Summary of Case: Rose and Randy are currently in marital counseling with you. One afternoon, Rose arrives early at your office and asks, “Could I meet with you privately for about 15 minutes before Randy gets here?”
Ethical Issue in Case: the ethical issues could be whether to see the wife of a couple therapy before the couple session begin and how that could impair the counselor clinical judgment.
Nature and Dimension of Ethical Issue: the counselor doesn’t know what her client would say; however, that could influence the counselor clinical judgment while providing couples services. ACA, AMHCA, and ASCA ethical codes & Florida Statutes by number and name that have bearing in this case:
AAMFT code of ethics (2001):
AAMFT Principle
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(AHMCA, 2015).
Section I.F.1.f. Other roles counselors avoid conflicts of interest in selecting consultation clients (AHMCA, 2015).
ACA codes of ethics (2014):
Section-A.4.aAvoiding harm and imposing values.
Section A.6.d.1. Role changes in the professional relationship.
Section C- Professional responsibility
Section A.8. Multiples clients
Section B.4.b. Couples &family counseling
Section C.7.c Harmful practice
“Counselors do not use techniques/procedures/modalities when substantial evidence suggest harm, even if such services are requested” (ACA, 2014).
Potential 3 (minimum) courses of action which can be taken with potential consequences:
Option 1 and Consequence: The counselor agree to talk the one of the client and the information provided by the client change the counselor professional perception and could feel confuse whether each approach to use of might feel influence more toward one of the couples. The consequence is a violation of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy ethics codes (2001) that stated, “AAMFT Principle III-Professional Competence and Integrity
III. 3.4 Marriage and family therapists do not provide services that create a conflict of interest that may impair work performance or clinical judgment” (AAMFT, 2001).
Option 2 and Consequence: The counselor decided not to talk to the client separately and explained the client that the information she wants to provide
b. What special issues of confidentiality may arise in the case? How should David address these issues? Even though David most recently been in a counseling relationship with the husband, he stills have a legal “duty” to the husband, who was originally client..In most circumstances, he can release the husband 's individual counseling records to her upon his written request. However, he may be compromising his ethics and breaching confidentiality by releasing information to the wife that he obtained from the husband or learned during a joint counseling session unless he have written authorization of both or a court order (2005 ACA Code of Ethics, Section B.2.c.)
According to the AMHCA Code of Ethics, 2010, Section III.9, Commitment to Students, Supervisees and Employee Relationships, "the primary obligation of supervisors is to monitor services provided by supervisees to ensure client welfare." (p. 16) According to the AMHCA Code of Ethics, 2010, Section I.A.1.a, “the primary responsibility of mental health counselors is to respect client dignity and promote client welfare.” (p.2) Both codes of ethics have parallel stances when it comes to acting ethically in the benefit of the client’s interest. Supervisory roles are crucial in the development of counselors and ensuring the welfare of clients.
Ethical issues come from various concepts in the selection because not all member are not ideal patient for each counseling session. Counselors receive individuals who are mandated to attend counseling in many cases set by a judge or a doctor. In these sessions, there may be aperture of confidentiality, kinship, or individuals who are unable to be polite that may impede treatment those member counseling to be done
Many times in counseling sessions, situations arise that require the ability to make ethical decisions. When confronting these types of situations, counselors often refer to the Elizabeth Reynold Welfel’s Ethical Model, comprised of 10 steps, to guide them in making an ethical decision. These steps provide a framework which counselors may use to help with ethical dilemmas. Below are the 10 steps in the Ethical Decision-Making Model provided by Elizabeth Welfel in the book Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy to examine the multiple relationship case described in Herlihy and Corey’s ACA Ethical Standards Casebook (2006, p. 242) "A
Professional counselors deal with many legal and ethical issues in the course of treating clients. Some of the issues they may come across include dual relationships, boundaries, bartering, sexual relationships, gift giving, touching a client, and how to begin or end treatment. Some of these issues may seem straightforward in theory, but they can become complicated in practice. In these cases, if possible, a counselor should seek consultation before making any decisions. Ethical dilemmas are an area where professional counselors should continually receive consultation and ongoing education. This paper provides a summary of how a video presentation, the ACA Code of Ethics, and Maryland’s board regulations for professional counselors handle dual relationships, boundaries, gift giving, touch, and beginning and ending treatment. The paper will go on to discuss my reaction to these issues. Finally, I will discuss how I plan to apply what I have learned to my own counseling practice.
Remley and Herlihy (2016) defines confidentiality as an ethical concept which refers to the counselor 's obligation to respect the client 's privacy and in session discussion will be protected from disclosure without their consent (p.108). The receptionist never disclosed what was being discussed in wife A session; however, her inadvertent breach of confidentiality occurred the moment she divulged the fact that wife A is a patient at a mental health facility. An important premise to understanding the ethical principle of confidentiality is base that a counselor respects the client 's right to privacy (Remley & Herlihy, 2016; Quigley, 2007). Premise one states the "counselor honor the rights of clients to decide who knows what information about them and in what circumstances" (p.110).
Certain modalities of therapeutic treatments are linked to ethical dilemmas as well; these modalities affect treatment outcomes as well. Dyadic therapists may misuse the intimate nature of the sessions by pushing their values on the client or clients, or by allowing therapy to extend beyond its efficiency. Confidentiality can be broken much easier with the group setting; therapists need to be highly guarded on this topic. (Amato, 2000)
* I don’t believe it is in the best interest of the original client (the husband) for the counselor to offer marriage counseling to the couple. The scenario does not address the training of the counselor in this field. If I were the counselor, I would continue to see the husband, dealing with his issues and refer the couple to a marriage counselor.
Question one following the vignette considers the wife’s request to participate in therapy sessions. My response would be to inform the client about the ethical guidelines which bind my actions. I would gently remind them that they are individuals with their own needs. I am employed as Mr. Franks psychologist. I could remind Mrs. Frank that she has a vital role in her husband’s life and will at times be invited into the session when it would benefit them both the most.
Both the ACA (2005) and AACC (2004) code of ethics require the counselor to maintain client confidentiality to the fullest extent. Working in the counseling field, trust is a rock in the foundational of a helping relationship and confidentially plays a large role in the client counselor relationship. Both codes share similarities regarding their stance on confidentiality. When counseling others, a counselor is to inform their clients about their commitment to confidentiality as well as their limits before
This is also stated in subsection 1-421 of the AACC code of ethics (AACC Law and Ethics Committee, 2004, p 12). However, the ACA guidelines with regards to this area are more comprehensive and clearly stated than the AACC guidelines. Section B of the ACA code of ethics provides guidelines on how a counselor can maintain client confidentiality in various circumstances such as incapacity of client, when treatment calls for services with others and even in consulting other counselors (American Counseling Association, 2005, p 7-9). On the other hand, the guidelines of the AACC are more limited in scope as can be seen in Section ES1-400 (AACC Law and Ethics Committee, 2004, p 11-13).
Ethics and therapy are closely intertwined. It is important that healthcare professionals dealing in therapy adhere to strict professional standards and values that help define expectations and also prevent harm to those who seek therapy. Although the application of such values can sometimes be somewhat complicated when such therapists are dealing with individual clients, the complexity is even more heightened in the context of having multiple family members under therapy. Advancing conversations regarding values and marriage and family therapy is important to enable professionals grapple with the complexities of the topic as well as support their clients better.
Clients must be able to trust the counselor and have faith in the therapeutic relationship if growth is to occur. Therefore, the counselor must take care not to threaten the therapeutic relationship nor to leave obligations unfulfilled. When exploring an ethical dilemma, you need to examine the situation and see how each of the above principles may relate to that particular case. At times this alone will clarify the issues enough that the means for resolving the dilemma will become obvious to you. In more complicated cases it is helpful to be able to work through the steps of an ethical decision making model, and to assess which of these moral principles may be in conflict. Ethical Decision Making Model We have incorporated the work of Van Hoose and Paradise (1979), Kitchener (1984), Stadler (1986), Haas and Malouf (1989), Forester-Miller and Rubenstein (1992), and Sileo and Kopala (1993) into a practical, sequential, seven step, ethical decision making model. A description and discussion of the steps follows. 1. Identify the Problem. Gather as much information as you can that will illuminate the situation. In doing so, it is important to be as specific and objective as possible. Writing ideas on paper may help you gain clarity. Outline the facts, separating out innuendos, assumptions, hypotheses, or suspicions. There are several questions you can ask yourself: Is it an ethical, legal, professional, or clinical problem? Is it a combination of more than
There are many ethical issues that can arise during counseling. One issue that is fairly common is sexual attraction from patient to counselor, counselor to patient, or even in both directions. Even though an attraction may exist, this does not necessarily mean that these instincts will be followed in any inappropriate way. In fact attraction is a natural part of life and is impossible to avoid. However, any fulfillment of these desires is an unethical act that could not only be in violation of the code of ethics that a counselor is bound by, but it could also subject the counselor and their organization to litigation and legal action.
Due to the extremely sensitive nature of marital and family therapy, it is imperative that therapists engage in the ethical, competent treatment of their clients. There are three aspects of marriage and family therapy research that makes it unique from other research fields: 1) multiple family members are involved; 2) it involves extremely sensitive information; and 3) it is performed in conjunction with therapy. According to Hohmann-Marriott (2001), because of these aspects as well as the researcher’s responsibility to conduct