It is generally accepted that the environment in which a counselor works influences his or her ethical behavior, but there is little empirical examination of this idea within the rehabilitation counseling professional literature. A survey was conducted with a national sample of practicing certified rehabilitation counselors that elicited qualitative data consisting of situations where workplace culture influenced ethical behavior and decision making. Forty percent of the 1,919 respondents provided examples. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded five themes: bureaucracy and resources, workforce, honesty, client welfare, and power differential. Recommendations for policy and future directions for research are discussed.
ChanF.RosenA. J.WongD. W.KaplanS. (1993). Evaluating rehabilitation caseload management skills through computer simulations. Journal of Counseling & Development, 71, 493–498.
2.
ChoppaA. J.ShaferK.ReidK. M.SiefkerJ. M. (1996). Vocational rehabilitation counselors as case managers. Case Manager, 7, 45–50.
3.
Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. (2008). 2008 Salary report: An update on the salaries in the rehabilitation counseling profession. Schaumburg, IL: Author.
4.
Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. (2010). Code of professional ethics for rehabilitation counselors. Schaumburg, IL: Author.
5.
CoreyG.CoreyM. S.CallananP. (2010). Issues and ethics in the helping professions (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
6.
CottoneR. R. (1982). Ethical issues in private-for-profit rehabilitation. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 13(3), 14–24.
7.
CottoneR. R. (2001). A social constructivism model of ethical decision making in counseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 79, 39–45.
8.
CottoneR. R.ClausR. E. (2000). Ethical decision-making models: A review of the literature. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78, 275–283.
9.
CottoneR. R.TarvydasV. M. (2007). Ethical and professional issues in counseling (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
10.
CottoneR. R.TarvydasV. M.ClausR. E. (2007). Ethical decision making processes. In CottoneR. R.TarvydasV. M. (Eds.), Counseling ethics and decision-making (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
11.
Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE). (2011). Standards for rehabilitation counselor education programs. Schaumburg, IL: Author.
12.
FordG. G. (2006). Ethical reasoning for mental health professionals. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
13.
GarciaJ. G.CartwrightB.WinstonS. M.BorzuchowskaB. (2003). A transcultural integrative model for ethical decision making in counseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 81, 268−277.
14.
GarskeG. G. (2007). Managing occupational stress: A challenge for the rehabilitation counselor. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 38(4), 34–39.
15.
GeistG. O.CurinS.PrestridgeR.SchelbG. (1973). Ethics and the counselor-agency relationship. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 17, 15–21.
16.
GilbrideD. (2000). Going to work: Placement trends in public rehabilitation. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 14, 89–94.
17.
GreenwoodR. (1992). Systematic caseload management. In RoesslerR. T.RubinS. E. (Eds.), Case management and rehabilitation counseling (pp. 143–154). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
JenkinsW. L.StrauserD. R. (1999). Horizontal expansion of the role of the rehabilitation counselor. Journal of Rehabilitation, 65(1), 4–9.
20.
KelleyS. D. M.DixonC. G.EmenerW. G.WrightT. J. (1999). Evaluation of career outcomes following graduate education in rehabilitation counseling. Rehabilitation Education, 13, 249–260.
21.
KontoshL. G. (2000). Ethical rehabilitation counseling in a managed-care environment. Journal of Rehabilitation, 66(2), 9–13.
22.
LaneF. J.SwettE. A.CastinaJ. (2004, February). Workforce development: Preparing students as one-stop disability consultants. Poster session presented at the annual conference of the National Council on Rehabilitation Education, Tucson, AZ.
23.
LeahyM. J. (2009). Rehabilitation counseling credentialing: Research, practice, and the future of the profession. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 52, 67–68.
24.
MainD. M. (2007). Process levels and service complexity as predictors of time demand in rehabilitation counseling. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 12(1), 37–50.
25.
MatkinR. E. (1997). Public and private rehabilitation counseling practices. In MakiD. R.RiggarT. F. (Eds.), Rehabilitation counseling: Profession and practice. New York, NY: Springer.
26.
MatkinR. E.MayV. R. (1981). Potential conflicts of interests in private rehabilitation: Identification and resolution. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 12, 15–18.
27.
McMahonB. T. (1991). Ethics in business practices. In McMahonB. T.ShawL. R. (Eds.), Work worth doing: Advances in brain injury rehabilitation (pp. 5–27). Orlando, FL: Paul Deutsch.
28.
NadolskyJ. M. (1986). Ethical issues in the transition from public to private rehabilitation. Journal of Rehabilitation, 52(1), 6–8.
29.
ObermannC. E. (1972). A code of ethics for rehabilitation counselors. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 3, 213–217.
30.
PapeD. A. (1987). A code of ethics as a working document. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 18, 48–49.
31.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
ShawL. R.BettersC. (2004). Private sector practice. In RiggerT.MakiD. (Eds.), The handbook of rehabilitation counseling. New York, NY: Springer.
34.
ShawL. R.ChanF.LamC.McDougallG. (2004). Professional disclosure practices of rehabilitation counselors. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 48, 38–50.
35.
ShawL. R.KuehnM. D. (2009). Rehabilitation counselor education accreditation: History, structure, and evolution. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 52, 69–76.
36.
ShawL. R.LaneF. J. (2008). Ethical consultation: Content analysis of the advisory opinion archive of the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 51, 170–176.
37.
ShawL. R.LeahyM. J.ChanF. (1999). Case Management: Historical foundations and current trends. In ChanF.LeahyM. (Eds.), Health care and disability case management (pp. 2–26). Lake Zurich, IL: Vocational Consultants.
38.
ShawL. R.McMahonB. T.ChanF.TaylorD. W.WoodC. (1997). Survey of rehabilitation counselor education programs regarding health care case management in the private sector. Journal of Rehabilitation, 63, 46–52.
39.
StraussA.CorbinJ. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
40.
TarvydasV. M. (1998). Ethical decision-making processes. In CottoneR. R.TarvydasV. M. (Eds.), Ethical and professional issues in counseling (pp. 144–154). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
41.
TarvydasV. M.CottoneR. R. (1991). Ethical responses to legislative, organizational, and economic dynamics: A four level model of ethical practice. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 22, 11–18.
42.
TarvydasV. M.O’RourkeB. J. (1998). Ethical climate. In CottoneR. R.TarvydasV. M. (Eds.), Ethical and professional issues in counseling (pp. 180–195). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
43.
TarvydasV. M.O’RourkeB. L.MalaskiC. (2003). Ethical climate. In CottoneR. R.TarvydasV. M. (Eds.), Ethical and professional issues in counseling (2nd ed., pp. 110–126). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
44.
TarvydasV. M.PetersonD. B. (1999). Ethical issues in case management. In ChanF.LeahyM. (Eds.), Health care and disability case management (pp. 317–354). Lake Zurich, IL: Vocational Consultants.
45.
TempletonM. C.SatcherJ. F. (2007). Job burnout among rehabilitation counselors. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 38, 39–45.
46.
UrofskyR. I.EngelsD. W. (2003). Philosophy, moral philosophy, and counseling ethics: Not an abstraction. Counseling and Values, 47, 118–130.
47.
VaughnB. T.TaylorD. W.WrightW. R. (1998). Ethical dilemmas encountered by private sector rehabilitation practitioners. Journal of Rehabilitation, 64, 47–52.
48.
WilsonC. A.RubinS. E.MillardR. P. (1991). Preparing rehabilitation counselors to deal with ethical dilemmas. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 22(1), 30–33.
49.
WoodC. (1999). Self-management for case managers. In ChanF.LeahyM. (Eds.), Health care and disability case management (pp. 455–472). Lake Zurich, IL: Vocational Consultants.
