Last Updated on January 23, 2017 by Morris Green

Values, ethics, and principles have one major thing in common; they shape our character. The values we hold dear impact our ethics. Our unique code of values and ethics create the principles we live by. These elements of our personality influence everything from personal to professional decisions. The average person makes ethical choices based on their values and principles every day, sometimes without even knowing it. In contrast, substance abuse counselors face a constant, visible challenge of ethical dilemmas on individual and societal levels. When client values clash with addiction counseling, what can a counselor do?

Know Your Boundaries

Understanding professional boundaries is a critical component of success. You’ll start to learn about professional boundaries in school where the textbook material of substance abuse and addiction treatment is covered. Your “book smarts” will include learning the ethical standards of the field. Once you begin work as a counselor, you’ll also be held to the policies and procedures of the service provider you work for and their structure will be an extension of the field’s standards. It will be your responsibility to know and abide by the code of conduct outlined.

According to Chapter 8 of the Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with HIV/AIDS, which focuses heavily on just one of the ethical issues you may face, ethics come into play on micro (personal) and macro (societal) levels. It isn’t unusual for counselors to sift through client-level and societal-level dilemmas. Meeting the needs of your client may include helping them sort through their values, and those values may be dramatically different from yours.

Neutrality Is Important

The balancing act between personal and professional values is a high tightrope. It’s a safe bet there isn’t a single working adult who hasn’t teetered over the dilemma of professional values disagreeing with personal values. At such a juncture, the decision of which values to uphold can determine major outcomes like quitting, being fired, or finding middle ground.

You will work with people whose actions are very different from their spoken values. Their beliefs may radically differ from yours, and you might find it hard to shelf your personal values. For substance abuse counselors, a sense of neutrality and acceptance of agreeing to disagree is important to locating middle ground between personal and professional challenges.

How to Handle a Clash of Values

What can you do if you find separating personal values from professional hard, especially with certain clients? Follow these four steps:

1. Avoid voicing your personal values or opinions to the client and strive to stay neutral.
2. Focus on upholding professional ethics and codes of conduct.
3. Stick to the client’s treatment plan.
4. Voice your concerns to your supervisory agent and ask for their input and assistance.

It’s important for the counselor + client relationship to be a good fit. If you find it difficult to work with someone based on their behavior or beliefs and it’s negatively impacting counseling, the most professional path may be to introduce another colleague who is better able to handle the situation.