Kitchener's Principle Ethics: Implications for Counseling Practice and Research

Abstract

This extensive literature review examining the influence of K. S. Kitchener's (1984) introduction of principle ethics on counseling and psychology ethics notes the ultimate practicality of principle ethics. The authors maintain that although a strong influence of principle ethics in the area of counselor education emerges through the review, there is little clear evidence of influence in the areas of counseling research or practice. A primary reliance in the counseling professional literature on K. S. Kitchener's original work has likely resulted in a static understanding of the concepts and a concomitant theory–to–application knowledge gap. Implications include a more thorough and ongoing bridging between counseling ethics, philosophical ethics and practice, and a more overt presence of principle ethics.

The influence of personal and multicultural wisdom on the adherence to the ethical principles of multicultural counselor’s candidates

“…Scale of Adherence to the Counselor's Ethical Principles (SACEP) is used to measure compliance with the ethical principles of multicultural counselor's candidates. It was developed based on Kitchener's construct of ethical principle theory (Kitchener, 1985;Urofsky, Engels, & Engebretson, 2009). This instrument consists of 14 items to measure five dimensions of ethical principles, namely fidelity, beneficence, justice, non-maleficence, and autonomy.…”

Authenticity in Ethical Decision Making: Reflections for Professional Counselors

“…These codes are an invaluable and foundational tool for ethical decision making, because they represent current thought about evolving issues (Kaplan et al, ). In addition to the codes, ethical principles such as nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, fidelity, and justice are often a point of reflection when clinicians are trying to reason through a clinical dilemma (Beauchamp & Childress, ; Kitchener, ; Urofsky, Engles, & Engebretson, ). Pragmatism and experience likewise have inspired counselors to generate decision‐making models that can be applied to ethical issues (e.g., Corey, Corey, & Callanan, ; M. Hill, Glaser, & Harden, ; Rest, ; Sileo & Kopala, ; Steinman, Richardson, & McEnroe, ; Tarvydas, ; Tymchuk, ; Welfel, ).…”