HUS 3505 - Ethics in Human Services

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Credit(s): 3
Contact Hours: 47
Effective Term Fall 2024 (640)

Requisites

Admission to Health Services Administration (Bachelor of Applied Science) (HSA-BAS) or
Admission to Human Services (Bachelor of Science) (HUMSVC-BS) or
Admission to Applied Mental Health (Advanced Technical Certificate with Financial Aid Eligibility) (AMH-ATC)

Course Description

This course explores the legal, ethical, and professional choices faced by practicing human service professionals. Topics include ethical decision-making, counselor-client relationships, professional standards, attitudes and beliefs, value conflicts, ethical issues in research and testing, counselor competence and supervision, confidentiality, privileged communication, duty to warn and protect, dual relationships, and malpractice. This course also focuses on ethical issues in multicultural/diversity counseling, marital and family therapy, group counseling, and issues related to dealing with unethical behavior.

Course Topics

Ethical Dilemmas for First Responders
 

Content is contextualized for the Law Enforcement/First Responder cohort program. These topic sections will only be made available to the students in the cohort.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. Students will evaluate and investigate ethical standards of the American Counseling Association (ACA) and other related entities in professional counseling by:
    1. distinguishing the history and philosophy of ethics within the counseling profession and its specialty areas.
    2. critiquing ethical standards of professional counseling organizations and credentialing bodies, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling.
    3. judging ethical and legal codes and standards when applied to specific professional workplace settings, such as private practice, school, and agency settings.
    4. evaluating membership benefits, activities, and services to members of the ACA or other related entities.
    5. exploring ethical standard in research and testing.
  2. Students will evaluate how personal beliefs, needs, lifestyle, and cultural background may influence their "ethical sense" by:
    1. appraising the counselors’ roles in social justice, advocacy, prejudices, processes of intentional and unintentional oppression, and discrimination.
    2. critiquing multicultural counseling competencies.
    3. examining self-care strategies appropriate to the counselor role.
  3. Students will analyze the similarities and differences between both legal and ethical issues in professional counseling by:
    1. examining professional counseling credentialing, including certification, licensure, and accreditation practices and standards.
    2. differentiating between legal and ethical expectations for clinical supervision and other forms of professional development.
    3. scrutinizing counselors’ roles and responsibilities as members of interdisciplinary teams.
  4. Students will apply a schema for making ethical decisions by:
    1. comparing/contrasting amongst ethical issues related when working with special populations of clients, marital and family counseling, group counseling, and other areas of specialty practice.
    2. examining ways in which transference and counter transference can impact the therapeutic relationship.
    3. distinguishing ways the use of technology may ethically effect practice.
    4. exploring procedures for identifying abuse and for reporting abuse.
  5. Students will analyze legal standards required for professional practice by:
    1. examining a state’s licensure requirements for practice.
    2. discriminating how a state’s licensure board has operationalized ethical concepts of confidentiality, informed consent, duty to warn and protect, and dual relationships into statute and/or administrative code.
    3. investigating how a state’s licensure board responds to allegations of unethical and/or illegal behavior.

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course the student will, with a minimum of 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.

History of Changes

C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Fall 2024 (640)

Related Programs

  1. Applied Mental Health (AMH-ATC) (660) (Active)
  2. Human Services (HUMSVC-BS) (640) (Active)