/Home/CT2.aspx American Association of Christian Counselors (2004). AACC Codes of Ethics. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from http://www.aacc.net/about-us/code-of-ethics/