Enabling the suicide of such individuals, statutes to the contrary, is unethical. Volition and Suicide Assisted suicide is justified, by its advocates, as a personal right. Unassisted suicide is customarily characterized as a personal decision. The codes of conduct guiding clinicians are inadequate in addressing duty to those who are at risk of becoming suicidal or who are suicidal. Assisted suicide is voluntary when the individual is determined to be capable of independently making the decision.
Unassisted suicide is nonvoluntary in the same way that death as the result of any disease is so.
Counselors and therapists belong to a professional association and are obligated to adhere to a code of ethics as a condition of membership. The code is a statement of standards of conduct towards clients and others. Many ethics codes are on-line. Copies may be requested by writing to the applicable association. Each association has a complaint procedure identifying the complainant, the professional, what happened, and when.