Abstract
Although ethics is a core topic within most
helping profession curricula, the actual
implementation of ethical decision-making
in the context of professional practice can be
challenging. Ethical decision-making is a craft
that practitioners may not easily acquire because
of the complexities involved in many situations.
It is beneficial for curricula to present complex
scenarios for a realistic practice foundation that
includes ethical considerations. This project
illustrates situational dilemmas that were drawn
from six categories and presented to 166 human
service college students. Analysis suggests that
examples in the “Duty To Warn” and “SelfAwareness” categories show promise in enhancing
students’ abilities to understand ethical situations.
Examples in the “Boundaries/Dual Relationships”
and “Client Rights/Confidentiality” categories
were effective for slightly more than half of
participants for identifying ethical dilemmas, with
examples from “Safety” and “Gifts/Solicitation”
categories closely following. This paper suggests
that presenting applied ethical situations in a
professional development arena may lead to
insights about ethical practice and may promote
discussion of ethical considerations for current and
future practitioners in the helping professions.