Substance Abuse Counseling Ethics

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

There are numerous ethical issues a counselor must confront during their work; dual relationships and confidentiality being two of them and are going to be discussed here. Both are important to both the client and the profession, as they set the expectations for how counselors are to act professionally (Miller, 2015). Ethical principles “direct the moral and value-based decisions that affect the counseling process” (p. 557). Without them, the profession lacks these moral and value-based directives and the ship that is “addiction counseling” has no rudder. It is directionless and adrift.

Substance abuse counseling is the profession that I will be pursuing upon my completion of my educational requirements needed

Excellent case study. I know the counselor faced court charges, I am curious what consequences he and the company faces with the ethical committees such as, ACA Code of Ethics (2014), National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) and NCC AP (2017). In researching your case I found Oklahoma does not form misdemeanors into separate partitions, but places assault and battery under domestic violence, Oklahoma Statute Title 21, § 641 (Baldwin, 2017).

Hiring competent substance abuse counselors will be beneficial for designing a successful treatment program. The substance abuse counselors will be unbiased, knowledgeable, and accepting when working with clients suffering from addictions. Substance abuse counselors should follow the four ethical principles which include: nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice. Nonmaleficence focuses on substance abuse counselors not causing harm to their clients. Beneficence involves display best interest for the client’s well-being. Autonomy is understanding that the client’s know their own worth, and as a substance abuse counselor respect should be given. Justice involves that the substance abuse counselors promote fairness and equality to all clients by providing appropriate services. When looking at the practical guidelines of a treatment program a substance abuse counselor needs to follow appropriate legal and documentation protocols. The legal and documentation protocols include: informed consent, confidentiality agreements, duty to warn, duty to protect, effective records,

An ACA code that will help the counselor with multicultural code to use in the practice is A.2.C “Developmental and Cultural Sensitivity counselors communicate information in ways that are both developmentally and culturally appropriate. The counselors use clear and understandable language when discussing issues related to informed consent. When clients have difficulty understanding the language that counselors use, counselors provide necessary services (e.g., arranging for a qualified interpreter or translator) to ensure comprehension by clients. In collaboration with clients, counselors consider cultural implications of informed consent procedures and, where possible, counselors adjust their practices accordingly”. Therefore, it is very important for the counselor to have this multicultural code for clients available in case they have a language barrier. An NAADAC code of ethics that will help counselor with multicultural code to use in practice is “Working in a Culturally Diverse World, Addiction professionals do not discriminate either in their professional or personal

Tara Wilson in her interview with Bary explained, “It’s not a question of whether you’ll see a client at Wal-Mart today, it’s how many clients you’ll see at Wal-Mart today” (Bary, 2016). Counselor need to prepare and talk ahead of time with clients about such scenarios. I also learned that some clients might feel uncomfortable sitting next to their counselor in the community church or in a school meeting when living in such a small town. Moreover, some clients become offended if you tell them you will not acknowledge them in public unless they initiate a conversation first. Instead, it is important to ask the client what they would like to happen when seeing each other in a public

Another challenge I face is one of my own, my age, race, and gender. By the time I graduate I will be at least 22 years old and most people that become addicted get that way at a young age. The younger the child that tries the drug, the more likely they are to become addicted (Berger, (2006) p.456). As a Caucasian woman I will most likely be dealing with African American men, because they have the high numbers of inmates in prison for drug-related crimes (Roger & Merkle (2005) p. 7). My gender and race may make it hard to overcome differences and gain their trust, but I hope to break through to them enough so that they can open up to me in therapy sessions. I plan to do my best to understand them and help them as much as I can so that they can see that I am serious about helping them. Another problem many counselors with run into is that people are many times forced to choose between prison and rehab, so those in rehab may not want to be there. Again I will need to overcome their attitude and gain their trust.

Substance abuse among health care professionals is an issue that is continually gaining more attention due to the harmful affects it can have individuals as well as the patients. Substance abuse can greatly hinder the ability to provide quality care and if left unchecked could lead to serious implications within the health care facility. There are a significant amount of nurses and health care providers that deal with substance abuse problems. At one point, it was estimated, that 2-3%, of all nurses were addicted to drugs (Trinkoff, & Storr, 1998). To encourage nurses to seek help, the Texas Peer Assistance Program for Nurses was created. This program gives employers, LVNs and RNs the ability to seek help, education, guidance, and

Substance abuse is difficult to treat no matter the background someone comes from, but adding sociocultural influences from diverse cultures can add an even more difficult element when it comes to effective prevention and intervention strategies. The United States is a melting pot of diverse cultures, with the Hispanic population accounting for “one-half of the nation’s growth” (Steven & Smith, 2013, p. 328). When it comes to treating Hispanic individuals for substance abuse issues, one needs to be aware of the cultural differences and acculturation issues that are characteristic of this culture. Clinicians who work with the Hispanic population need to understand their cultural values and respect their diversity so that barriers to treatment can be overcome.

The aforementioned authors described that ethnic, and culturally diverse populations pose the possibility of being at a higher risk for developing substance abuse related issues, making it imperative that substance abuse providers take into account the specifics surrounding the increase of diverse populations within the United States. Conveying the logicality that substance abuse providers have the prospect of engaging and treating these diverse populations, causes a need to administer effective treatment options that can be gained through sufficient training and preparing to work with diverse populations. Lassiter and Chang (2006) found that one professional organization The Association of Multicultural Counseling Development (AMCD) holds the belief that counselors that become competent within diverse populations will have the awareness, knowledge, and skills that are required to sufficiently provide services to these individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds. They noted that logically, counselors that practice with cultural competence display fewer practices that support stereotypes and biased viewpoints and practices within the duration of treating culturally diverse individuals. Establishing the ideology that eliminating practicing based on stereotypes and biases, often assures

Substance abuse and addictions counseling is a newer counseling field. Although it is fairly new, there is so much research and so many guidelines to help someone make it through as a substance abuse and addictions counselor. It holds a great importance and people should be aware of the severity of substance abuse and addiction. This field has several aspects and themes that help an addict or substance abuser gain a new lifestyle without substances. Reasons for use, assessment, diagnosis, treatment/recovery/rehabilitation, and sober living are extremely important topics in the

In my career as a substance abuse counselor I met this amazing women. To look at her she appeared to be beaten and broken down by the choices that she made in life. She was a heroin addict, prostitute, daughter of a broken home, mother to a child she abandoned, mother to a child that was conceived by rape, and a sex trafficking victim. In the time I counseled her, she told me many things. However, the one thing that stuck out was the time that she prostituted herself and ended up chained to a radiator in an abandoned building for two weeks and raped repeatedly by several different men. Regardless of her choice to be a prostitute she became a trafficking victim when she was held against her will and raped. The man that held her captive sold her body for sex to any individual willing to purchase it. While, this amazing woman has suffered from these terrible atrocities she has rekindled the broken relationship with her family, worked through her trauma, and has been in recovery from heroin for over two years.

The clinician interviewed was Sara Gavin, Director of Behavioral Health. She is a Licensed Family Therapist (LMFT48348) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC677). Ms. Gavin obtained her Masters of Mental Health Counseling from Boston College. She has been working with families for over ten years providing services to families struggling with substance abuse and training in trauma. Therapy is offered to clients/patients ages 4 and older. The Multicultural/population of clients/patients receiving services are as follows: 50% Hispanic/Latino; 28% Caucasian; 8% Asian; 4% African American/Black; 1% Native American, and 3% other. The services provided in Behavioral Health are adult substance treatment, Dual Diagnosis, Perinatal, Adolescence, Mental Health, Child Development Intervention program, Parenting/Family Counseling, Co-Parenting, HIV case management, Functional Family Therapy Evidence Based Model, Special Intervention for trauma focused,

In Counseling for Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the need to use different techniques is an integral part of the process. Working with an individual that is either entering into recovery or actively in recovery, the clinician must take their time with introducing the 12 Steps. The individual may not be open to the 12 Step philosophies at the onset. Addiction is very complex and actively affects the person on a daily basis; therefore, it is so important to start from the beginning of counseling to create a structured program.