Introduction
- Carolyn Cummings
- May 19
- 4 min read
Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you! My name is Dr. Cummings. The purpose of this blog is to educate and inform interested readers in best practices in mental health care, supportive leadership, and supervision. This blog is a chance for me to share the things that interest me most, and that I hope you find interesting and useful as well.
My first series of blog posts, which you can find below, is on ethical principles guiding effective clinical practice for mental health professionals in the United States. Most challenges we face in mental health care can be managed by carefully considering these principles and choosing which must take precedence in any given situation.
Why Consider Professional Ethics?
In Carl Rogers’ seminal work on therapeutic practice, On Becoming a Person, he asserts that all scientific practices, including the study of influencing and controlling human behavior, are governed by the subjective choices of the investigator. He says,
“Science has its meaning as the objective pursuit of a purpose which has been subjectively chosen by a person or persons” (p.395).
Subjective evaluations cannot be investigated within the scientific system that produced them. Consequently, says Rogers,
“Any discussion of the control of human beings by the behavioral sciences must first and most deeply concern itself with the subjectively chosen purposes with which such an application of science is intended to implement”. (p.395).
It may be distasteful to recognize that therapeutic relationships are tools of influence and control in others' lives. Still, we must acknowledge that interpersonal relationships are among the most powerful behavioral influences in human history. It is the knowledge of the influence of interpersonal relationships that drives governing boards like California’s Board of Behavioral Sciences to declare that their primary mission is to “protect and serve Californians by setting, communicating, and enforcing standards for safe and competent mental health practice” (CA BBS, 2026). In fact, the BBS, first known as the Board of Social Work Examiners, pioneered oversight of social work practices in California in the 1930s due to serious concerns about the public's well-being stemming from the absence of regulations, education, or credentials for this powerful, relationship-centered field (https://www.bbs.ca.gov/about/board_info.html).
When you recognize, as Rogers did, that individuals or groups can use the core conditions of the therapeutic relationship to wield power and control, the values outlined in the ethical considerations of mental health professions become paramount. Yet the many disparate worldviews, philosophies, and value-laden belief systems of mental health therapists have created a quagmire. After all, if “What is good?” remains a primary question of theologians and philosophers of every religion and creed, what hope do caring professionals have in coming to a unified conclusion? Rather than continuing a war of ideologies, the mental health field has settled on loosely defined ethical principles to guide its work (Beauchamp &Childress, 1979; Kitchener, 1984). These principles are split off from the worldviews of the professionals who consider them, leading to a troubling state of differing intentions, interpretations, and actions, even among colleagues and peers with the same academic training.
Still, as it stands, since the ideological divides in the profession persist, so do the professional principles that guide us, as the closest thing we have to a unified agreement on what “good” treatment and care should look like. With that framework in mind, I will publish blogs on each ethical principle, with examples of how they can be applied to benefit the people we serve.
The Absence of Tie Breakers
One last thing: the principles have one lacking feature: they are not weighted. By that, I mean that one principle does not have more significance or influence than another. For example, if I am considering justice and fidelity, both are seen as equally important, in principle. In actual application, however, you must be the ultimate chooser between the two. Ethical principles can give context to dilemmas, but unless there is a legal precedent to assert control in a certain direction, you are still left as the evaluator of, if not “What is good?”, then surely “What is best?” For this reason, many have also emphasized the importance of virtue ethics, in which your strength of character plays the most significant role in promoting the best for your clients than any other force (Jordan & Meara, 1990). While principle ethics asks, “What should I do?”, virtue ethics asks, “Who should I be?” (Urofsky et al., 2008).
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Conclusion
I hope that, through a careful examination of the ethical principles that define our field, I can help build your understanding of your duty to your clients so you can promote their well-being, especially in circumstances when “What is best?” is a difficult question to answer. The development of a lifetime of virtuous character-building habits, however, remains up to you.
References
BBS (2026). About the board [Website]. Board of Behavioral Sciences. https://bbs.ca.gov/about/board_info.html
Beauchamp, T., & Childress, J. F. (1979). Principles of biomedical ethics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Jordan, A. E., & Meara, N. M. (1990). Ethics and the professional practice of psychologists: The role of virtues and principles. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 21(2), 107–114. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.21.2.107
Kitchener, K. S. (1984). Intuition, critical evaluation and ethical principles: The foundation for ethical decisions in counseling psychology. Counseling Psychologist, 12, 43–55.
Rogers, C. (1961). On Becoming a Person. Houghton Mifflin.
Urofsky, R. L., Engels, D. W., & Engebretson, K. (2008). Issues and insights.
Kitchener’s principle ethics: Implications for counseling practice and research. Counseling and Values, 53, 1.