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Library · Domain 1. Professional Development & Counselor Self-Awareness · 1A. Professional Development

Task 1A.6

Training in counseling ethics

“Engage in training related to Counseling ethics” (NBCC, 2027 task 1A.6)

Ethics training keeps counselors familiar with the codes they are bound by, with how those codes are applied, and with structured ways to reason through dilemmas. Most state boards require ethics hours for license renewal, and the profession treats ongoing ethical learning as part of competence. The exam tests knowledge of the major codes, ethical principles, and decision-making models.

Key points

  • Counselors follow the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) and, if certified, the NBCC Code of Ethics; state licensing laws and board rules also bind them and can be stricter.
  • The ACA Code names core professional values and the ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity and veracity.
  • Ethical decision-making models generally move through identifying the problem, applying the codes and law, considering the principles, consulting, generating options, weighing consequences, choosing and documenting a course of action.
  • When ethics and law conflict, the ACA Code asks counselors to make known their commitment to the code and work to resolve the conflict, and if it cannot be resolved, they may follow the law consistent with basic human rights.
  • Many state boards require a set number of ethics hours each renewal cycle, and some require training on the state's own laws.
  • Good ethics training uses realistic cases, including new areas such as technology, social media and telehealth.
  • Ignorance or misunderstanding of an ethical responsibility is not a defense against a complaint.

In practice

A counselor's group practice holds a quarterly ethics hour in which members bring de-identified dilemmas and work through them with a decision-making model. One quarter, a member uses it to plan how to handle a client's request to connect on social media.

Before renewing her license, a counselor completes a board-approved ethics course and uses what she learns to update her informed consent form to cover texting and electronic communication.

Check yourself

Name the six ethical principles listed in the ACA Code of Ethics.

Autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity and veracity, which underlie ethical decision-making.

Can a counselor defend against an ethics complaint by saying they did not know the rule?

No, because counselors are responsible for knowing and understanding the codes that apply to them.

What should a counselor do when a law appears to conflict with the ethics code?

Make known their commitment to the code, seek to resolve the conflict through consultation and proper channels, and if it cannot be resolved, they may follow the law.

NBCC's knowledge and skills for 1A. Professional Development

Knowledge of: Cross-cultural fairness; Continuing education requirements; Levels of advocacy and social justice.

Skill in: Engaging in clinical consultation; Engaging in clinical supervision; Selecting appropriate continuing education resources.

A study guide written by ExamDragon from NBCC's published task; not NBCC material and not part of the exam.