The role of a professional code of ethics and personal values can cause difficulty in the counseling profession. Counselors need to clearly define their own personal values and be aware of how these values could possibly affect their treatment of patients who may have differing values. The Code of Ethics that is provided by the American Counseling Association (2014) provides the professional framework for the collective morals of the counseling profession. The code even addresses the role of values within the code. The framework for practice, research, supervision and record keeping are all provided in the code of ethics. The code of ethics is written for both the protection of the patient and their rights but for the counselor as well. There has been much debate recently in the field over personal values and the professional role of the counselor (Francis and Dugger 2014).
