Avoiding Harm Counselors act to avoid harming their clients, trainees, and research par- ticipants and to minimize or to remedy unavoidable or unanticipated harm.
Support Network Involvement
Counselors recognize that support networks hold various meanings in the lives of clients and consider en- listing the support, understanding, and involvement of others (e.g., reli- gious/spiritual/community leaders, family members, friends) as positive resources, when appropriate, with client consent.
Counselors’ actions should be consistent with the spirit as well as the letter of these ethical standards. No specific ethical decision-making model is always most effective, so counselors are expected to use a credible model of deci- sion making that can bear public scrutiny of its applica- tion. Through a chosen ethical decision-making process and evaluation of the context of the situation, counselors work collaboratively with clients to make decisions that promote clients’ growth and development. A breach of the standards and principles provided herein does not neces- sarily constitute legal liability or violation of the law; such action is established in legal and judicial proceedings.