Addiction Treatment Code of Ethics

 

 

 

 

 

All professions should have a code of ethics and should abide by the code of ethics.. The NAADAC Code of Ethics was written to govern the conduct of members of NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. Wikipedia states ethics are usually based on principles such as:

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Confidentiality
• Objectivity
• Respect
• Obedience to the law
• Loyalty

Anyone who’s receiving counseling for addiction, or is concerned for someone else who’s receiving some form of addiction treatment, should be familiar with the addiction treatment code of ethics. Even if a client’s mandated to treatment by a probation officer, there are still ethics involved and there are clients’ rights, which is another issue. The counselor should provide the client with a list of rights.

Ethical behavior might not be illegal, so a client has to understand the difference. Often unethical behavior is also illegal, but not always. A new counselor might not be familiar with ethics, so a client’s gut feeling may question a counselor’s behavior. If the client’s familiar with the code of ethics, then they can confirm the gut feeling. There are lots of gray areas in all human behavior, and this is why guidelines are so important. And, it’s important that counselors are accountable for their behavior. 

A particular therapist or counselor might be governed by different professional boards, but they should be accountable to some professional board that addresses unethical behavior, and the client should know where to report unethical behavioral. When a client goes into treatment, it might be for the first time and the person might not know what to expect, what’s normal, what’s ethical or unethical. It pays to educate yourself and know what’s right and wrong.

Most unethical situations arise because the client and the counselor are both fuzzy about the gray areas. It’s obvious that blatant abuse is wrong, or should be (what seems obvious to one person might not be obvious to another), but what about a counselor loaning a client money because they say they’re hungry and haven’t eaten today? It’s not ethical for a counselor to loan a client money, because it changes the client/counselor relationship, and then the counselor has to do the same for all clients in need, or the counselor is playing favorites. It’s good for the client to understand so they don’t ask and get angry because the counselor seems cruel for not giving her money. Both client and counselor should understand the addiction treatment code of ethics, and the client should understand their rights so that there’s no misunderstandings. Unethical behavior can lead to serious consequences — these consequences can be avoided.