Human Service Professional Confidentiality

The human service professional is central to the help process. They have the training to meet different human needs through an approach that utilizes special skills and knowledge. In doing so, the human services professional aims at both prevention and cure. The overall aim of human service professionals is to improve the general quality of human life. They strive to ensure that the community functions effectively. Therefore, human service professionals spend much time solving other people’s problems in a professional way. They do this by listening to their clients’ problems, helping the clients understand their problems and advising on the appropriate solutions to the problems in every unique situation.

Chapter 3 explains the importance of ethical competence specific to the human services field. As a professional it is important to know and understand an organizations code of ethics, as it will be a reference tool in how to handle certain situations you are faced with. Human service professionals enter into the profession with a personal set of values, goals and ethical conduct but, must always remember that their actions should always reflect the values and ethics of the company they are now a part of (site). In the event of an ethical issue a professional should always refer the ethical standards to determine what action should be taken (site). Ethics are also in place to facilitate legal implications that stem from malpractice lawsuits.

Trust is an essential factor in the helping process. Without it, clients will not feel free to share their most intimate thoughts and feelings. They will not be completely honest or forthcoming in conversations which will hinder the professional’s ability to truly help the client. For this reason, the promise of confidentiality becomes critical to the process. It is the “secret keeping duty” all helping professionals have an ethical obligation to observe (Younggren & Harris, p.589). It protects the client’s right to privacy and fosters an atmosphere in which one feels safe, facilitating trust and allowing one to feel comfortable enough to share their inner most feelings and thoughts. Most helping professionals agree that

In the relationship between counsellor and client the need for confidentiality is vital as it is not only the bases that the relationship is built on and it is a legal obligation.

Human services is a profession developed in response to the direction of human needs and human problems in the 1960's (Taylor,2015) Characterized by an appreciation of human beings in all of their diversity, human services offers assistance to its clients within the context of their communities and environments (Taylor,2015) The educator of Human service professional, guide to promote and motivate the distinctive values and characteristics of human services. Therefore, human service professionals sustain integrity and ethics of the job, encourage clients, communities, and magnify their own professional development. Some of the basic values of the human services profession include respecting the dignity and happiness of clients; promoting self-determination; respecting cultural differences; advocating for social equality; and to act with integrity, honor, kindness and fairness. Human service professionals utilize these standards in ethical and professional decision making (O’Brien,2010) Conflicts can occur from the code and laws, policies in the work place, cultural practices, credentialing boards, and personal beliefs (O’Brien,2010) A Human service professional should display their ethical-decision making during situations to assure they’re making careful choices.

When I entered this class I did not know anything about ethics or what it meant. I learned so many thing that it would take to long to list them all. I do understand the Ethics Code and the Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals. That is one think I will have to always have with me and if I need to have a cheat sheet to look back on as I move forward. My biggest challenge was my grammar as I need to continue to work on this through out my life. I learned this was a problem for me through my assignments but am working on it. I hope some day it will come natural for me. This class was my biggest challenge as in terms of a grade. Because of this I learned that I have things to work on to improve myself moving forward.

Professional counselors and their staff are exposed to sensitive client information and records. The helpful receptionist and whose privilege videos, show how to apply both the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (ACA Code of Ethics) and state board counseling laws to common ethical scenarios. The content explores aspects designed to call attention to favorable and unfavorable skills and techniques in handling such matters. These two videos demonstrate the limitations of confidentiality and privileged information. As a professional counselor one is expected to uphold the principles of confidentiality and privilege according to the ACA Code of Ethics and state laws. One may conclude that the helpful receptionist video shows clear violations of confidentiality. While the whose privilege video indicates the significance of insuring that counselors comprehend state laws and ethics codes pertaining to confidentiality and privilege. Furthermore, counseling professionals are held accountable for violating ethics codes and state laws as well as training staff on informed consent.

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).

There is a pressing need for a high level of worker/client boundary identification when working within a client population, however realizing a conflict of interest scenario is vitally important when facing a dual relationship with a client. There are so many issues that are faced by a human service professional, explaining all of them may be difficult. In this field there are issues such as burnout, secondary trauma, compassion satisfaction, dual relationships, and boundary issues. (Reamer, F. (2012). As human services professional or social workers there is a code of ethics. In statement 6 of the code of ethics, it states human services experts must be mindful that in their associations with customers/clients power and status are

Professional boundaries, in human services, are essential to helping clients and upholding the standards of the profession. Human service professionals provide several different services and are often faced with ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas are a major reason professional boundaries are established as they protect both the helper and the individual seeking help. Boundaries are not just rules that we enforce with clients, they are essentially an understanding of how we interact with people, both, professionally and personally. Boundaries are crucial if you want to have an effective relationship with the individual you are helping. Professional boundaries set the structure of the relationship and provide a framework in which you will

Working in the field of human services is a unique, yet rewarding career. Human services workers engage with diverse populations and carry different titles to include counselors, case managers, milieu therapists, social workers, etc. Regardless of what title a human service worker may hold, communication between a client and professional is vital. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a client from a particular background and address his presenting issues. It will review how I would interview my client to include specific communication techniques, ways I would establish a working relationship, discuss possible boundary issues, and recommendations or referrals to certain groups for this client.

When it comes to confidentiality there are rules that one has to follow in order to abide by the person’s rights. Using caution when talking to others about the client who want to obtain information that they are not at liberty to have. An example of this would be someone claiming to be a patient’s friend wanting a room number in the hospital to go visit them. Confidentiality is a very delicate situation in the practicing field of professionals.

To begin, social work is a profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social workers engage themselves in solving problems for individuals or relationships they may have in order to have a better lifestyle. Social workers work in various areas/institutions such as children’s aid agencies, school boards, hospitals and many more.These workers perform different duties depending on their workplace. Social work has four key concepts which include, social change, problem solving, person-in-the-environment and empowerment. These elements help the social workers find a conclusion with who they are working with. Just like any other work environment, there are policies in which they must follow. The CASW code of ethics. (Canadian Association of Social Workers). In some cases, social workers tend to ‘bend’ the code in order to make the right decision based on their experiences, beliefs and values. When they are stuck in a situation where they don’t quite know what to do, this is called an ethical dilemma.

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

The Human Service Professionals are a group of individuals whose job is specifically to serve the society, educate them and work for the societal welfare at large. In the twentieth century, organizational ethics have gained immense importance in the corporate world. The need to adhere to ethical standards is even greater for the human service professionals and those who educate them. This is because any deviance from ethical standards can question the integrity of human service professions and can raise question on the standards of social welfare. This is unhealthy for the trust relationships of the society over human service individuals.