The Issue Of Confidentiality In A Counselor

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.

Counselors should never talk to others about things that are discussed during a session. That way the client feels free to talk about anything. For a clients to receive help they may have to give private and personal information about themselves that they might not feel comfortable sharing with anyone else. Counselors can do many things that friends and family cannot. For example, a friend or family member may share that private information with others or they might give advice that is not in the client’s best interest. Counselors are specially trained and experienced in helping people solve problems, change how they act or think, and learn new ways of doing things. It is also essential for Counselors to be experienced with working with many people that have similar

The counsellor is in their right to inform the counsellor that they can not keep the confidentiality on the particluar piece of information been shared. It is important that the counsellor does not arrange to meet the client outside of the counselling sessions and that both client and counsellor keeps to the agreed appointment times. The counsellor is there to purely counsell the client and should by no means become in involved in other aspects of the clients life for example offering to find out something on behalf of the counsellor. It is important that once the costs/fees are agreed upon that the counsellor does raise these costs or waive them for something in return. At the first counselling session the counsellor should offer the client a set number of weeks that they maybe counselled and it is important that the counsellor does not extend these without any clear reason to do so as this may result in the client becoming dependant on the counsellor. The counsellor must on no terms exploit the client in anyway and recieving or giving of gifts is not acceptable during the time the client is being counselled.

However, it is not always that simple and there may be some instances when it is not possible to maintain total confidentiality and the counsellor my have to pass on certain information that was revealed. For example, if a crime has been committed or if there is a risk of harm to another person. In this case the counsellor must be clear with the client what information they may have to pass on and to whom.

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.

The nature of therapist-client relationship and understanding the therapist’s role is vital in making sure that the client’s rights are not jeopardized. The client must be willing to trust the therapist. The therapist can earn the trust of the client will confidentiality guidelines that are established by requiring informed consent. The therapist-client relationship is based on counseling approach as well as relationship with the client. The therapist’s role is to understand the client’s needs, help them get their needs met mentally, and to develop the proper plan that fits the client’s needs. The therapist must fully

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.

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).

* I believe it is unethical for the counselor to reveal anything said in individual counseling with the husband. She didn’t address a “no secrets” policy in the informed consent. Sharing this information with the wife without his permission is unethical. In marriage counseling the “no secrets” policy needs to be addressed and explained in the informed consent. Since she did not have a policy concerning this, she is bound by confidentiality which should have been in her informed consent.

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

This is also stated in subsection 1-421 of the AACC code of ethics (AACC Law and Ethics Committee, 2004, p 12). However, the ACA guidelines with regards to this area are more comprehensive and clearly stated than the AACC guidelines. Section B of the ACA code of ethics provides guidelines on how a counselor can maintain client confidentiality in various circumstances such as incapacity of client, when treatment calls for services with others and even in consulting other counselors (American Counseling Association, 2005, p 7-9). On the other hand, the guidelines of the AACC are more limited in scope as can be seen in Section ES1-400 (AACC Law and Ethics Committee, 2004, p 11-13).

Confidential counseling is one of the reasons why many people seek the services of licensed professionals. As explained below, there are only a few scenarios that require a therapist or psychologist to share confidential counseling information.

Confidentiality: Confidentiality is a core ethical requirement regarding information shared between the counselee and the counselor. Counseles can be assured that information shared in sessions will be held to the strictest confidence; however, counselees must be made aware that there are instances where the counselor is required to break confidentiality.  Information shared by the counselee regarding actual or threatened harm to self or others must be reported to the proper authorities.

In my opinion, counselors should protect the confidentiality of clients during legal proceedings to the extent permitted by law. When a court of law or other legally authorized body orders counselors to disclose confidential or privileged information without a client’s consent and such disclosure could cause harm to the client. I believed that a counselor should request that the court withdraw the order or limit the order as narrowly as possible or maintain the records under seal, unavailable for public inspection. Another opinion is that counselors should relate to clients, regardless of ability, age ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and social economic status, as being equal beings. Because they are entitled to the

I had similar views to what you discussed. I also felt that in the first scenario, sharing information about confidentiality during an assembly could be a great way to get some of the information out there to students, but at the same time providing multiple ways to share the information, including in writing, is necessary and supported in the ethical standards. In scenario 15, it would be difficult to not follow the directives of the principal. I wonder if there would be a way to work out a solution, such as you described, that would allow the counselor to meet with the student for a few sessions without written consent. Another possibility would be to send home a reverse signature form, in which a paper is sent home explaining that counseling might occur with students throughout the year and if the parent did not want their child to have counseling services they would have to sign and return the form. I also agree that being subpoenaed is a difficult area, however, following the advice of the lawyer would be the best. Further, most states do not recognize the confidentiality between school counselor, but the counselor could still request to limit information that could be shared in order keep as much as possible