Dual Relationships and Self-Disclosure Essay

Clients have the right to confidentiality. Counselors cannot share information about clients without shared consent. Counselors throughout treatment process must inform clients when confidentiality can be breached (Mears, G., 2010). If a counselors foresee that a client is a danger to himself or others confidentiality must be broken.

I did not wish to interrupt the natural flow of the meeting with my presence. However, that is exactly what occurred highlighting to me a duality in why AA can be both helpful and harmful depending ton the individual. One member spoke during the open testimony about his desire to only attend meetings with people that have 20 plus years of sobriety because he finds a newcomer to be distrustful to his experience in the group. During his five-minute monologue, it became clear to myself and other group members that he did not appreciate me observing his meeting. As other members spoke after him, he became increasingly agitated in his movements. When the group paused to collect the donations, he left the meeting and did not return. That experience highlighted the negative aspects of AA because the open honesty could be damaging or discouraging to newcomers. I tried to imagine myself a newcomer to AA, seeking treatment for something that I may not fully understand myself. After hearing his dismissal of newcomers and everyone under 20 years sobriety that feeling of “otherness” in a newcomer could push them to not return. Therefore eliminating the AA support for

When most people think of substance abuse and addiction counseling they often only think of the 12 step program or alcoholics anonymous. The truth is that an addiction counselor must have a vast knowledge in the

A question that I was curious about asking dealt with how individuals in recovery function as substance abuse counselors. From experience, I have noticed that most substance abuse counselors are themselves in recovery. When I was in treatment, I related much better to

The client met with his counselor on 05/06/2017 for his one on one session to discuss his treatment plan goals. the client has been on track with his goals and is working on his second step. the client discuss one of the things that his currently working on and that is acceptance. the client explained that he is having a hard time acceptance certain situations and things that happen in his life, and most of the time it result in him resulting to using drugs. the client as well talked about being disappointed in himself for relapsing after two years of being sober. the client reported that he didn't use the tools that were given to him from his last his was in the program, getting a sponsor and learning coping skills. the client reported that

When I walked into the meeting, I was a little apprehensive. It was only a small group of about ten people, which was held at a local hospital. Knowing that I had to explain I was there to observe as a student studying social work, I was worried that the participants would hold back from their real behaviors in the group and that they would be cold to me. However, that assumption could not have been farther from the truth. All my apprehension flew out the window, as the members of the small group all welcomed me with open arms. Apparently, these were regulars. Most in the group attended every meeting, and continued to use the support of the group to deal with the continuous chaos and trauma of living with an addict. I was welcomed to sit and observe the behavior of the individual members of the group express their grief, fear, and

Dual Relationships are dangerous to the client/counselor relationship since it blurs boundaries that must be clear to have a successful, ethical relationship that is centered on the client. A dual relationship can blur the boundaries since other relationships you have with the client will not only not have the clear balance of power that the counselor/client relationship has but will also not have the objectivity and client-centered relationship you must have with them. If you have one relationship with a client as their counselor and another as peer, your relationship with them as a peer can seep into your role as their counselor. In the case of dual relationships, the rule of thumb is “the fewer roles, the better” (p. 565).

I do not think AA or NA can be legally mandated for any clients because it would be counter the first amendment of our Bill of Rights. The first amendment states, among other issues, that the government cannot intervene, advocate, encourage or endorse any religion or religious enterprise (American Civil Liberties Union, 2017). Forcing an individual to attend any type of meeting that goes against their personal religious or spiritual beliefs and/or convictions would violate this amendment. The bill of rights was created to protect our individual autonomy. I do, however, feel some individuals such as those who are incarcerated should receive some form of rehabilitation. One option that could be considered is offering a choice between a spiritual

Sexual intimacies are another area in which similarities and differences can be observed between the two codes of ethics. Both codes of ethics prohibit sexual and romantic relationships between counselors and clients. Sections A.5.a and A.5.b of the ACA code of ethics clearly state this (American Counseling Association, 2005, p 5). This is also clearly stated in section 1-131 of the AACC code of ethics (AACC Law and Ethics Committee, 2004, p 8.). At this point, it is necessary to point out differences between these two codes of ethics in this regards. The AACC guideline clearly forbids sexual and romantic relationships with former clients but provides an exception as stated in section 1-133 where possible marriage is involved (AACC Law and Ethics Committee, 2004, p 8). On the other hand,

You made a valid point, the family members also have mutual experiences from their loved one who suffered from addiction. I believe the share of kindship, even with the members in AA, should be viewed as an external positive streamline support system, since both parties have something in common. For example: Their family member’s addiction, tough love, locating the best resources, seeking help and trying to save their lives because they love them. The plus side to all of this is that they can be supportive to one another or feel comfortable with taking one’s advice, referrals, and feedback. The AA/NA recovery plans and steps were designed to befit each phase of the member’s treatment. The members are taught to forgive, and trust I believe

The meeting began with a prayer and a reading of the twelve steps, which I did, and preceded into a 25-minute meditation session. Following the meditation session, the floor was opened up for persons to reflect on their meditation. It was quiet for sometime, but eventually persons began to talk. Each person that spoke introduced himself or herself as, “Hi I am XXXX and I am an alcoholic” in which the rest of us responded with a hello. The discussion each person brought to the circle often revolved around what they had been experiencing in the last week, and ended with a positive-spin that reflected back on their journey with sobriety. One gentleman talked about his spring break on Orca Island with his kids, another discussed a speaker he was arranging to have visit Spokane, and another woman talked about an “essay reading party” she went to in which wine was being drank by the majority of participants. The meeting ended with the serenity prayer, something the girls at Daybreak say before lunch, and simple discussion between some of the participants. During this time I talked with the woman who had told me where to find the AA meeting. She talked with me about the need to find the proper AA meeting for myself, encouraging me to explore multiple

Dual relationships and the ethical behavior that revolves around boundaries with clients present a multitude of very complicated situations to counselors where a clearly defined course of action is not always evident. Aside from no accord amongst mental health professionals and boundary issues being unavoidable at times, recognition and prediction of potential benefits or pitfalls correlated with dual relationships can prove to be troublesome as well (Remley & Herlihy, 2010). For most cases, it is best if an outline is used to discern when it is appropriate for a counselor to breach the client-counselor boundary.

Client met with his counselor because he needed to talk about a situation that he was bothering him. Client has concerns about this relationship and wrote a letter to his girlfriend apologizing for his behavior and wanting to make it work between to the two of them. Client shared that he explain to her the he understands how she could feel abandon and he wants to start a new. The client went on to talk about his family and their addiction. Client discuss the his two sister and father and mother were all addicted. both of the sister got clean and one has became a substance abuse counselor and other one work and well. Client further explain that he his mother went onto a program on the day after he was admitted to a program. The client doesn't

Psychotherapy is an intense and complex process, that can be isolating for many practitioners. Consequently, many counselors turn to their peers for guidance and support when faced with difficult cases. When doing so, counselors must always strive to maintain client’s confidentiality since it is the cornerstone of a therapeutic relationship and is an ethical duty (APA, 2002). The ACA Code of Ethics (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2014) states that counselors protect confidential information of a client and when consulting with others, do not disclose information that could lead to the identification of a client without the client 's prior consent. Additionally, confidential information is only discussed in settings, where clients’ privacy can be ensured (Standard B.3.c). That brings one to one of the main ethical issues in the above case. It is not clear whether counselors Frank and Megan have obtained informed consent from the client prior to discussing his or her case. Regardless, they are still breaching client’s

With the change in leadership, policies and structural changes, the counselors and myself, as an intern, have recently experienced a professional dissonance that is not in line with our values, morals, and code of ethics for our specific professional disciplines. The dissonance occurs when the staff members were informed that every individual seeking substance abuse treatment, whether the client is mandated or self -referred, must be attend group therapy. During this time, the client can have individual therapeutic counseling sessions. Upon successfully completing group treatment, the client may continue with