Conflicts Between Ethics and Law in Counseling and Psychotherapy

Codes of ethics are designed to guide and govern the behavior of the professional for whom they are written. In such fields as counseling, psychology, and social work, ethical standards are necessary to protect clients, guide professionals, safeguard the autonomy of professional workers, and enhance the status of the profession. Sometimes, however, the professional worker finds that the ethical standards of the profession seem to be in conflict with the law. These conflicts may arise in such areas as advertising, confidentiality, and clients' rights of access to their own files. The authors discuss the nature, ramifications, and implications of ethical-legal conflicts in the helping professions.     

CONTEXTUALISM AND WARRANTED ASSERTION

Abstract: Contextualists offer “high‐low standards” practical cases to show that a variety of knowledge standards are in play in different ordinary contexts. These cases show nothing of the sort, I maintain. However Keith DeRose gives an ingenious argument that standards for knowledge do go up in high‐stakes cases. According to the knowledge account of assertion (Kn), only knowledge warrants assertion. Kn combined with the context sensitivity of assertability yields contextualism about knowledge. But is Kn correct? I offer a rival account of warranted assertion and argue that it beats Kn as a response to the “knowledge” version of Moore's Paradox.     

RELATIONSHIP OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR TO THE SOCIAL PENETRATION PROCESS1

Theoretical formulations concerning the relationship of nonverbal behavior to the social penetration processes, i.e., the development of interpersonal relations (Altman & Taylor, 1973) were examined via acted, videotaped conversations in which subjects role played good friends (GF) or casual acquaintances (CA) discussing intimate (I) or nonintimate (NI) topics. The methodological approach adopted for this study was unique in three ways. First, patterns of nonverbal behavior rather than single behaviors were the primary units of analysis. Second, data were collected during dynamic, ongoing conversations rather than from static poses or photographs. Finally, the use of a repeated measures design permitted evaluation of the importance of individual differences. Pattern analyses generally confirmed predictions: the GF by NI cell was characterized by nonverbal behavior patterns indicative of relaxation, while tense behavior patterns occurred in the CA by I cell.