Professional ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice should guide the conduct of alcohol and drug addiction counselors because each human being has value and dignity that needs to be respected. Each counselor needs to devote himself/or herself to treating the individual and familial manifestations of alcohol and drug addicted clients.

The principle of non-discrimination means that counselors should not discriminate against clients because of their religion, race, color, gender, disability, national ancestry, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. A helpful guideline to ensure this is the counselor leaving personal and professional issues out of the counseling affiliation.

The client's dignity and rights will be protected if the counselor is aware of the stereotyping and discrimination that influences the client. The counselor should further be aware of any disabling conditions that the client may have, responding to that knowledge with empathy, personal emotional comfort, and physical, sensory, and cognitive accommodations.

Responsibility is another principle where the counselor should strive to provide the objectivity, integrity, and the best possible services to the client. To accomplish this the counselor must abide by institutional and ethical policies of the services and agencies that are offering services to the client. The counselor also has the responsibility to educate others about addictions and to cooperate with others by providing current evaluations, constructive consultation, and correct information.