| Course | PS508 Ethics for Addictions Professionals |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 480 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MS in Psychology |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PS508 Unit 1
Where My Values and the Codes Part Ways: A PS508 Unit 1 Discussion Board Post on Personal Values and Professional Ethics
PS508 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post
Posted by [Student Name]
The writer, the program, the town and the classmates are composite; the codes cited are real.
Initial Post
I work at a small outpatient program in Kodiak, a fishing port where most of our clients work on boats or in the seafood plants. Three values brought me to this field: honesty, loyalty to people who are struggling and the belief that recovery is possible for anyone. Reading the NAADAC Code of Ethics and the APA Ethical Principles side by side this week, I found that two of those values fit the codes easily and one does not.
Honesty fits. The NAADAC code asks addiction professionals to be truthful with clients and to practice within their competence (NAADAC, 2021), and the APA's principle of integrity asks psychologists to promote accuracy, honesty and truthfulness in their work (American Psychological Association, 2017). My belief in recovery fits too, since neither code lets a counselor write off a client as beyond help.
Loyalty is where I found tension. In a town this size, loyalty pulls me toward people I already know. When a deckhand I grew up with walked into intake in September, my first instinct was to take the case because I knew the family. The codes' concern with dual relationships and with whose interests a decision serves made me see that loyalty to a friend is not the same as loyalty to a client.
The hardest question is my own recovery. I have been sober for nine years, and I tell clients when I think it will help. Both codes allow some self-disclosure but expect it to serve the client, not the counselor. When I looked back at my disclosures this month, I could not say for every one of them whose need it met.
A value that makes me a better neighbor can make me a worse counselor if I never ask whose interest it serves.
My plan is to keep honesty and belief in recovery as they are, to redefine loyalty as loyalty to the client's goals and to bring every planned disclosure of my recovery to supervision first for the rest of this term.
Classmates: which of your values feels most at home in the codes, and which feels least?
Reply to Corinne
Corinne, your point about valuing independence fits the codes' respect for client autonomy. Does it ever make it harder to step in when a client is in danger?
Reply to Wes
Wes, I had the same reaction to the APA's principle of justice. In a rural program, fairness might mean making sure the clients you don't know get the same attention as the ones you do (American Psychological Association, 2017).
References
American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code
NAADAC. (2021). NAADAC code of ethics. NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. https://www.naadac.org/code-of-ethics
PS508 Unit 1 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 1 of PS508 asks you to examine your own values and compare them with the professional codes that guide addictions work. Name the values that brought you to the field and explain where each came from. Read the NAADAC Code of Ethics and the APA Ethical Principles and identify which standards or principles relate to each value. Say honestly where a value and a code agree and where they could conflict in practice, using an example from your work or training. Describe what you will do about any conflict. Cite both codes accurately. Pose a question to your classmates at the end, and respond to at least two peers by pointing to a value or standard they had not considered.
Inside the PS508 Unit 1 example
The post begins with the program, the fishing town and three values. Two short paragraphs match honesty and belief in recovery to specific principles in each code. The next paragraph turns to loyalty, using a childhood friend's intake to show how loyalty to a neighbor can conflict with the codes' concern about dual relationships. A paragraph on the writer's nine years of sobriety questions whether each self-disclosure met the client's need, under a highlighted line about values that help a neighbor but can hurt a counselor. A plan keeps two values, redefines one and sends disclosures to supervision. Replies take up autonomy and fairness in a rural program.
PS508 Unit 1 rubric: what earns full points
Instructors credit posts that are honest about tension between personal values and professional codes, since a post claiming perfect agreement shows little reflection. Each value should be linked to a named principle or standard in the codes, cited correctly, rather than to the codes in general. A concrete example from work or training makes the comparison believable and earns more than a hypothetical. A specific plan for handling a conflict shows the move from reflection to professional judgment that the course builds on in later units. Replies earn their points when they add a value or standard the classmate missed or ask a question the classmate can use. Timeliness, length and APA citation of both codes are graded as well.
PS508 Unit 1 help: mistakes that cost points
A common weak post lists admirable values, such as compassion and integrity, and says they all fit the codes, which leaves nothing to discuss. Another frequent gap is citing the NAADAC code without naming a principle, or mixing up the NAADAC and APA codes. Some writers describe a value conflict in the abstract when a real case from their workplace would show it far better. Students in recovery sometimes avoid the topic of self-disclosure, though the codes address it and instructors expect thought about it. Before you post, make sure each value is tied to one standard, that at least one value is shown in conflict with a code and that the plan says what you will actually do differently.
Get a PS508 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 1 prompt and the rubric. A custom post sets your own values beside the NAADAC and APA codes. The first is free and comes back in 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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PS508 Unit 1 questions, answered
What is the difference between ethics and law in addictions work?
Law sets the minimum a counselor must do; ethics codes often ask for more and guide decisions the law does not address.
Do addiction counselors follow the APA code?
Counselors usually follow NAADAC or their state board's code; psychologists follow APA. Many programs teach both.
What should a reply add?
A value or code standard the classmate did not consider.
Where can I find a free PS508 Unit 1 sample paper?
A full PS508 Unit 1 values and codes post from a Kodiak counselor in training, with two replies, is printed above.
Which value conflicts with the codes in the PS508 Unit 1 sample?
Loyalty, because in a small town it pulls the counselor toward taking cases involving friends and neighbors.