Ethical Issues in Counselling

The American Counseling Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association Codes of Ethics both provide guidance and direction in making ethical decisions for their members (ACA, 2005) (AMHCA, 2010). Both the ACA and the AMHCA Codes of Ethics cover a wide range of moral and ethical situations that could present themselves to mental health professionals. Both of these codes of ethics have significant impacts on the counseling profession. The tools provided by these codes of ethics ensure that mental health professionals are able to conform to the regulations set forth. They address common concerns from varying points of view. Understanding these codes of ethics is essential to all mental

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

It goes without saying that at some point in a counselor career, he or she can expect to be faced with an ethical dilemma. Ethical decisions are rarely easy to arrive at, as the dilemmas a counselor is faced with can be very complex

To have good ethical practice within counselling it is important that there are boundaries and contracts in place that are agreed to and understood by both the counsellor and the client.

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

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

Using you knowledge AND the documents provided, write a well-reasoned essay on the following prompt:

The ACA Code of Ethics states, “when counselors are faced with ethical dilemmas that are difficult to resolve, they are expected to engage in a carefully considered ethical decision-making process,” (ACA, 2014, p. 3). Throughout these three case studies, I will use the seven-step ethical decision-making model to address the important professional issues, relevant ethical codes, and legal standards (Forester-Miller & Davis, 1996). By applying the steps to each case I will share how I came to my resolutions.

The guidelines also assert to maintain boundaries, beware my own values, be prepared to lose a friendship, remain mindful of confidentiality, and to recognize when treatment should be terminated (Gottlieb, 1993). However, concerning the dual relationship at hand, these guidelines give me ideas to ponder on when dealing with a close acquaintance.

I choose to complete my second reflection paper on chapter three: Boundary Crossing in Clinical Practice. The author starts the chapter first by mentioning seeing other professionals engaging in sexual encounters with their clients. She found it hard to understand how a professional could participate in such acts. As the author began to look at boundary she began to see she was also guilty not as heinous as some of her fellow colleagues by participating in sexual acts but unintentionally crossing certain boundaries that she was unaware of.

Assignment 5 Boundary Issues Katroya Jones Florida State College at Jacksonville Boundary Issues Discussing the insights of boundary issues, it’s important to acknowledge the two type of boundaries; boundary violations and boundary crossings. Boundaries are essential to a healthy relationship within mental health providers. According to Ofer Zur, PhD, director of zur institute, Boundaries in psychotherapy define the therapeutic-fiduciary relationship, outline the therapeutic frame of psychotherapy, and distinguish psychotherapy from social, familial, sexual, business, and other types of relationships (HUS4526 - Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Professionals 2 - Dual Relationships, n.d.). Boundary issues mostly refer to un-ethical acts of the counselors such as, dual-relationships, self-disclosure, giving and receiving gifts, acts of physically touching, and contact outside of the counselor sessions. Boundary violations are most likely to be unethical and illegal.

Lying on the Couch by Irvin D. Yalom has been both entertaining and interesting from a counseling standpoint in that it provides a scandalous and as was in most of the cases, a look at what could go wrong if ethics in a clinical counseling setting go awry. Following the characters of Seymour Trotter, Earnest Lash, and Marshal Streider in working with their clients and with each other the ethical lessons to be learned become obviously apparent, if not emotionally painful. Although, numerous issues arise throughout the book, there were at least three that will be covered within the context of this writing. In consideration of each of these ethical breaches there will be dialog on the nature of the ethical issue or violation, where the ACA ethical code applies, ramifications of the ethical issue or violation on both parties, and application of Kitchener?s five primary ethical principles that were involved or violated. In addition, the justification offered by the characters in the book for their actions or considered actions, application to the situation in the setting of Clinical Mental Health counseling, and indication of personal response to the situation presented. Understanding that the use of these ethical principles and considerations as they apply in counseling are unequivocally valuable tools in helping a practitioner in working with clients to make comprehensive decisions that will not create conflict within their ethical parameters and are aligned with the laws

These boundary issues were addressed in the enrollment process of the soldier in a Rehabilitation Treatment Meeting (RTM) in which family would be included with the soldier, along with his command and/or the soldier’s supervisor. The counselor would first staff the case with their supervisor. Walker & Clark (1999) report that the counselor should obtain close supervision to anticipate or head off any possible ethical violation by intervening, when they see signs of boundary problems that may appear.

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

Workers in the helping professions endure a massive amount of ethical and professional issues. These issues affect the practice of counseling and the relationship with the client. The book Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions by Corey, Corey, and Hallanan gives many themes that one will encounter throughout their career. The book also gives possible solutions to problems and stimulates different ways to think about issues. The authors of this book provide good knowledge and information for anyone in the helping professions.