Dr. Bidell will Contribute to a Groundbreaking Special Edition Journal

Professor Bidell will be contributing two articles to an upcoming special section of the Journal of Counseling and Development (Personal and Religious Values, Professional Ethics, and Challenges to the Counseling Profession). This special section focuses on recent legal challenges, Ward v. Wilbanks et al. (2010) & Keeton v Anderson-Wiley et al. (2010), related to the training of professional counselors. These lawsuits center on the American Counseling Association Ethics Code's prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and two counseling students' assertions that this provision constitutes a form of religious discrimination.  The heart of the issues involve (a) the responsibility of professional counselors to abide by the ACA Code of Ethics even when they perceive this code as conflicting with their own personal beliefs or values; and (b) the legal right of university training programs to define and enforce a curriculum that adheres to the ACA Code of Ethics.