Ethics is a theory of morality, that is, a science of the value and duty of human behavior. The profession of a therapist is associated with professional activities that require constant evaluation of actions and the adoption, among other things, of ethical decisions. In his or her work, the therapist faces many moral dilemmas. The behavior of a specialist should correspond to his or her high calling. An important task is also a concern for prestige and trust in the profession of the therapist. Ethical standards are a means to help make the therapist’s personality attractive to the patient and a factor that helps create an atmosphere of trust and security during the therapeutic process. Therefore, ethical standards are important and necessary in the process of psychotherapy.
The main considerations are power dynamics in the group, which means that a counselor must be careful with asking essential information that should not be shared. Thus, the main difference between group and individual counseling is the fact that in individual one, a person opens up at a much easier rate than in group counseling. The work of the therapist is based on a specific set of ethical standards recorded in the therapeutic code. In different countries, there are psychotherapeutic communities that regulate the norms and principles of the psychotherapist. Ethical standards are reflected in the therapeutic codes of psychological communities, but the profession of a therapist is not limited only to behavior that is consistent with developed and codified ethical rules; the specialist seeks to comprehend and deeply understand the foundations of moral principles on which all his or her activities are based. Counseling and therapy are extremely complex and multifaceted processes that can be divided into technical and communicative aspects. Thus, the functional dimension relates to the methods used by the therapist.