As mental health services become more mainstream the individuals seeking those services become more

c. How might differences in personal values and gender/cultural issues create ethical dilemmas in this case? It’s an ongoing balance to decide how David going to view the cultural differences. There isn’t a simple answer. The principal rule supporting ethical obligations is that the counselor must act with full recognition of the importance of client’s rights, the ethics of the profession.(National Association of Social Workers 1999).

As individuals, we are diverse based on the background, experience, ability, race, language, etc. which impact the lens through which we view others and ourselves. As diverse individual, we may belong to dominant or non- dominant groups. Thus, either we have power and privilege or we experience discrimination and oppression. Further, we are shelled with diversity, ethnicity, and multiculturalism issues. Counselors have some ethical primary responsibilities to respect the dignity and promote the welfare of the client (A.1.a), “honoring diversity and embracing a multicultural approach in support of the worth, dignity” and “promoting social justice” (Herlihy & Corey, 2014, p. 3)

In the past, counselors have lacked the knowledge and skills to interpret ethical guidelines in multicultural counseling. The ethical guidelines dictate how a counselor should have the necessary tools when conducting a counseling session. There is a shortfall of training and education when dealing with race, ethnicity, and cultural backgrounds in today’s society. Ethics is a hot topic for counselors, partially because there are so many different situations that can be affected by ethical behavior. These situations can range from betraying the clients trust to injustice. There tends to be a lot of ambiguity for how to handle a situation ethically since there are a lot of

It’s important as a counsellor to be non-judgement of a client whether that be around the age, sex, religion, sexuality, culture, disability the counsellor should remain professional at all times, sticking to the equal opportunities act, but also be true to their own limitations regarding the above, for instance I recently counselled a client who brought up the subject that tested me because what they wished to explore I personally am against, from my own personal feelings and values this really pushed my comfort zone, but I feel I was able to be non-judgemental regarding the situation and supported my client on their exploration of it, for me this was a great achievement and gave me a real sense of how things that cross my own beliefs can crop up, I feel I dealt with the situation in a professional manner, it showed me that it’s with experience that you learn whether or not your own beliefs, values and morals can be pushed aside while helping a client.

Counseling takes many different roads in the direction of improving a client’s mental health. These roads all lead to a common goal, but the therapist must be diligent in the direction chosen. A code of ethics provides the parameters for proper and effective treatment and boundaries protect the process of healing. Understanding how these two critical components interweave into this process aids in the conceptual framework of therapy. It may become necessary to expand upon and even cross the theoretical aspect of a boundary in order to stimulate the process of helping the client, but by no means shall these boundaries be violated. The Royal College of Psychologists (2013) compare professional boundaries to that of guardrails at the Grand Canyon, providing the visitor a safe area to enjoy the view with minimal risk of harm. Though the therapist’s boundaries can be much more flexible than a guardrail as it involves the process of therapy, some aspects such as sexual contact as an example are just as unyielding. Utilization of ethical treatment keeps the counselor on the path with clear direction and out of harm’s way for both the client and the therapist. The substance abuse therapist must become intimately familiar with the definition and application appearance of boundary crossing versus boundary violation and how a code of ethics model successful treatment for the substance user.

The purpose of this paper is to explore various considerations when counseling members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender community (LGBT). When counseling LGBT members, the psychology professional must be aware of various factors that may influence effective treatment. For instance, the historical treatment of the LGBT community by the mental health profession is important to understand in order to make strides at improving institutional attitudes and approaches. Other factors such as community perceptions, interfamily relations and cultural bias are all relevant to successful therapeutic outcomes. This paper aims to discuss these factors in order to present a comprehensive review of the cultural considerations involved with counseling the LGBT community.

The code of ethics for both the American Counseling Association (ACA) and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) create a framework by which Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) and Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT), respectively, determine their ethical boundaries in which to practice in the field of counseling. Though it is clear the code of ethics within this profession are not definitive nor concrete instructions to handle all ethical concerns and scenarios, they do serve a major purpose in helping professionals navigate ethical concerns that may arise (Corey, 2015). In addition to the professional ethics, “Christian mental health professionals are called to a higher ethic (Sanders, 2013, p. 27).” This goes without saying for the one whose life has been radically transformed because of what Christ accomplished on the Cross. However, in the context of a profession that restricts one’s personal values there remains a consistent thoughtfulness of the impact it has on one’s faith.

In the case of Sheila, we learn the unethical and unprofessional issues that we as counselors never want to institute. It is absolutely important for counselors to be properly trained in cases that need sensitivity and understanding of cultural differences. Otherwise, we may impose our own values onto our clients without the intention to do so. It is essential that therapists are aware of their own beliefs and values in order to better serve their clients so that the professional is not bias towards those seeking help. If someone is not confident in a situation that concerns their clients well-being, seek supervision for further assistance. In the following essay we will review different codes of ethics that relates to Sheila’s case with her client, Brendan and how to execute them as professionals in the helping field. Sheila was dismissive and insensitive when Brendan shared his spiritual values to her, which ultimately caused him to leave their session. Here we learn how a counselor should carry themselves in cases such as this.

According to the ACA code of ethics (A.4.b.) counselors need to be aware of their values and avoid imposing them onto their client (American Counseling Association, 2014). Counselors may find this difficult when their religious or own personal values do not match those of their client. For example, the counselor who was seeing a family where the father was abusing his wife. The counselor after a session was beginning to let her own personal values take over and wanted to refer the family to a different counselor. However, after discussing with a colleague she began to see the father's side of things and realized the transition from a Middle Eastern Country to the United States would be difficult due to the two cultures

The three articles we were asked to read discussed personal and professional discord, how to address these value-based conflicts when they occur, and the intersectionality of faith, sexual orientations, and gender overall. These articles all explained what potential viewpoints (personal and professional) could do to the counseling process and what can be done to prevent this (e.g. how to address these value-based conflicts within the counseling setting). Also, these articles explained how being self-reflexive and aware of these conflicts can lead to less occurrences and positive outcomes for your clients.

In Chapter 10 of Rudolph K. Sanders’ book, Christian Counseling Ethics: A Handbook for Psychologists, Therapists and Pastors, Mark Yarhouse, Jill Kays and Stanton Jones discuss the “sexual minority” as it pertains to the field of professional counseling. This group is defined as “individuals with same sex attractions or behavior, regardless of self-identification” (Sanders, et. al., 2013, p. 252). By looking at counseling the homosexual community through its etiology, standards by which a counselor should proceed with treatment, and the options a client has on deciding treatment options, we can be better prepared as Christian counselors to be better prepared in serving the needs of others.

Throughout my 13-year career in the Human Services field, spending the majority of that time working with adolescent girls in residential treatment facilities, I am very much aware of the risks that exist with regard to sexual relationships between professionals and clients. In that time, it came to my attention that at least three employees at programs where I was employed had sexual relationships with clients. In addition to the ethical issues that arose from these situations, all of the clients were under 18 years of age so the actions of these employees had legal ramifications. Many of our clients had been victims of sexual abuse prior to admission into our program. I always viewed our programs as safe places where clients would be treated with respect and could develop strong therapeutic relationships with both their counselors and program staff members. Unfortunately, the actions of a few had a detrimental effect on our programs and also the lives of our clients. Having dealt with these issues and focusing on ethical decision-making throughout my education and professional career, the ethical dilemma of

In today’s society many disorders may arise. Some of these issues include eating disorders, anxiety, gender-identity disorders, depression, addictions, and many others. However, there is another issue that brings individuals in the counseling setting, and that is the issue of sex and sexuality. Issues stemming from sex and sexuality can arise from same-sex attraction, pornography, infidelity, hormonal issues, and/or negative, inadequate beliefs and perceptions concerning sexuality. Licensed professionals, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, etc…, are trained and usually prepared for these types of disorders, however, certain types of counselors, licensed or not, are not trained in this area. There are various distorted views on sexuality, and these distorted views are across the board. So it begs the question are Christian counselors equipped to handle these types of disorders and many others. If so, what models do they follow in order to help an individual struggling with these issues? This critique will interview a Christian counselor/Addition specialist concerning her viewpoint on human sexuality and her personal model for decision-making in dealing with individuals who struggle in the area of sexuality and/or in any of the other aforementioned areas.

It is important for a counselor to first recognize the sexual attraction and be aware of these feelings. It is often the case that a counselor will ignore these feelings or dismiss them given the rather taboo nature of the counselor viewing their patient as sexually attractive (Gallagher, 2010). The lack of acknowledgement of these feelings or urges can increase the risk that they could manifest. Identifying them is the first step in ensuring that appropriate responses can be developed that will allow the counselor to maintain their ethical integrity. Once the attraction is brought into the open there are many ways in which it can be handled. However, if the attraction is not identified then this puts both the client and counselor at an increased risk for damages to one or both parties.

In view of the continuum of multiple relationships, which ranges form boundary crossings that ‘may be harmful, helpful, or benign to the therapeutic process’ (Hermann, 2006, Moleski & Kiselica, 2005, Rosenbloom, 2003,) to boundary violations which ‘place clients, and the therapeutic process at a high risk’ ( Gutheil & Gabbard, 1993; Simon,1992), there seems to be something more than ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to the non-sexual boundaries issue.