Ethical Dilemmas In Counseling

The ethical dilemma in this particular situation is that the client deals with depression and it happens a lot when her parents are not home. However, her parents will not be there this weekend, which may cause the client to get down and depressed. The counselor has the dilemma whether or not to give her personal number to the client. If she does give the client her number it could give the client a sense of relief, but it can also overstep the client/ counselor relationship and those boundaries do not need to be crossed. Also, if the counselor does not give the client her number this could cause the client to be depressed, make her feel like she is alone, and could potentially make her be suicidal. There are pros and cons

The first ethical issue that counselors have to worry about in counseling children is to be a competent counselor. It includes that the counselor must be familiar with child and adolescent development. Also, in order to be competent in counseling children, a counselor must frequently participate in trainings, specialized education, and supervised practice (Henderson & Thompson, 2011). Another ethical issue in counseling minors is privacy and confidentiality. According to the American Counseling Association (ACA) (2014) Code of Ethics, when counseling minors a counselors protect the confidentiality of information received (ACA, 2014, B.5.a). Counselors also have responsibilities with the child’s parents such as inform parents about the role of counselors and the confidential nature of the counseling relationship (ACA, 2014, B.5.b). When a counselors needs to release confidential information, he needs to seek permission from the child’s parents, legal guardians, or the appropriate third party in order to disclose the information (ACA, 2014, B.5.c). According to Henderson and Thompson (2011), children have to have their parents’ consent to see a

This paper is a response to a video discussing the issues of confidentiality, privilege, reporting, and duty to warn. This paper looks at these issues and their explanations in the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics as well as the Georgia State Board of Professional Counselor’s ethical guidelines and provides a commentary on the laws. It was found that these issues are not always black and white, but there is some debate on these issues. Confidentiality is both an ethical and a legal responsibility yet there are often times when the ethical demands clash with the legal demands. This paper explores some of those crashes and explains what I have learned from the video and the professional and stage guidelines concerning confidentiality and its implications and how I will apply what I have learned into future practice.

Describe and analyse the potential tension between maintaining an individual’s confidentiality and disclosing concerns. (e.g. where abuse of a child or young person is suspected, when it is suspected that a crime has been/may be committed)

In some situations, counselors must clarify that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed (Herlihy and Corey, 2016). Ethically, a counselor should be sure that

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost” –Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

Generally speaking, you are working in the Child Protection department at the Children Aid’s Society when you are contacted by the school board regarding a 7-year-old girl named Anna. You have now been seeing Anna for six weeks, once a week. She has been sexually abused and this was verified by a medical examination, however, she has not disclosed who the perpetrator is. Despite no disclosure, the school and the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto speculate it is her mother’s boyfriend and the boyfriend still has access to her. The more time you spend with her the more she opens up to you. You feel she is getting closer to disclosing who the perpetrator is. During a session, she tells you that she has a “secret” she wants to tell you about “the bad man that hurt her” but she asks you to promise her first that you won’t tell anyone and if you can promise her that she will not tell you her “secret.”

I believed that confidentiality could not be broken under any circumstances and that the only stakeholder would have been the client. Taking the act Utilitarian perspective, a helping professional needs to ask herself/himself whether that particular circumstance will result in the greatest happiness. Keeping this in mind, the therapist considers the potential consequence of each scenario. Thus, breaking confidentiality and reporting to the law enforcement is sometimes the best action to take as it would strop harm experienced by the client or others involved. In fact, maintaining confidentiality is not always an ethical decision. The therapist needs to consider the scenario that would bring the greatest good. Confidentiality might not always be the most important aspect, especially when treating a minor who is abused and/or neglected. This is when the notion of Consequentialism comes in handy, the good is determined by the consequences of the act. I believe this in particular is a very important ethical aspect that going forward with my studies, and eventually professional practice, will be especially

Another issue that these articles made me see was that, after disclosure clients may begin to use triangulation and show signs of disequilibrium within the system. It is evident that if you are not trained and knowledgeable in handling these types of situations, then this would be even more challenging for you as a counselor. I believe learning more about the family system and how it works is essential to being able to handle these situations and leads to being more mindful of such challenges. Again, letting

When researching about ethical dilemmas and talking to supervisors and others in the field, taking time to process everything that has happened before making a final decision. The Elmhurst social work supervisor said, “when faced with an ethical dilemma, you can’t undo a decision once it’s been made. At the end of the day, you need to be able to live with your decision and to feel confident you are doing what is in the best interest of your client” (Kathy Rossi,

In chapter 3 it discusses what it means to be an ethical counselor and the ethical dilemmas that a counselor may face in their career. I aspire to be a competent, ethical counselor. When I began my journey of becoming a future counselor, I did not realize the growth that would happen within me. To be an ethical counselor it starts with figuring out who you are as a person. I am a recovering addict.

It is ultimately the counselor’s responsibility to determine the appropriate response for individual students who put their trust in the security of the counseling relationship. Have you ever had to break the confidence of a student who begged you not to tell his or her parents?

Ethical issues in a counseling practice lay the foundation of a therapist in practice. Ethics are at the center of how the counseling process functions and operates in a successful manner for the clients who seek help in such a setting. In order for the counseling profession to be ethical and hold professional recognition, there are many facets that need to be examined and outlined to make sure all counselors and practitioners are functioning at the highest level and withholding their duties required by the counseling profession. The first introduction so to speak of the area of ethics also happens to be one of the first steps in counseling, which is the informed consent. The informed consent provides the basis of what happens or will be

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.

In no more than 3,000 words you are required to complete an essay on ethical issues in the practice of counseling, by addressing the following question: