topic 3 dq 2 resp

Cody Ohira

In the “Putting Clients Ahead of Personal Values” case, counselor students were dismissed from their education programs for refusing to work with clients whose identities and beliefs conflicted with their own (Shallcross, 2024). These cases highlighted the tension between counselors’ personal values and the counseling profession's responsibility to serve all clients equitably. As counselors, it is our responsibility to engage in self-awareness of our own spiritual and moral frameworks and how they can influence our clinical work. The ASERVIC Spiritual and Religious Competencies emphasize that counselors should understand their own beliefs while respecting and recognizing client diversity and the cross-cultural approach of others and work collaboratively with clients/students from different social and cultural contexts (Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling, n.d.).

The ACA code of ethics reinforces that all counselors should avoid imposing their personal values and must respect client diversity (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014, Standard A.4.b). If a counselor refuses counseling due to value conflicts, it can lead to discrimination and unethical decision-making. Ethical practice requires that referrals be made for reasons of competence, not because opposing values clash, ensuring that beneficence, nonmaleficence, and respect for diversity guide decision making.

American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics.  https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling. (n.d.). Spiritual and religious competencies.  https://aservic.org/spiritual-and-religious-competencies/

Shallcross, L. (2024). Putting clients ahead of personal values. Counseling Today Archive.  https://ctarchive.counseling.org/2010/11/putting-clients-ahead-of-personal-values/