Present your ethical obligation as a marriage and family therapist to advocate for marginalized populations, and scientifically grounded practice.
How do your professional and ethical codes guide you toward advocacy for marginalized populations and scientifically grounded practice?
Explain the risks to the identified population for which you are seeking legislative protection.
How do these risks endanger or negatively impact individuals from this population?
Why do these risks warrant legislative protection?
Explain how therapeutic interventions grounded in best practices promote help-seeking and optimal development among individuals, couples, and families.
What are examples of systemic therapeutic interventions grounded in best practices?
What is the evidence that these interventions promote help-seeking and optimal development among individuals, couples, and families?
How is this relevant to the population and issue you are writing about?
Advocate for specific legislative or policy action on the grounds of its benefits for a specific population.
What is the specific legislative or policy action?
What are its benefits for a specific population?
Why are these benefits worthy of the time and resources to create new legislation or policy?
What are the risks of not taking legislative or policy action?
Present an argument for an advocacy issue that is persuasive and respectful, and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration between therapists and relevant governmental offices.
Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions.
Apply the standard writing conventions for the discipline, including structure, voice, person, and tone.
Sample Answer
As a marriage and family therapist (MFT), the ethical obligation to advocate for marginalized populations and scientifically grounded practice is central to my professional identity and is directly mandated by professional and ethical codes. This obligation ensures that all clients, regardless of their background, receive equitable and effective care.
🤝 Ethical Obligation to Advocacy and Science
My ethical obligation stems from the dual mandate of beneficence (doing good) and nonmaleficence (doing no harm), coupled with the principle of justice (fairness).
Professional and Ethical Code Guidance
The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Code of Ethics explicitly guides MFTs toward advocacy and best practice:
Principle I, Responsibility to Clients (1.1, 1.2): This requires MFTs to advance the welfare of families and individuals and to ensure services are provided with reasonable skill and competence. This compels me to use scientifically grounded, best practices to maximize therapeutic benefit.
Principle III, Professional Competence and Integrity (3.1, 3.10): MFTs must maintain high standards of professional competence (requiring continuous engagement with research) and not discriminate against clients based on protected characteristics (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.). This directly leads to an obligation to advocate for those whose well-being is compromised by systemic discrimination.
Principle IX, Public Participation: This is the most direct call to advocacy, encouraging MFTs to be "accurate, honest, and professional" when making public statements, including promoting public policy changes that benefit clients.