2.5 Professionalism

Professionalism in counseling involves the fundamental guidelines that identify what is considered right and wrong behaviors by counselors and professional mental health providers working with clients. Ethical breaches are not only a legal concern; they can also severely harm the person being counseled. The substance use disorder and mental health counseling profession prides itself on its focus on human development and knowledgeable, insightful guidance in the maturation process, which speaks to the fragility of any such profession. Counselors guiding clients, whether students, patients, or concerned others, must operate under ethical guidelines to ensure protection from malpractice and civil liability lawsuits.

Ethical guidelines help to ensure the safety of the client as well as the counselor’s professional reputation. A sound knowledge base of potential conduct deemed unethical aids in avoiding situations where the counselor might be deemed at fault. Many agencies and universities have a handbook of such ethics of professionalism, which includes what is considered appropriate conduct and procedures to follow in investigating misconduct allegations. The ethics of professionalism is essential to substance use and mental health counseling, as it defines what is acceptable and what is outside the bounds of counselor conduct.

Professionalism plays a vital role in the relationships between counseling professionals and their clients. Professionalism can be dissected into four interrelated components: ethics, performance, appearance, and demeanor. Ethics is the underlying component of these elements that encompasses the remaining three. The ethics of professionalism consist of principles that govern one’s professional behavior, performance standards that ensure one’s work meets acceptable levels, appearance and dress codes that engender confidence and respect and rules for personal conduct.

Adherence to the ethics of professionalism ensures competence in practicing professional skills. All trained counselors possess unique skills and knowledge to perform at a basic competency level. Under some conditions, well-intentioned and well-learned skills can lead to errors of judgment. Therefore, the ethics of professionalism includes both performance and educational requirements that help ensure all professionals’ ongoing competence. Similarly, the ethics of professionalism in counseling ensures that a commitment to this code of ethics is a condition for employment and licensure. That is, prospective counselors should be aware that jobs in this field invariably mean accepting this understanding of professional behavior, which is implied by licensure and thus is implied by the ethical duty to report another’s failure to act professionally.

Second, adherence to the ethics of professionalism ensures the proper handling of clients and confidential client communications. Any communication engendered by the counseling relationship has an ethical status. A great deal of concern is taken to protect the issues that bring clients to seek professional assistance. Professional training also focuses on the need to ensure that the welfare of clients is the primary concern of the counselor’s thoughts, motivations, and actions. As such, there are several duties prescribed by the ethics of professionalism that protect clients and maintain confidentiality.