ADC503: Ethical & Legal Issues in Counseling

Undergraduate Syllabus

Instructor & Contact Information

The People tab in Canvas provides information on the course instructor and you can send a message to your instructor following these instructions. Faculty are expected to: 1) grade and return assignments, with feedback, within 7 days from the date of submission; 2) reply to your Canvas messages within 72 hours; 3) reply several times each week in total in the discussion forums (not to each individual student); and 4) demonstrate the core values of City Vision University.

Course Description

Course Outcomes

After completing this course, you should be able to:

1. Describe the ethical code of the American Counseling Association (ACA).
2. Reflect on the ethics of handling values differences with clients and how that relates to informed consent particularly in Christian counseling contexts.
3. Identify the most common ethical beliefs and behaviors of Christian counselors in order to inform your ethical practice.
4. Reflecting on common ethical violations including sexual misconduct, violating confidentiality, improper boundaries, abuse of power, dual relationship violations.
5. Recommending policies and training guidelines for pastoral counselors, lay counselors and peer support specialist for an organization.
6. Reflect on your own self-care through a weekly journal, reflecting on the PROQL compassion fatigue assessment and culminating in a final project of developing a comprehensive plan for counselor self-care and boundaries.
7. Compare and contrast the ethical codes of the American Counseling Association (ACA), American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) and the NAADAC Code for Addiction Counselors, and using those to develop policy recommendations for organizations.
8. Develop a counseling ethics and legal training manual for an organization covering key issues such as informed consent, confidentiality of patient records, dual relationships, boundaries, self-care, policies for staff support and ensuring compliance with the ethics codes of ACA, AACC and NAADAC.

Degree Program Outcomes

Degree outcomes are the overall skills and knowledge we expect you will have after successfully completing a degree program at City Vision University. After completing the degree, you will be able to do the following in each of the listed domains:

Master’s Program Core Outcomes

1. Addiction Counseling. Develop plans and function in the eight practice domains of addiction counseling including: 1) Clinical Evaluation, 2) Treatment Planning, 3) Referral, 4) Case Management, 5) Counseling, 6) Client Education, 7) Documentation and 8) Ethics including transdisciplinary foundations.
2. Christian Counseling. Integrate the theory and practice of addiction counseling into a Christian worldview to effectively serve and apply professional ethics in secular counseling and Christian counseling environments.
3. Co-occuring Disorders. Provide counseling, treatment plans and referrals to those with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders.
4. Addiction Psychopharmacology. Develop effective addiction treatment based on knowedge of a range of psychoactive drugs and be able to educate clients and provide referrals needed to provide comprehensive treatment.
5. Family Counseling. Provide counseling to families affected by addiction and assist them in moving toward healthy family dynamics.
6. Trauma & Crisis Counseling. Provide effective counseling to those experiencing crisis or having a history of trauma.
7. Multicultural Counseling. Utilize effective methods to counsel diverse clients in both Christian and secular counseling environments

Concentration Outcomes

1. Group Counseling. Facilitate group counseling sessions based on an understanding of group dynamics in addiction treatment.
2. Counseling Theory. Synthesize counseling theories to develop treatment plans for those with substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders.
3. Counseling Skills & Techniques. Apply counseling theories and techniques in addiction counseling including motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 12-step group facilitation.
4. Clinical Evaluation. Conduct thorough assessments and diagnoses of substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health disorders using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
5. Professional Ethics. Apply the ethical and professional principles, standards, and expectations that are integral to a professional counselor’s role and identity.
6. Behavioral Addiction. Provide counseling to those dealing with behavioral addictions as well as conducting self-assessment to maintain balance avoiding and personally avoiding behavioral addictions.
7. Culminating Experience. Demonstrate mastery either of the practice of addiction counseling through a practicum or comprehensive knowledge through preparation for an addiction counseling certification exam.

The concentration outcomes students will fulfill vary based on their concentration, except for the Culminating Experience.

Required Texts

Students are required to purchase these texts before the first day of classes. 

• Remley, T.P., & Herlihy, B.P. (2025). Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Counseling (7th ed.). Pearson. 
• Sanders, R. K. (Ed.). (2013). Christian Counseling Ethics: A Handbook for Psychologists, Therapists and Pastors (2nd edition). IVP Academic.
• Corey, Gerald Et al. (2023). Counselor Self-Care. Amer Counseling Assn.

Guidelines for Written Work

All written work must follow our Writing Format and Forum Requirements. You must read these to understand how to cite sources appropriately.

Critical Policies to Read for This Course

Note: These policies are critical for all students to read. In case of change, we have linked to the versions on our website to make sure you have the latest version.

• Grading Scale 

• Deadlines to Drop Courses

• Attendance, Late Policy and Extensions

• Technology Requirements for Courses

• Standards of Academic Integrity & Plagiarism Policy

• What plagiarism is and how to avoid it 

• Credit Hour Policy, Grading Policy and Other Academic Policies

• ADA Policy, Learning Accommodations & Disabilities Services
• Student Code of Conduct 

• Library Services

Additional Policies:

• Privacy Policy

• Consumer Disclosures
• Additional policies are listed in our catalog

This syllabus is subject to change without notice up until the first day of the semester. Last updated: August 8, 2024