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Ethics refers to the standard of behavior that is determined to be acceptable for a given profession. Ethics should not be confused with a person’s morality—that is, her personal beliefs in the rightness or wrongness of a given behavior. Ethical behavior is determined by group consensus; morality is determined by one’s personal convictions (Knapp, Gottlieb, & Handelsman, 2015). All mental health professionals adhere to a code of ethics that guides their professional practice. Different professional organizations have different ethics codes. These codes include the APA (2017a) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, the National Association of School Psychologists (2010) Principles for Professional Ethics, the American Counseling Association (2014) Code of Ethics, and the American School Counselor Association (2010) Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Because the APA Ethics Code is the most frequently used system, we will examine it in greater detail.

The APA Ethics Code provides a common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work (APA, 2017a). The primary purpose of the APA Ethics Code is to protect the welfare of individuals with whom psychologists work (e.g., clients, research participants, students). Because the Ethics Code is endorsed by the APA, all APA members and student affiliates are required to be familiar with the code and adhere to its rules. Failure to adhere to the Ethics Code can result in sanctions from the APA, psychology licensing boards, and other professional organizations (Koocher & Campbell, 2018).

The first part of the Ethics Code describes five general ethical principles: broad ideals for the professional behavior of psychologists. The general principles are aspirational in nature; they are not enforceable rules. Instead, the general principles describe the ideal standards of psychological practice toward which all psychologists should strive:

Beneficence and nonmaleficence: Psychologists strive to benefit those with whom they work, and they take care to do no harm.

Fidelity and responsibility: Psychologists establish relationships of trust, … are aware of their professional and scientific responsibilities, … uphold professional standards of conduct, clarify their professional roles and obligations, [and] accept appropriate responsibility for their behavior.

Integrity: Psychologists seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in science, teaching, and the practice of psychology.

Justice: Psychologists recognize that fairness and justice entitle all persons to access to and benefit from the contributions of psychology.

Respect for people’s rights and dignity: Psychologists respect the dignity and worth of all people and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination.

The second part of the Ethics Code consists of the ethical standards: specific rules that guide professional practice and research. The ethical standards govern all major professional activities, including assessment, therapy, research, and teaching. Although there are too many ethical standards to describe here, we will examine some of the rules that are most relevant to the treatment of children and adolescents. These rules fall into four categories (Koocher, 2008), sometimes called the Four Cs of ethics: (1) competence, (2) consent, (3) confidentiality, and (4) conflicts of interest.