Diskuze v psychologii 2024, 6(2):45-54 | DOI: 10.5507/dvp.2025.007

Ethical Dilemmas in Helping Professions

Adam Homa*, Monika Hricová
Katedra psychológie, Filozofická fakulta, Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach, Moyzesova 9, 040 01 Košice, Slovenská republika

We know little about the ethical challenges that members of helping professions face, which can influence their mental or emotional stability as well as their professional behaviour. This research aimed to examine the content of ethical dilemmas and problematic ethical decision-making among helping professionals by using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). We conducted semi-structured interviews with five female respondents who were practicing psychologists specializing in counselling and school psychology at the time of data collection. The results showed that ethical dilemmas described in the professional literature usually occur in psychological practice, but in reality, they seldom appear as a pure conflict between two ethical principles. Our findings may contribute to understanding how professionals behave and what they experience in situations when they have to choose which of the competing guidelines or moral principles to prioritise.

Keywords: ethical dilemmas; ethical decision-making; qualitative research; helping professions; professional ethics

Received: April 29, 2025; Revised: August 24, 2025; Accepted: September 18, 2025; Prepublished online: January 15, 2026; Published: December 1, 2025  Show citation

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Homa A, Hricová M. Ethical Dilemmas in Helping Professions. Diskuze v psychologii. 2024;6(2):45-54. doi: 10.5507/dvp.2025.007.
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