Among the code of ethics that guides the members of the human service profession is the Australia Counselling Association code of ethics for counselors (ACAEC). It is a code that guides therapists, counselors, and all working in the human service profession. The role of the code is to provide a base for the practice of the profession. It outlines the ethical issues that all professionals should be keen on and gives a way of handling dilemmas (Athanasou, 2020). It also ensures that the members adhere to the code of ethics provided. Moreover, it protects the professions and the community. ACAEC has great significance to the community as it contains journals and articles that members can access. Secondly, it has a free toll which every community member can use to contact them and get an immediate response. In addition, the code provides guidelines that one should follow when working on social media (Athanasou, 2020). With the emerging social media issues, maintaining confidentiality is key to maintaining one’s reputation and those of others. Protecting the client’s privacy should never be taken for granted. ACAEC plays a major role in the human service profession to the community and also offers standards of practice in all spheres.
The code of ethics helps give the members identity and show them their responsibilities. The ACAEC outlines the code of ethics to be followed, the code of practice, the counselor’s responsibility to the clients, the counselor’s obligation to social media, confidentiality, and anti-discriminatory practice (Australian Counselling Association, 2022). In addition, it also gives the exceptional circumstances upon which one could break the confidentiality rule. ACAEC also gives the boundaries that every counselor should keep, guidelines on the counseling environment, and the multiple roles of the counselor.
The Role and Value of the ACAEC in the Human Service Profession
There are several roles of ACAEC in the human service profession. The first role is to help the human service professional (HSP) work with the government to ensure the members of the public and the HSP themselves benefit from the service they give. The code of ethics gives guidelines that protect the HSP from doing anything that would make them liable to the law. It also protects the public from some conduct that would injure them emotionally, cause physical harm, or cross their boundaries. The second role of the code of ethics is to monitor, sustain, set, and advance the professional standards of the HSP as they get an education and practice their profession (Athanasou, 2020). The code of ethics gives guidelines to the members and improves their education so they may be efficient in the field. It also ensures that nothing is comprised when offering the service to people or getting an education. Third, the ACAEC provides registration of members and a way of dealing with the complaints about the registered members. Since HSP deals with humans, it is bound to have many complaints, and ACAEC provides a way of dealing with complaints so that both the plaintiff and the defendant are satisfied (Australian Counselling Association, 2022). In addition, they help give the members identification and credentials that would help them practice their profession. Finally, it provides an industry-based association so that the members give their best while handling the members and benefit while providing the service.
Strengths and Limitations of ACAEC in the Community
ACAEC is significant in the professional life of a counselor and the current community in 2022. It gives an inclusive and tiered membership structure where the whole community can register and be part of the organization. It protects all its members and ensures they get access to services without discrimination. Secondly, it encourages the HSP to continue with education and acquire the required credentials, thus ensuring they give proper service to the community members. In addition, the ACAEC contains journals and articles that have been peer-reviewed to help the counselors while handling the clients and also to inform the community that their condition is not unique and they can always get help (Australian Counselling Association, 2022). Moreover, the ACAEC provides information through electronic mail so that anyone can access it anytime from wherever they are located. In addition, it also has a policy of ready access, gives timely responses to all the community members, and offering g toll-free calling (Athanasou, 2020). ACAEC also engages in community projects such as rural counseling, where all the community members benefit. Finally, it has set standards for the training of professionals to ensure that all HSP offer the best services to the community and therefore protect the welfare of the community to ensure that no one crosses boundaries without facing the law while handling the clients. ACAEC, therefore, determines the choices of the HSP and underpins their action, ensuring good ethical conduct between the counselor and the community.
ACAEC also contains some limitations that would impact the community negatively. First, the standards and requirements for professional practice must be revised to point out exactly what is wrong according to ethics. It gives the HSP the ability to decide what is moral based on their culture and what the community thinks, which might differ from one person to another (Java et al., 2021). Another area for improvement is that it does not give the counselor a chance to refer the client to another counselor in case he is uncomfortable with them. The code emphasizes creating a meaningful relationship with the client, and breaking the relationship is considered a violation of the client’s trust. Therefore, the counselor would be forced to deal with the client even though they do not want to, which might yield negative results for the community.
Counselors’ Obligation on Social Media
Social media has become an emerging issue in the current generation, especially among the youth. Many people like updating every occasion on social media without considering the content or the impact that content would have on the general society. In addition, the current generation is mobile, and one would need to access the counseling service from a specific HSP without necessarily traveling to where they are (Java et al., 2021). Social media offers a chance to receive counseling in one’s comfort zone. As an upcoming HSP, one needs to be cautious with what they post on social media, especially related to the client they have attended to (Clarke & Wallgren-Pettersson, 2018). Especially as a student, one would like to update all the activities, achievements, the places they have visited, and even the issues of the client they have just served. All HSP should also be up to date with the current state of affairs where everything is going digital and learn how to attend to clients from wherever they are, therefore saving on transport costs. Therefore, the theme of the counselor’s obligation on social media is related to any student who is an upcoming HSP.
The theme discusses the code of ethics and practice that every counselor should consider while using social media. Secondly, it gives the scope of practice for the registered counselors concerning social media, and finally, it gives guidelines for online counseling and psychotherapy. Under the code of ethics and practice, the theme states that all HSP should adhere to the confidentiality policy. The confidentiality policy covers their and the client’s confidentiality in the digital world (Clarke & Wallgren-Pettersson, 2018). One should only identify or use their clients as an example with their consent on social media. Everything discussed should be kept between the two unless the client agrees that their information could be shared on social media (Australian Counselling Association, 2022). Secondly, when professionals advertise their services, they should give a truthful representation of their qualifications and be transparent in their services. One should refrain from giving a piece of false information whatsoever to lure clients into looking for their service. In addition, one should protect the profession’s reputation and fellow counselors in disagreement; one cannot disrepute the profession or their peers. Finally, the registered members should be disciplined so as not to behave in a manner that would kill the confidence of the public and the resolution of professional issues.
In addition, all the HSP should be culturally sensitive and respect all the views of people acknowledging the differences and embracing the similarities. One should not use social media to discriminate against others or make them feel like their views are unacceptable. The second area of the theme talks about the scope of practice for the registered members. As a student working towards the emerging identity in HSP, one should abide by the ethical standards in the ACAEC. Moreover, one should always provide consistent information about HSP competencies on social media. One should refrain from exaggerating or giving less information that a client might misinterpret, jeopardizing professional standards (Athanasou, 2020). All counselors in social media should maintain a professional relationship with other professionals within the service. The theme also guides on offering online sessions, and it states that one should ensure that the information they give on their site is accurate and always updated to avoid misleading clients (Australian Counselling Association, 2022). One crucial thing is confidentiality. Whether online or face-to-face, one should not disclose any information about the client to anyone without the client’s consent. Without the client’s consent, one cannot use the information in research work or supervision. Therefore, the theme is worth consideration for an upcoming HSP.
Conclusion
ACAEC is a code of ethics that guides the HSP as they relate to the clients, themselves, the public, and social media. They have several roles, such as maintaining the professional standards of all counselors and therapists. Secondly, they set guidelines that every HSP should follow while offering service and also provide a chance for registration of members, offering them security for their jobs. ACAEC has many strengths for the community, such as participation in community counseling and protecting the interests of the community members when in a counseling session. However, it does not describe the moral obligation of the counselors, leaving it open for them to decide what is good and bad. The code has several themes guiding the profession, one of which is the obligation to social media, which every upcoming HSP should always obey. The theme gives the code of ethics and practice that every HSP should follow. In addition, it gives the scope within which the organization’s members should practice their profession through social media. It also outlines the guidelines one would follow while inline sessions with a client.
References
Athanasou, J. A. (2020). Guest editorial: Implications for practice. The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 26(1), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1017/jrc.2020.11
Australian Counselling Association. (2022). Code Of Ethics and Practice of the Australian Counselling Association. Australian Counselling Association.
Clarke, A. J., & Wallgren-Pettersson, C. (2018). Ethics in genetic counseling. Journal of Community Genetics, 10(1), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-018-0371-7
Java, S., Mohammed, H., & Bhardwaj, A. B. (2021). Psychological analysis of online counselling platforms offering mental health support. 2021 12th International Conference on Computing Communication and Networking Technologies (ICCCNT). https://doi.org/10.1109/icccnt51525.2021.9579871
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