ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the key ethical and legal issues that are specifically related to counseling children and adolescents. Children and adolescents are vulnerable populations that require additional safeguards to ensure that they are being protected. The American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) provides services for mental health counselors and developed the AMHCA Code of Ethics to help members make ethical decisions, to define ethical behaviors, and to educate members, students, and the public about the standards of care for mental health counselors Counselor competency refers to being accomplished in a specific area of counseling. Informed consent is a process that involves helping clients understand their rights to receive or refuse counseling services, to understand what counseling involves, and to comprehend the possible consequences of involvement. Ethical decision-making models provide a framework to help counselors closely examine the ethical dilemma that is being faced, the possible course of action that could be pursued, and the consequences of those choices.
