An ethical decision-making model is:

An ethical decision-making model is:

• A. A step-by-step process of thinking through an ethical question or ethical dilemma.
• B. A legal code that must be memorized.
• C. A random guess when faced with a decision.
• D. A performance checklist for therapy sessions.

Answer: (A)

An ethical decision-making model provides a structured, step-by-step way to think through an ethical question or dilemma in practice. It guides you to identify the issue, gather relevant facts, recognize the ethical principles at stake, consider the impact on all stakeholders, explore possible actions, evaluate alternatives against professional codes and personal values, foresee consequences, choose a course of action, and reflect on the outcome. This approach helps ensure decisions are reasoned, transparent, and defensible, aligning with professional ethics and standards rather than relying on intuition alone. It isn’t a legal code to memorize, which would address legality rather than ethical reasoning; it isn’t a random guess, which would jeopardize client safety and professional integrity; and it isn’t a routine checklist for therapy sessions, which focuses on procedure rather than the justification of ethical choices. Using the model supports consistent, principled judgment in complex art therapy situations.

An ethical decision-making model provides a structured, step-by-step way to think through an ethical question or dilemma in practice. It guides you to identify the issue, gather relevant facts, recognize the ethical principles at stake, consider the impact on all stakeholders, explore possible actions, evaluate alternatives against professional codes and personal values, foresee consequences, choose a course of action, and reflect on the outcome. This approach helps ensure decisions are reasoned, transparent, and defensible, aligning with professional ethics and standards rather than relying on intuition alone. It isn’t a legal code to memorize, which would address legality rather than ethical reasoning; it isn’t a random guess, which would jeopardize client safety and professional integrity; and it isn’t a routine checklist for therapy sessions, which focuses on procedure rather than the justification of ethical choices. Using the model supports consistent, principled judgment in complex art therapy situations.