Ethical Standards for Family Partnership Professionals and Consultants

Ethical Standards for Family Partnership Professionals and Consultants

The two groups are Family Partnership Professionals and Consultants and Family Partnership Professionals. The profession of family partnership provides assessment and treatment programs to families involved in divorce or separation (Family Partnership Professionals). The group’s mission is to provide quality services that assist all members of the family through times of change and transition resulting from divorce or separation (Family Partnership Professionals and Consultants). The ethical standards for this group are listed in the section “Preamble and General Principles.”

The ethical standards for the Family Partnership Professionals are:

1. To treat all members of the family with dignity and respect, recognizing that each individual has an equal right to self-determination;

2. To adhere to established professional practice guidelines;

3. To not practice with or within the family in which they have an identified personal involvement unless it can be established that this does not contraindicate their objectivity

4. To accept no inducements or rewards to perform services that are not indicated nor in keeping with established professional standards

5. To ascertain that family members, or the parents of minor children who are referred for services, understand that all members require confidentiality of the consultative and assessment team.

There are at least three ways those IAODAPCA standards are similar to the ACA Code of Ethics. The first similarity is that both should honor the trust given by clients and abide by legal laws. Both codes of ethics value confidentiality, which is important to help protect the client’s best interest. Finally, both have a duty to maintain competence in their field to provide ethical services to their clients

On the other hand, the IAODAPCA ethical standards are different from the ACA Code of Ethics. The first difference is that the Family Partnership Professionals and Consultants has a duty to respect all family members, including divorced individuals. While this may not be significant on its own, it can affect how conflicts are handled during negotiations or mediation sessions where divorcing couples and their children may be present. The last example of a difference between the two codes of ethics is that family partnership professionals and consultants need to be aware of how divorce can affect all members of the family system, not just parents and children (Family Partnership Professionals and Consultants).