Topic 1 DQ 2

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Grand Canyon University *

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Philosophy

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Feb 20, 2024

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Hi Professor Howe and Class: The ethical dilemmas that could occur while counseling minors outside of the classroom have not received much advice in the mental health literature. With the exception of violating confidentiality to report child abuse, issues linked to treating children are only briefly discussed in even well-known ethics texts. However, there are a lot of possible ethical and legal problems with how families handle their children. Common worries about child treatment include the child's right to anonymity, informed consent, children and divorce, the use of touch, counselor competency, and multicultural challenges (Ethical and Legal Considerations when Counseling Children and families, n.d.). Privacy: clients right to choose who has access to their information. Parents of minors, legally, make all the privacy-related decisions. This means with signature of consent, releasing private information, and access to all medical and psychotherapy records. A child’s privacy and the confidentiality behind them must be examined by a counselor from a legal and ethical standpoint. Confidentiality: The ethical duty to keep counseling-related material confidential from third parties forms the cornerstone of therapy. Confidentiality is covered by all professional rules of ethics in the mental health field. Without consent, expressed in the form of a formal release signed by the client(s), clinicians should not disclose any information to third parties. State mental health laws often specify what should be included in releases. Furthermore, secrecy is subject to restrictions set forth by state law, professional ethics codes, common law, and case law. Privilege: Clients have a legal right known as privilege that prevents the disclosure of their personal medical information during legal procedures. State legislation establishes privilege. Depending on the sort of mental health discipline that is protected by state legislation, not all clients are granted privilege. For certain topics, several states grant privilege to youth as young as 16 years old. Although attorneys frequently subpoena counselors or their records through the legal discovery process (for instance, in child custody proceedings), the right to protected communication can only be legally relinquished by the client. The counsellor must ask the court to enforce the state statute and maintain the confidentiality of the counselling information unless the client (or possibly the client's parent or legal guardian) has waived privilege. In accordance with certain legal requirements, the counselor cannot be charged with a crime for refusing to provide information that the court in a legal dispute need. State laws typically permit exceptions to privilege, which may include client consent, treatment emergencies, the duty to warn and the duty to protect (see below), a malpractice lawsuit against the counselor, mandatory reporting laws (such as those pertaining to child abuse, elder abuse, and disabled adult abuse), a request for a restraining order against a former client, or when a client's mental health status is in the legal forum (such as child custody cases, civil commitment hearings, or competency to stand trial). In order to prevent the many potential hazards that could unintentionally lead to ethical and legal issues, there are many factors to consider. The distinction between parental and child treatment rights is noteworthy. Except for those granted by state law, children have minimal rights, thus counselors must try to uphold the confidentiality of the therapeutic alliance. Counselors should be aware of children's and adolescents' vulnerability, have a wide range of developmental and current knowledge about children, collaborate with the larger systems in which children are embedded (such as families, agencies, and schools), and seek out training, consultation, and advice (Ethical and Legal Considerations when Counseling Children and families, n.d.). Counselors should periodically study their code of ethics for the profession and should continue their education in ethical and legal topics to update their ethical understanding and skills. New federal legislation, state statutes, and case laws can all be kept up to date via this training for clinicians. Several liability insurance firms provide discounted rates to those who participate in supplementary ethics training, and many professional organizations give such instruction at conferences or through home study. Counseling children involves balancing the needs of the client and risk management, but there are many advantages to dealing with this demographic for the child, his family, and ultimately our society's future. References: Ethical and legal considerations when Counselling Children and families. (n.d.). https://fardapaper.ir/mohavaha/uploads/2019/05/Fardapaper-Ethical-and-Legal-Considerations-When- Counselling-Children-and-Families.pdf

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