PREVENTING HARM AND PROMOTING ETHICAL DISCOURSE IN THE HELPING PROFESSIONS - CONCEPTUAL, RESEARCH, ANALYTICAL, AND ACTION FRAMEWORKS

The first in a series of 4 articles, this article provides an overview of the concepts and methods developed by a team of researchers concer ned with preventing harm and promoting ethical discourse in the helpin g professions. In this article we introduce conceptual, research, anal ytical, and action frameworks employed to promote the centrality of et hical discourse in mental health practice. We employ recursive process es whereby knowledge gained from case studies refines our emerging con ceptual model of applied ethics. Our participatory conceptual framewor k differs markedly from the restrictive model typically used in applie d ethics. Our research relies on lived experiences of ethics, while ou r analytical framework draws attention to the multiple levels and cont exts in which ethical dilemmas take place. Finally, our action framewo rk is designed to collaborate with research participants and practitio ners in making use of our data and interpretations. We demonstrate how the various frameworks inform each other in an integrative fashion. T he article sets the stage for 2 case studies presented in subsequent a rticles.