How to Reference the ACA Code

Counselor sitting on chair with client on couch in background
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The American Counseling Association sets the guidelines for the code of ethics for professionals when dealing with stressful situations. Besides using the ethical code in the health and business workplace, many publications refer to this book for guidance. Having a guideline of a system of ethics helps professionals navigate different situations in the workplace. The ACA code of ethics citation follows the American Psychological Association reference format.

1 ACA Code of Ethics Citation

The American Counseling Association code of ethics consists of a simple format. The ACA code of ethics citation involves interpreting the code like a book. First, you consider the author of the book the American Counseling Association, which published the book in 2014 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Knowing these facts about the ACA code of ethics citation, you can format the reference as the American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author. For in-text citation publications or research papers, you can use two different formats. One type of the ACA code of ethics APA reference in-line citation is to represent the code as The American Counseling Association (2014) followed by the text.

A different kind of ACA code of ethics citation in an in-line format is (American Counseling Association, 2014) preceded by text. The ACA code of ethics APA reference suggests you use page numbers to refer to pdf files and locations of information. In addition to the citation of the code, make sure to continue to follow APA format with double-spacing and hanging indentation.

2 The Seven Principles of Ethics

Since many professionals use the American Counseling Association code of ethics to distinguish between various situations, seven principles govern the code. Many of these ethical principles emerged from a need in the health care sector. The non-maleficence principle poses a moral approach for professionals to do no harm to people even if the patient or client requests to do so.

The beneficence code of ethics principle suggests instructing patients to lead a more productive and healthy lifestyle, improving the lives of others as well. Health maximization indicates professionals have the task to seek the most healthy benefits for patients. The efficiency principle is the ability to organize the limited resources for the well-being of people skillfully.

A respect for autonomy principle shows a mutual value between patient and professional relationships. The justice principle enables the universal altruism and solidarity of the significance of human life. The proportionality principle encourages professionals to understand the connections between people using a stepwise approach.

3 Use of ACA Code in Professions

As a result, the American Counseling Association code of ethics intervenes in many professions. From health care to business-related careers, many companies base their mission, values, ethical conduct and principles on the ACA code of ethics. In fact, the ACA code serves as a formal document to guide start-up companies in making moral decisions. Furthermore, these documents include compliance, marketing and risk mitigation sections to deal with legal and business related issues.

Barbara earned a B. S. in Biochemistry and Chemistry from the Univ. of Houston and the Univ. of Central Florida, respectively. Besides working as a chemist for the pharmaceutical and water industry, she pursued her degree in secondary science teaching. Barbara now writes and researches educational content for blogs and higher-ed sites.

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