Referents of Ethical Behavior It is common for every individual to experience ethical dilemmas. On a daily basis, we are forced to make decisions and choose the right instead of the wrong ones, in spite of multivariate pressures. In my everyday life, there are key referents that I use to distinguish what is right from wrong. For starters, one of the referents is the law and regulation set by the authorities. For instance, a number of aspects can be right to a certain extent, and thereafter be considered wrong, as proclaimed by the law. For instance, the law can permit drinking up until 10 pm and thereafter consider it illegal. Therefore, one has to refer to the allowances and restrictions set to determine what is right and wrong. One other key referent that I make use of is justice, in that I have to respect the dignity and provide impartial treatment to all situations and individuals when distinguishing what is right from wrong. Despite the fact that human beings can easily misconstrue natural law, in order to avoid aspects such as lawsuits or jail time, I refer to what is allowed and not allowed by the law.

Personal values, spiritual values, as well as cultural value play a pivotal role in my everyday conduct, distinction between what is considered right, and what is considered wrong. These values lead me in conducting myself properly as well as associating myself with others. For starters, being a Christian and spiritual individual, I base what is right from wrong in accordance to what is set in the Bible. In addition, discerning what is right or wrong is encompassed in the application of an individual's theological as well as philosophical suppositions. In this way, it is possible to come up with an ethical standpoint or perspective that differentiates what is right and what is wrong. The Bible gives the eternal moral order that encompasses all aspects such as goodness, righteousness, and truthfulness. For instance, the Ten Commandments, laid down by God are some of the referents that I rely on. For instance, through the Bible I know that stealing, irrespective of the reason thereto, is wrong and not right. Secondly, I also refer to the morals and principles (cultural values) I imbibed from my family as a part of upbringing. This takes into account basic aspects such as respect for my elderly and peers, listening first prior to talking and treating individuals with respect irrespective of their background.

Referents as A Counselor

The referents in my role as a counselor encompass the different fundamental ethics that a counselor...

By making reference to these principles, I am able to make ethically correct decisions and therefore properly and aptly discern between wrong and right. The decision making process of a counselor in discerning and distinguishing between right or wrong encompasses a number of moral principles. For starters, there is the moral principle of non-maleficence. This takes into account the notion of not doing any harm. As a counselor, I am not supposed to inflict any purposeful harm as well as refraining from any actions and activities that risk harm to other individuals. One other referent that I employ to make distinctions between right and wrong is virtue ethics. In my practice and profession as a counselor, I am encouraged not only to be virtuous but also caring, as I firmly believe that it is the right thing to do. As a counselor, I have to function and act as an ethical agent and have the ability to make an ethical decision in complicated situations of whether an aspect is right or wrong. As a result, I also have to have a referent with regard to what decision would best define who I am as an individual.
Moral Foundation Profile

The graph below illustrates my moral foundation. The illustration is based on solutions given to questionnaires in http://www.yourmorals.org, and demonstrates the manner in which my judgments of the qualities of moral exemplars equate to the similar judgments of the average liberal and average conservative. In the graph, these scores are broken into three general kinds of character traits. In addition, it also offers the similar ideological analysis for the extent to which individuals, including myself, consider their exemplars to be dominant individuals and prestigious or admirable individuals.

Congruence Between Personal Life, And Professional Requirements

I follow the same essential principles in both, personal (familial and social) interactions and my professional duties. This is in the sense that in my work, I am just and impartial and I behave similarly in my personal life. However, there is a major difference between these two. Client treatment cannot be compared with personal treatment of friends and family. These two aspects are dissimilar. Principles that I abide by professionally, such as autonomy and beneficence cannot be applied in a similar manner to my personal life.

Secondly, I believe that I ought to behave and act as a professional when interacting with clients. The focus should be on being warm and emphatic,…