Promoting a Contextual Perspective in the Application of the ACA Code of Ethics: The Ethics into Action Map

Ethics, like many intangible aspects of personal and professional behavior, must be made explicit so that they can be thoroughly examined and fully integrated into one's professional being. Making ethics explicit implies the ability to relate an ethical standard to specific potential incidences in counseling, thus examining how a standard is applied to various situations. Doing so requires constant and deliberate action on the part of the practicing counselor. Taking such a proactive stance in examining how ethical standards are applied to practice is especially critical to the professional counselor when she or he transitions from graduate school to a counseling career and begins to apply what has been learned in school to the world of work. For community counselors embarking on careers in particular settings, such as the public systems of child welfare and criminal justice, the need to be diligent in understanding how to apply the ACA Code of Ethics (hereinafter referred to as the Code; American Counseling Association [ACA], 2005), may have even greater significance. This level of significance may be a result of the multiple forces that influence treatment philosophy in such large public human service systems, such as working with a wide range of professionals from varying disciplines, the legal system, various system issues, numerous accrediting bodies, and various advocacy groups (to name some of the influential factors). Although this type of diversity may promote multiple treatment perspectives, such factors may also present unique challenges to the professional counselor when she or he attempts to apply ethical standards. Challenges may emerge as the counselor attempts to become familiar with the "system" by trying to relate the broad treatment philosophy to her or his professional frame of reference (i.e., counseling). For counselors to address such challenges, there is a need for greater understanding of the contextual nature of ethics, particularly in work environments that are rooted in large public systems and, thus, guided by external social forces. Ethical standards of practice offer a sound starting point for the professional counselor who works within a large public system (e.g., child welfare, public health) from which to begin to understand the intersection between her or his profession (i.e., counseling) and the work conducted in the counselor's specific setting. To date, much of the literature has been focused on the application of ethics to broad counseling practice (Corey, Corey, & Callahan, 2007; Ford, 2000; Herlihy & Corey, 2005; Remley & Herlihy, 2005). However, counselors now find themselves working within an increasingly diverse array of environments and with growing numbers of marginalized populations (e.g., welfare recipients). Because of this diversity in practice environments, it is essential for counselors to have a firm working knowledge of ethics that take into account these specific work settings. Possessing such a working knowledge of ethics would result in counselors' ability to apply ethical standards directly to the specific contexts in which they work, thereby making ethical standards of practice explicit in one's counseling practice. The Ethics into Action Map is designed to aid the professional counselor in making the transition from working in general practice settings to working within large public systems. This article begins with an examination of the purpose of ethics and a review of the underlying values guiding ethical standards of the counseling profession and the counseling literature dedicated to applied ethics. The objective of the article is to promote a context-specific focus on applied ethics, addressing the needs of community counselors working within public human service systems. The Ethics into Action Map is presented as a guide to assist the counselor in making ethical standards explicit in the counseling practice. Finally, case examples are used to illustrate application of specific standards of the Code (ACA, 2005) within human service practice settings. …