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Legal and Ethical Issues in Consultation

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Ethical and Legal Issues in Consultation
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Ethical and Legal Issues in Consultation According to Dougherty (2009), consultants work with individual consultees or small groups of consultees in different settings including schools, business organizations, and government agencies among other client systems. In their practice, consultants find it necessary to collaborate with other helping professionals in order to help their clients to solve current and future problems. However, due to the complexity of the consultation process, consultants often face a great deal of ethical and legal dilemmas. These dilemmas can be divided into the following categories: 1. Value conflicts in …show more content…

This calls for consultants to demonstrate cultural competence and sensitivity during consultation. Specifically, the consultants should understand different cultural worldviews in order to ensure that their own cultural beliefs and values do not influence the process of delivering professional services to consultees who belong to other cultural groups. 3. Consultant Competence and Training The success of consultation depends on whether the consultees perceive the consultant to be adequately prepared in terms of possessing the necessary skills and competencies to help them in solving the client’s current and future problems. Therefore, it is ethical for the consultants to ensure that they possess the required skills and knowledge to help their clients and stay up-to-date with the current treatment modalities, theories, and techniques. Where necessary, the consultants should decline the offer to work with consultees if they do not possess the necessary skills and knowledge. 4. The consultation Relationship A working relationship in consultation is founded on mutual trust, understanding, and respect in that the consultant and the consultee must respect the terms of contract, which provide the legal protection for both parties. Moreover, it is ethical for the consultant to respect the consultee’s freedom of choice by ensuring that there is no misuse of power and that the consultee is given the opportunity to

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