Abstract
I begin this chapter by examining the
relationship between values and professional ethics as well as the
ethical values of master therapists. I then evaluate components
of the most recent versions of ethics codes of the APA, American
Counseling Association, and National Association of Social Workers that
bear on multicultural and international practice. I review the
guidance that each code offers to practitioners who work with
culturally diverse persons and/or in international settings. I
highlight how the wording of ethics codes either facilitates or impedes
effective multicultural and international practice. I also report
progress on the Universal
Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists (Gauthier,
2005), a draft document that presents a common framework to guide
scientific and applied work worldwide. Next, I summarize the
prevailing models of ethical decision making and describe an
alternative approach built upon the tenets of social
constructionism. Social constructionism in ethical decision
making is well suited to the ethical ambiguities and conflicts of
multicultural and international practice because it places considerable
weight on universal values, collaborative interaction, contextual
factors, and language. I end the chapter with two case examples
that illustrate how social constructionism can guide the resolution of
ethical dilemmas frequently encountered in multicultural and
international practice.