Professional Ethics

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The system of values and principles that guide professional behavior.

Codes of Ethics: Understanding the written ethical codes of your profession and their implications for your practice.
Professional Responsibility: Taking responsibility for your actions as a professional and holding yourself accountable for your behavior to ensure the welfare of clients.
Ethical Decision Making: Developing a systematic process for making ethical decisions and understanding the factors that can influence your ethical judgments.
Boundaries and Dual Relationships: Establishing clear boundaries with clients and avoiding dual relationships that could compromise your professional obligations.
Confidentiality and Privacy: Understanding the principles and regulations of client confidentiality and protecting clients' privacy in all instances.
Cultural Competence and Diversity: Recognizing and respecting the diversity of clients, understanding the role of cultural factors in the therapeutic process, and adjusting your practice accordingly.
Competence and Continuing Education: Ensuring that you possess the knowledge and skills needed to provide effective services to clients, constantly improving your competence through continuing education and training.
Supervision: Seeking out appropriate supervision to promote ethical decision-making, identify and address ethical dilemmas, and receive feedback on your practice.
Self-Care: Maintaining your own mental and emotional well-being to avoid ethical violations resulting from burnout, compassion fatigue, or other personal stresses.
Professional Boundaries of Technology: Understanding the parameters and limitations of professional relationships on social media, email, video conferencing, or other technologies used in professional practice.
Confidentiality: This ethical principle emphasizes that information shared by clients or colleagues should be kept private, except for circumstances where information may be legally or ethically required to be disclosed.
Competence: This principle relates to maintaining high standards of professional knowledge and performance in the practitioner's field of work, which includes staying current with the latest advancements and best practices.
Integrity: This principle focuses on the practitioner's commitment to honesty, trustworthiness, and fair dealing with colleagues and clients, and upholding strong ethical standards and integrity in all their professional interactions.
Respect: This principle involves treating others with dignity and respect, avoiding discriminatory practices and behaviors to promote a positive and inclusive environment.
Responsibility: This principle emphasizes that practitioners must assume responsibility for their actions and decisions in the workplace, with a focus on protecting the well-being of clients and maintaining professional commitments.
Fidelity: This principle relates to the practitioner's loyalty and dedication to their profession, colleagues, and clients. It involves acting in the best interests of their clients and following the ethical and professional standards of their field.
Reflection and self-awareness: This principle involves practitioners reflecting on their own professional performance, acknowledging their strengths and limitations, and continually developing their skills and knowledge through professional development activities.
"Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals."
"The word professionalism originally applied to vows of a religious order."
"By no later than the year 1675, the term had seen secular application."
"The term professionalism was applied to the three learned professions: divinity, law, and medicine."
"The term professionalism was also used for the military profession around this same time."
"Professionals and those working in acknowledged professions exercise specialist knowledge and skill."
"How the use of this knowledge should be governed when providing a service to the public can be considered a moral issue and is termed 'professional ethics'."
"Professionals are capable of making judgments, applying their skills, and reaching informed decisions in situations that the general public cannot because they have not attained the necessary knowledge and skills."
"One of the earliest examples of professional ethics is the Hippocratic oath."
"Medical doctors still adhere to this day."
"Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals."
"The term professionalism refers to the three learned professions: divinity, law, and medicine."
"How the use of this knowledge should be governed when providing a service to the public can be considered a moral issue."
"They have attained the necessary knowledge and skills."
"The Hippocratic oath is one of the earliest examples of professional ethics."
"Medical doctors still adhere to this day."
"Professional ethics govern how the use of knowledge should be when providing a service to the public."
"Professionals can make judgments, apply their skills, and reach informed decisions in situations that the general public cannot."
"The term professionalism applies to the three learned professions: divinity, law, and medicine."
"Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals."