Ethical Issues and Delimmas in the Practice of Employee Assistance Work

This contribution contains a discussion of ethical issues and the practice of ethics in the field of Employee Assistance.

Abstract

The Employee Assistance Professional (EAP), along with a wide range of other mental health professionals adhere to the American Counseling Association (ACA; 2005), the American Psychological Association (APA; 2002) and the Employee Assistance Professional Association's (EAPA; 2002) code of ethics in the practice of EAP work. The following work is intended to be a study of these ethical codes in relation to the profession of Employee Assistance Counseling. Employee assistance professionals struggle with unique ethical dilemmas such as the identification of the client, mandatory referrals, the practice of confidentiality and informed consent. This paper attempts to address these concerns. This paper offers a series of guidelines on developing the professional profile via enhancing and advocating for ethical practice in the EAP profession.
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Introduction

The purpose of this discussion is to explore the ethical issues and dilemmas in Employee Assistance work (EAP). The EAPA standards (2003) provide a definition of EAP as a "worksite-based program" (p. 8) and identifies this program as addressing "productivity issues" (pg. 8) and assisting clients or employees with resolving personal difficulties, such as health, marital, family, financial, alcohol and drug issues, legal, emotional, stress and other issues that might impact work performance. The EAPA standards (2003) advocate adherence to the ethics of the profession, Employee Assistance Professional Association, Code of Ethics (2002), American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (2005) and American Psychological Association Code of Ethics (2002). The rationale presented here is that this adherence ensures that "programs and professionals are responsible for the consequences of their actions and act in a professional manner, thereby protecting the consumer, the community and the profession" (EAPA; 2003, p. 20).

Literature Review

This researcher conducted a search using the Argosy Online University library databases to access academic, scholarly and general articles using the following keywords, EAP and Ethics, Employee Assistance and EAP. The results were organized into three categories: primary sources, secondary sources and dissertation previews. Despite repeat searches over a six-week period, limited relevant material was obtained. The primary sources were the most useful articles in terms of reviewing the ethical practice of EAP work. These eight sources reviewed the ethical mandates of the professional organization and credentialing boards. The secondary sources were not as helpful, with a handful being most relevant to the subject of Ethics and the EAP. Of the seven articles catalogued in this literature review, only two related directly to the ethics of EAP work. The three dissertation previews were most helpful in the definition and identification of the components of employee assistance practice and agency.

The primary sources are as follows:

? EAPAs Ethics panel of experts. (2009, February). Elevating ethical
awareness in EAP: A training initiative for EAPA chapters. Arlington,
Tx, USA: Employee Assistance Professional Association.

This article is a 26-page publication by the Employee Assistance
Professional Association panel of experts, developed to elevate the
ethical awareness in EAP. This training was designed to be accessed
by local EAP chapters in conducting ethical awareness trainings.
? Employee Assistance Certification Committee. (2004a). PART II - CEAP
Test content information and exam blueprint. Retrieved June 17, 2009,
from International Employee Assistance Professionals Association:
www.eapassn.org

The Employee Assistance Certification Committee is the credentialing
board of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association. The
certification is that of a Certified Employee Assistance Professional
(CEAP). Part II provides a detailed description of the certification
exam and provides sample test questions.

? Employee Assistance Certification Committee. (2004b). Part IV-CEAP
Client Bill of Rights and Code of Ethics. Retrieved June 24, 2009,
from Employee Assistance Professionals Association: www.eapassn.org

Part IV of the above provides the Certified Employee Assistance
Professionals bill of rights and code of conduct.

? Employee Assistance Professionals Association. (2009). EAP Core
Technology. (Internet4associations) Retrieved June 2, 2009, from
Employee assistance professional association: www.eapassn.org

Provides seven points on the function of an EAP.

? Employee Assistance Professionals Association. (October, 2002). EAPA
code of ethics. Employee Assistance Professionals Association, EAPA
Board of Directors. Arlington, VA: Employee Assistance Professionals
Association.

The EAPA code of ethics was established to assist EAP professionals to
practice high standards of ethical behavior in conducting all
interactions with their clients, be it employees, companies,
colleagues or other professionals.

? Employee Assistance Professionals Association. (2003). EAPA standards
and professional guidelines for employee assistance programs. EAPA
Standards Committee. Arlington, VA: International Employee Assistance
Professionals Association.

These EAPA standards and professional guidelines for EAPs provide a
definition of EAP, promotes high quality work, provides foundational
information on accreditation and licensure, describes the scope of
practice, provides operationalized specifics for EAPs and services the
EAPA member and professional.

? Office of the Syndic. (2005, November). Working in the Framework of
Employee Assistance Programs (Part 1). Ethics Guidelines , 6 (5).
Mont-Royal, Quebec, Canada: Ordre des psychologues du Quebec.

Canadian ethical guidelines for psychologists working in the field of
Employee Assistance. A discussion on professional secrecy and how to
implement this in the field of EAP follows in part 1.

? Office of the Syndic. (2006, January). Working in the Framework of
Employee Assistance Programs (Part 2). Ethics Guidelines , 7 (1).
Mont-Royal, Quebec, Canada: Ordre des Psychologues du Quebec.

The above discussion continues in part 2

The secondary sources are as follows:

? Bhagat, R. S., & Segovis, P. K. (2007). International and Cultural
Variations in Employee Assistance Programmes: Implications for
Managerial Health and Effectiveness. Journal of Management Studies,
44 (2), 222-242.

Provides a cultural perspective to EAP work.

? Clavelle, P. R. (2009). Consulting to the intelligence community: An
employee assistance program model. Consulting Psychology Journal:
Practice and Research , 61 (1), 14-24.

Discusses the role of employee assistance professionals in working
with the intelligence community. It defines the necessity for the
mental health professional that assesses the intelligence population
for the service vs. those who are accessing EAP services to address
work performance and personal issues.

? Cooper, L. P. (2007). Theory and Practice: The complexities of
undertaking counselling evaluation in the workplace. Counselling
Psychology Quarterly , 20 (2), 177-190.

A UK based literature review of current employee counseling literature.

? Gardner, J. S. (2007). Factors Affecting Employee Use of Work-Life
Balance Initiatives. New Zealand Journal of Psychology , 36 (1), 3-12.

A New Zealand based article on work-life balance programs and the
factors that lead to their use.

? Mines, R. A., Anderson, S., & Stroh, P. V. (1991). EAP Ethics and the
professions. EAPA Exchange (December), 26-29.

The ethical dilemma associated with providing services to impaired
professionals from outside the mental health field.

? Schonberg, S. E., & Lee, S. S. (1996). Identifying the real EAP
client: Ensuing ethical dilemmas. Ethics and Behavior , 6 (3), 203-212.

The above authors provide a discussion on the ethical dilemma of
identifying the EAP client in the midst of the multiple populations
that EAPs work with, such as the employee, employer, HR
representative, union representative, etc.

? Shumway, S. T., Kimball, T. G., & Arredondo, A. W. (2007). A Family
Systems-Based Model of Organizational Intervention. Journal of Marital
and Family Therapy , 33 (2), 134-148.

The presentation and research of a family systems-based model for
organizational intervention.

The dissertations:
? Matrone, G. L. (2008, August). Employee Assistance Program Impact: One
Local Program's Effectiveness. New Haven, CT, USA: ProQuest LLC.

This preview provided four pages of initial material pertaining to the
measurement of the effectiveness of a specific EAP in regards to
clinical outcome, problem improvement and productivity improvement.

? Sharar, D. A. (2008). Do employee assistance program (EAP) affiliate
providers adhere to EAP concepts? An examination of affiliate fidelity
to EAP theory and practice. A dissertation preview . Urbana-Champaign,
Illinois, USA.

Provides an analysis of EAP affiliate providers and their compliance
with EAP conceptualization of treatment and assesses whether this is
substantially different from other approaches in their private
practice.

? Snyder, T. S. (2005, December). An analysis of employee assistance
program client demographics, presenting problems and outcomes at an
internal/external EAP. A Dissertation . Sarasota, FL, USA.

The above dissertation examines client demographics, self-reported
presenting problems and service outcomes at an EAP.

In conclusion to this literature review of EAP and ethics, more research and scholarly contributions are required to provide a greater body of knowledge and clarity in the field. This work attempts to contribute in a scholarly manner to the field of EAP and ethics.

Identification of the Client

A unique ethical consideration when working in the field of Employee assistance (EAP) is the identification of the client. Schonberg and Lee (1996), state that EAPs began as "occupational alcoholism programs in the early 1940s" (p. 203). They report that EAPs have grown considerably since the 1990s and have begun to include a diverse range of services to employees. For example, short-term counseling, work/life programs addressing financial, career, child/adult care, supervisor and manager trainings and appear to be building the services offered, with the identification of pertinent issues to employees. As the field becomes more complex, the identification of the client remains a dilemma faced by EAP practitioners. The EAPA (2002) codes state that the term "client" (p. 2) can include "individual employees as well as the employer company or organization" (p. 2). The Certification of Employee Assistance Professionals (CEAP) codes of conduct of the Employee Assistance Certification Committee (EACC; 2004) identifies a CEAP has "a responsibility to the client" (p. 1). EACC (2004) goes on to state that the EAP might have several identified clients, such as the "employee, family member, employer, union, representative of the organization" (p. 1).

Core Technology

Schonberg and Lee (1996) state that to understand the confusion in identifying the "real" client in the field of EAP, it would be necessary to understand the core technology of the profession. The core technologies of EAP as presented by the EAPA standards and professional guidelines for employee assistance programs (2003); the employee assistance professionals association (EAPA; 2009) and Schonberg and Lee (1996) are as follows.

? The EAP identifies the employee's behavioral problems from a
perspective of job performance (Schonberg & Lee; 1996).
As stated above the ethical dilemma here is the identification
of the client.
? EAPs provide consultation, training, and assistance to organizational
leadership seeking to "manage the troubled employee" (EAPA; 2009,
paragraph 1). EAPs provide assistance in the enhancement of the work
environment, improves overall, job performance and provides outreach
to and education of employees and their members about the availability
of EAP services (EAPA; 2009, paragraph 1). The ethical dilemma
identified here is the potential for multiple roles.
? EAPs provide confidential and timely problem identification and
assessment services for employees with personal concerns that may
affect job performance (EAPA; 2009, paragraph 2). Again, the
difficulty here lies in the identification of the client. The job
performance takes precedence over the personal problems and
difficulties of the individual.
? EAPs use constructive confrontation, motivation, and short-term
intervention with employees to assist them in addressing work related
concerns (EAPA; 2009, paragraph 3). The ethical dilemma is the
identification of the client and determining whether the concerns are
those of an individual or those of an employee.
? EAPs provide referrals to employees for "diagnosis, treatment, and
assistance, plus case monitoring and follow-up services" (EAPA; 2009,
paragraph 4) when needed. The ethical concern here is competence of
practice and scope of practice of an EAP professional.
? EAPs provide consultation to work organization in establishing and
maintaining effective relations with treatment and other service
providers, and in managing provider contracts (EAPA; 2009, paragraph
5). The ethical issue here is the potential for multiple
relationships.
? EAPs provide consultation to work organizations to assist them in
their goal of assisting employees in their "access of health benefits
covering medical and behavioral problems, including, but not limited
to, alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental and emotional disorders" (EAPA;
2009, paragraph 6). The ethical issue identified here is the
identification of the client and the potential for multiple
relationships.
? Schonberg and Lee (1996) reports that the EAP intervention of
employees with substance abuse difficulties provides consistent job
performance, reduced employer benefit use and saves money for the
employer. The ethical issue is the focus on business practice vs. the
individual's difficulties.
? EAPs assist with the identification of the effects of EAP services on
the work organization and individual job performance (EAPA; 2009,
paragraph 7). The ethical dilemma to consider is the focus on quality
improvement and quality review vs. the individual.

The organization's primary purpose for accessing the EAP is to help the troubled employee to enhance the organization's prime directive of remaining functional in this growing economy. The focus on job performance and organizational issues, distract from the ability to view the employee as an individual experiencing personal difficulties (Schoenberg & Lee, 1996). Schonberg and Lee (1996) continue to say that employees may misunderstand the nature of EAPs and adopt the unrealistic expectation of trying to fix their "dysfunctional supervisor" (p. 205), thus identifying the supervisor as the client rather than themselves. EAPs spend a lot of time training organizational leadership, which can lead to role conflicts, boundary crossings and violations. The identification of the client can be blurred without adequate clarifying communication. The EAPA (2002) states that "EAPA members shall not allow any personal consideration, either financial or otherwise, or any other matter which may cause a conflict of interest to affect, in any way, the best interests of the EAP's client" (p. 3).
A service that EAPs provide is the opportunity for the manager, human resource representative, or organizational leadership in general to mandate that an employee who is displaying work performance difficulties access EAP services. The organization identifies the employee as being the client in these situations and requires that communications occur between the EAP and the organization to report the results of treatment. The usual and customary course of action leads to termination of employment for the employee unless the employee follows through with the mandate and EAP recommendations with proven evidence of resolution to some degree. The EAPA (2002) states that "decisions shall be made according to the client's best interest in treatment modality and continuity of care" (p.1).

Confidentiality
Consequently, the boundaries of confidentiality are challenged due to the lack of clearly identified roles and expectations. The EAPA standards (2003) communicate and clarify the ethical topic of confidentiality. They state that the EAP should "prepare and implement a written policy of confidentiality that reflects professional standards and ethics and clearly elucidates all limits of confidentiality" (p. 20). The EAPA standards (2003) state that employee or client confidence comes from the knowledge that their privacy is protected. Specifically, the EAP is bound to disclose all matters that might threaten confidentiality, such as company policies, statutes, regulations, or court orders, state mandated reporting; labor agreements; duty-to-warn; company policies; drug testing regulations; and applicability of regulations. The APA (2002) states that:
Psychologists disclose confidential information without the
consent of the individual only as mandated by law, or where
permitted by law for a valid purpose such as to (1) provide
needed professional services; (2) obtain appropriate professional
consultations; (3) protect the client/patient, psychologist, or
others from harm; or (4) obtain payment for services from a
client/patient, in which instance disclosure is limited to the
minimum that is necessary to achieve the purpose. (EAPA; p. 8)

The APA (2002) reports that psychologists need to provide clarification at the start of any therapeutic relationship involving third parties the nature of their relationship with each party. This clarification includes the role of the psychologist, an identification of who the client is, the use of the services provided, or the information provided to the psychologist and the limits of confidentiality.

Limits of Confidentiality
Confidentiality does have limits, in order to ensure safety for the client who might be considering self-harm or other-harm, cases of child/elder abuse and other situations where legal proceedings have provided clearance, or the client has signed a release providing permission for the EAP counseling psychologist to release information.

In work-based counseling, where the employee has been mandated to attend services, the confusion arises with the compliance information that needs to be addressed with the referring leadership personnel in the employee's organization. The disclosure to the employer can be as simple as providing verification that the employee has made contact, is following through with treatment and showing marked signs of improvement. The APA (2002), the ACA (2005) and the EAPA (2002) all concur that confidentiality needs to be maintained when dealing with third parties. The minimum information that can be communicated with the maximum privacy and detail maintained would be a reasonable goal to aim for. The standard of "informed consent in the counseling relationship" (EAPA, 2002) is imperative and the receipt of this signed document is of the utmost importance. The primary criticism is that the employer is not receiving adequate communication, which does not permit the employer to monitor the employee as closely as they would like.

Five Ethical Principles of Mental Health
Mines et al. (1991) identify the customary five ethical principles of mental health: autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, fidelity and justice. The EAP counseling psychologist adheres to these five principles as they are laid out in APA (2002), ACA (2005) and EAPA's (2002) ethical codes. The EAPA Code of Ethics (2002) is "based on key activities, behavioral standards and most importantly, fundamental goals and values self evident through the examination
of our diverse and rich history. The EAPA Code of Ethics (2002) has
been established to encourage Employee Assistance Professionals to
adhere to high standards of ethical behavior for the benefit of their clients.
This code shall apply to activities and relationships between employees,
employers, unions, colleagues, professionals from other disciplines, the
local community, and society as a whole" (EAPA; 2002, p. 1).

The EAPA standards (2003) advocate adherence to the ethics of the profession. The rationale presented here is that this adherence ensures that "programs and professionals are responsible for the consequences of their actions and act in a professional manner, thereby protecting the consumer, the community and the profession" (p. 20). Adherence to the EAPA (2002) code of ethics, ACA (2005) and APA (2002) code of ethics separate the professional EAP counseling psychologist from the general EAP worker. This is one of factors that contribute to the development of professionalism and ethical practice in the field. Practitioners can abide by the codes of ethics by practicing competently, accessing adequate continued education and supervision, reviewing ethical dilemmas, accessing disclosure and informed consent, and release of information forms.

Codes of Ethics
The EAPA Code of Ethics (2002) consists of four pages. It presents the EAPA Ethics Committee's mission statement; a preamble; and codes on professional competency, professional conduct, confidentiality, conflict of interest, consumer protection, business practices, public responsibility, electronic communication and record keeping. The EAPA Code of Ethics (2002) is "based on key activities, behavioral standards and most importantly, fundamental goals and values" (p. 1). The EAPA Code has been established to encourage EAPs to "adhere to high standards of ethical behavior for the benefit of their clients" (p. 1). Mines et al. (1991) explore the possibility that professional codes and ethics may conflict with the law. The example provided is where the ethical codes enforces confidentiality for mandatory reporting issues, but the law requires that confidentiality be broken, even if there is no immediate danger. This pertains to situations of clients with suicidal or homicidal intentions, or child abuse and elder abuse situations. Within the EAP setting, the above codes apply and require follow through based on the directives of the licensing or credentialing board of the professional. The APA (2002) states that "The Ethics Code is intended to provide guidance for psychologists and standards of professional conduct that can be applied by the APA and other bodies that choose to adopt them" (p. 2).

Ethical Decision-Making
There are multiple instances where an ethical decision-making model might assist an EAP professional in taking the best course of action. For example, in a mandatory referral case, the EAP will need to determine the level of confidentiality that needs to be broken in order to provide disclosure of compliance with formal referral procedures and the results of treatment. In light of the multiple roles that an EAP can have within an organizational context, the practice of confidentiality and professional boundaries are imperative. Many professionals unwittingly find themselves providing group education, where a member of the group might be a current client. With enough information, the professional can refer this client to another group or request that another EAP counselor conduct the group. These two instances advocate for ethical decision-making, within a supervisory context to determine the best course of action, with the least harm that can be taken.
Mines et al. (1991) offer the opportunity to explore ethical dilemmas using multiple tiers of justification. The first tier is that of "moral intuition" (p. 27). Here, the professional allows the facts and specifics of the case to ignite an initial moral response and makes a decision based on this. The second tier is identified as "critical-evaluative level of reasoning" (p. 27). At this level of reasoning, the professional analyzes and critiques their initial moral response by accessing the rules and codes of ethical practice and ethical principles. Unlike Welfel (2006), who identifies the intuitive decision-making process as never adequate, the above authors identify both as viable options.

EAPA (2009) presents an ethical decision-making model in their goal to "elevate ethical awareness" (p. 1) in the field of EAP. The model asks five questions: What is the potential ethical issue in the situation? What are the competing values or interests? What are the practitioner's personal values on this issue and which ones are in conflict? Are there any ethical guidelines (laws, corporate policies, codes of ethics, practice standard, etc) that apply to the issue? Who are the stakeholders? (i.e. any individual or group affected by the decision, e.g., the corporation, employee, family, public, the practitioner? Once these questions have been answered, the proposed model recommends a listing of all possible choices of action: Which choice benefits the client? Which choice benefits the sponsoring organization? Which choice benefits the practitioner? Which choice benefits society? The model ends with the directive to make the decision.

Reactions to ethical dilemmas in the field of EAP
The profession of EAP has been growing and changing since their inception in the 60s. From the profession's beginnings as substance abuse assessors and managers of work-place safety, the EAP clientele has expanded to access the EAP to address personal difficulties such as stress, depression, anxiety, family concerns, childcare, eldercare, career issues and workplace development issues. Organizational leadership has begun to access EAP professionals to enhance the quality of management leading the company. In this professional's opinion and as concurred throughout this document, the field of EAP is refining and developing a sophisticated professionalism to address diverse concerns and issues in the workforce. In agreement with many of the resources and opinions expressed in the articles and journals that address ethics and EAP, this professional is challenged and motivated by these developments. This professional would like to make a contribution to the field via practice, research, education and supervision. As a practicing EAP counseling psychologist, this professional looks forward to many years of development in this area.

Fifteen Guidelines
This paper provides the following fifteen guidelines for EAP counseling psychologists and the EAP profession to consider when considering ethical practice in the field. All the points have been compiled from the above exploration of the ACA (2005), APA (2002) and EAPA (2002) code of ethics and their relevance to practice. These guidelines are aimed at assisting the professional in minimizing the conflicts that arise from the inability to identify the client, confidentiality, multiple clients and other ethical dilemmas as identified above.

Guideline one: EAP counseling psychologists should attempt to incorporate a "distinct EAP prevention component" (Williams, 2009), consisting of educating the organizational leadership and employees in intervening prior to the development of difficulties, via education, training and supervision. Williams (2009) contrasts this with the medical model, which waits until individuals get sick to treat, educate, train and supervise. Sharar, (2008) outlines that prevention is associated with the "prompt detection and management of personal and behavioral health problems by increasing individual and collective awareness of risk factors and early access to EAP or other self-help venues" (p. 16). "The focus on awareness raising, education, reducing the stigma associated with EAP access and reducing hesitations about seeking services" (p.16). The above messages can be communicated via online services, work-life services, promotional campaigns and 24-hour access. This campaign is primarily to encourage and motivate employees to access EAP services prior to job performance issues and the formal, mandatory referral due to this (Sharar, 2008). This early self-intervention step allows for the elimination and necessity for communication with the employer and therefore, lends to the clear definition of who the EAP client is in this situation. Work-life issues such as financial, legal, career, childcare, eldercare, adoption, executive coaching, are all approaches to implementing the preventative goal of EAPs. EAP counseling psychologists should stay current on prevalent issues that employees might be facing and further develop preventative measures by providing education and trainings in these areas with the goal of encouraging self-help and self-referral to the EAP.

Guideline two: EAP counseling psychologists should develop sensitivity towards the identification of ethical considerations in practice. Once identified, these considerations need to be analyzed and reviewed in the light of codes of ethics and standards of practice. Professional organizations within the EAP field accept the responsibility of disseminating and researching ethics on a regular basis. The practitioner requires the added dimension of discerning the values, biases and principles that might be impeding the practice of ethical EAP work. This will assist in the development of mature ethical reasoning and consistent, steady reflection, analysis and refinement of the ethical decision-making process by honing in on specific case studies or examples from the field or practice arena. The adoption of a compatible ethical decision-making model clarifies the process of discernment and provides fodder for consultation, supervision and documentation.

Guideline three: EAP counseling psychologists who are new to the field should adhere to the "New Specialty Areas of Practice" (ACA, 2005) where the codes recommends that the professional who is working in an area where competence is in doubt access adequate education, training and supervised experience.
Guideline four: Advanced EAP counseling psychologists have a responsibility to the profession, to prepare and educate the novice and mid-level EAP professional. Maturity in the field of EAP work calls for the ability to develop a sixth sense, manifested by the integration of an intuitive moral reasoning and a critical evaluative reasoning towards ethical decision-making.

Guideline five: EAP counseling psychologists should access the tools of continued education, trainings, supervision, consultation and ethical decision-making skills, the practitioner can clarify ethical dilemmas and implement an ethical course of action.

Guideline six: EAP counseling psychologists should commit to a standard practice of remaining current with research findings and scholarly professional publications in order to enhance competence. EAP research psychologists would do well to enhance the profession by focusing on the development of a research based development of the education and practice of EAP ethics. Cooper et al. (2007) reports that there is not much new development in EAP research and states that this is probably due to the stakeholders, such as employers, employees and practitioners seeing academics and researchers as expensive and irrelevant threats to confidentiality
Guideline seven: The Employee Assistance Certification Commission (EACC; 2004), which administers the Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) credential; propose mandatory ethics training in the credentialing/re-credentialing procedure. The EACC (2004) recommends that the trainings focus on ethical issues that are "unique" (EAPA; 2007, section 5, paragraph 2) to the EAP field. The goal of these ethical trainings will be to improve the quality of professionalism found in the EAP field. The recommendation is also made by the EACC (2004) that the CEAP with other professional licensures keep in mind the challenges of working with a minimum of two clients, addressing work related concerns (EAPA; 2007, section 5, paragraph 5). The EACC (2004) cautions the CEAP to refrain from neglecting the ethical issues pertaining to EAP work.

Guideline eight: The EAP counseling psychologist community should extend an invitation to the International community to network and dialogue on the ethical practice of EAP work. EAPA (2007) concludes a survey article on professional ethics by recommending that EAP professionals challenge "ourselves and our colleagues to think and act purposefully, we can keep our profession healthy and honor our commitment to the employee assistance field" (section 5, paragraph 7). This same article EAPA (2007) recommends that EAPs "invite different thinkers and different voices, especially those from outside the United States" (section 5, paragraph 7)
Guideline nine: EAP counseling psychologists should recognize the importance of remaining attuned to the necessity of confidentiality, unless disclosure is necessary to address mandatory reporting concerns such as suicide, homicide, child/elder abuse and legal proceedings, or a general notification is required from the employer in the situation of a mandatory referral. In all of the previous incidents, the professional needs to ensure that an informed consent and release is signed. Discussions on these subjects need to occur periodically in the counseling relationship. This will remain congruent with the ethical codes of conduct as identified by the American Counseling Association (2005), the American Psychological Association (2002) and the Employee Assistance Professional Association (2002). Welfel (2006) reports that "informed consent relates to the free and educated choices people make about matters that affect them" (p. 262)

Guideline ten: EAP counseling psychologists should make a commitment to recognizing personal biases and conflicting values within the EAP field and undertake ethical decision-making models, supervision and consultation to discern the best course of action necessary to address the identified ethical dilemma.

Guideline eleven: EAP counseling psychologists should include the EAPA standards (2003) of practicing confidentiality in the following ways:
? By using summative data, which does not identify the individual;
? providing a written document on the limits of confidentiality;
? requesting written informed consent documents;
? the complete explanations of confidentiality to employees and
organization leadership through promotional activities and written
material;
? complete documentation of all matters of confidentiality in client
files and records.
? EAP offices should be located in discrete, private locations;
? all staff and personnel should be instructed on how to protect
confidentiality;
? the offices should conform to statutes and regulations regarding the
protection of personal information and EAP confidentiality.
? all information obtained through the EAP's consultive role in the
organization should be guarded and communicated on a "need to know"
basis;
? all proprietary information must be guarded and treated with
professional discretion and integrity;
? every step must be taken to avoid situations where EAP communications
may be inappropriately or detrimentally used.

Guideline twelve: EAP counseling psychologists must understand: that employee assistance counseling is primarily work-related; to recognize how their attitudes and knowledge about the field of employee assistance work affect the services they provide; the role the employer, HR representative, manager, supervisor plays in therapeutic relationship, either directly, via a mandatory or formal referral of an employee, or the employee's experience of this third-party's impact on the difficulties they are experiencing at work; organizational and vocational psychology and its impact on the workforce; to gain the knowledge necessary of the laws and regulations that govern the workforce; and that the employee's work performance may be affected by personal difficulties such as financial, career, work-life and substance abuse.

Guideline thirteen: EAP governing boards and professional organizations should implement mandatory ethics trainings and continuing education. The following are some topics to consider: 5 principles of mental health; confidentiality, limits of confidentiality, disclosure; a working knowledge of the standards of EAPA and how to implement them; a working knowledge of the code of ethics and how to implement them; ethics and the future of the employee assistance profession; education of the mental health field at large in the concepts, components and technologies of employee assistance work for the purpose of recruiting, expanding and diversifying the professionals that agree to work with personal difficulties and job performance as a focus; and working with multiple clients.

Guideline fourteen: Snyder (2004) comments that the EAP counselor or worker has become more professional. The field of EAP is encouraged to identify the multi-disciplinary nature of EAP professionals. Along with the identification, comes the necessity to facilitate further education and training in the governing codes of ethics and their commonalities. The three clearly identified codes that are referred to frequently in this paper are the ACA (2005), APA (2002) and the EAPA (2002).

Guideline fifteen: The field of EAP is encouraged to examine what kind of client is seeking services. Snyder (2004) presents that "an examination of what type of client is seeking EAP services, what types of issues are bringing them to seek these services, and what the outcome of their experience has been with these services would be extremely beneficial to the EAP field" (p. 3). As well as being a performance measure which leads to the dialogue of quality improvement, the identification of the type of client issues or the type of client accessing services ensure that the EAP counseling psychologist can confirm competency levels in the area.

In conclusion, adherence to the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (2005), the American Psychological Association Code of Ethics (2002) and the Employee Assistance Professional Association Code of Ethics (2002), can only place an EAP closer to the philosophical themes that govern the helping professional. Increasing awareness of the importance of continuing education, trainings and supervision, addressing the ethical dilemmas affiliated with confidentiality, limits of confidentiality, multiple clients and disclosure can again lead to the same outcome, which is a higher level of competency in ethical practice as pertaining to EAP work. This paper calls for the extension and further exploration of ethical concerns in the field of EAP and calls for the consistent and practiced use of ethical decision-making models to clarify dilemmas and issues as they present themselves. This paper calls for the continued access of the ACA (2005), APA (2002) and the EAPA (2002) codes of ethics and further research on the impact of the codes on professional practice and development. In 2007, the EAPA Ethics Committee surveyed EAPs and the "overall results indicate that while the field is largely committed to high ethical standards and uses the EAPA Code of Ethics to guide decisions, significant work remains in developing and disseminating new ethical standards that address behavioral expectations in an environment where the very definition of EAP is expanding and changing" (EAPA; 2007, paragraph 2). From this survey, this writer concludes that further research in the field of EAP and ethics is called for to enhance the ethical professionalism within the ever changing field.

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Suvendrini Christopher-Schuhmann, LPC

Suvendrini is a mental health specialist with an interest and experience in the field of Employee Assistance.