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Role of ethics in counseling
Role of ethics in counseling
Role of ethics in counseling
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Summary and Identification of Ethical Problem Sandra, a new client, came to me seeking counseling for “personal growth” and attaining inner peace. She elaborated on what she hoped to get out of therapy. Then she inquired if I was a Christian counselor, because she was a born again Christian and Christ was an important aspect of her everyday life. The ethical dilemmas presented are counseling relationships and professional responsibility. Although I am a spiritual person, I am not religious, and Sandra is seeking a Christian counselor. If I chose to counsel Sandra, I would no longer be practicing in my area of competence. Ethical Principles Involved in the Case Out of the five ethical principles, I have found four to be involved in Sandra’s case. If I were to take Sandra as a client, I would be going against the ethical principle nonmalificence. Without much knowledge about Christianity, I might unintentionally say or do something that is offensive to Sandra. This is why it is important for counselors stay within their field of competence. Beneficence is the second principle that is involved. The only way for me to do good for Sandra is to refer her to a Christian counselor so she can receive care from a competent provider. Taking Sandra as a client would not do her justice because I would be making an exception to the rule of treating everyone fairly. I would not accept a client looking for acceptance commitment therapy without proper training, so it would be wrong to accept a client looking for a Christian counselor without being a Christian. The last ethical principle involved in this case study was fidelity, which would be lost if I chose to counsel Sandra. I believe it would be difficult to form a trusting relati... ... middle of paper ... ... she is happy I told her the truth about not being a Christian counselor and that she accepts that I cannot continue to see her. Despite the immediate consequences, this course of action allows for long-term benefits for both Sandra and me. Sandra will have referrals to a Christian counselor to help her work on personal growth and inner peace in ways that I could not and she would be working with someone who holds values closer to hers. I will have the peace of knowing that I have stuck with my ethical principles, which are in place to benefit the client. In addition, I will feel confident that I did the right thing by referring Sandra to a counselor with more knowledge of her religious background. Ultimately, Sandra will have resources to receive the treatment she wants from the type of provider she wants and I will have maintained my sense of professionalism.
The start of this article focuses on a Christian client named George who is plagued with feelings of worthlessness, depression, low self-esteem, and suicide. His mother had also battled depression, and his father had an abusive relationship with alcohol, which caused his father to have verbally and physically abusive altercations with George and his mother. The abusive experiences that George was exposed to as a child paved the way for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as an adult (Garzon, 2005). With all of these factors present in this client’s life, a treatment plan was created that involved scripture interventions. The author made sure to touch on the fact that every client is unique in the hopes that counselors would be aware that one type of scripture intervention might work for one client and not work for another. The article highlights three guiding values when considering these types of interventions; “respect for the client’s autonomy/freedom, sensitivity to and empathy for the client’s religious and spiritual beliefs, and flexibility and responsiveness to the client’s religious and spiritual beliefs.”(Garzon, 2005). ...
As a practicing social worker, I at times have found it difficult not be wrapped up in my personal thoughts and beliefs and transfer them to my clients. This is what happened with Mindy during her relationship with Mr. Marshall. Spirituality and faith often times are the guiding forces for many people including myself and although it sees easy to separate my beliefs from the task as a social worker, it is very difficult. There is policy, that guides my practice with my agency and there are core values that guide my interactions with clients and these are not congruent. For Mindy the medical center/clinic’s policies related to her job performance were to assist Mr. Marshall in planning for his treatment and end of life care. This took time as Mindy’s role as a social worker entailed her to synthesis all information provided to her by Mr. Marshall about his childhood, family situation, marital experience and his faith and to assist him in taking all of this information and preparing a care plan that was client directed. While in the midst of Mr. Marshall’s illness her social work core values created dysfunction within herself and she stepped out of the worker/client role into one of friend/client role. This is why I feel that Mindy’s competency would be increased if she was able to receive further educational
When horrific crimes occur in large cities, many of them can be chalked up to gang violence or to the larger population of that specific city. But when horrific crimes happen in small cities like Lincoln, Nebraska, people begin to ask questions like who did this and why. In 1958, a nineteen year old man named Charles Starkweather put the entire state of Nebraska and possibly the entire nation in a state of terror. With his murder spree taking only three days, Starkweather had collected a body count of ten bodies, including two teenagers and a young child. Understanding Starkweather’s past and state of mind begins to answer the second question of why.
Wendel, Peter Counselors in Recovery find answers to ethical dilemmas. Counseling Today. May 1997: 28 pars Online: Available http://www.conseling.org/ctonline/archives/recovery.htm
In the mental health profession of counseling, therapy, psychology, psychiatric and social services ethical dilemmas are faced primarily on a daily basis. Being that mental health professionals are working with clients who are often fragile and vulnerable, they must develop an intense awareness of ethical issues. On the other hand, mental health professionals would never intentionally harm their clients, students or colleagues and others whom they work with. Unfortunately, good intentions are not enough to ensure that wrong doings will not occur and mental health professionals have no choice but to make ethically determined decisions. Depending upon the experience and expertise of the professional determines the outcome of the ethical circumstance. For example, if you were practicing mental health professional and had a friend who’s a licensed psychologist, who is invited to attend the wedding of a patient that she has been seeing in court-ordered therapy for a year; what advice would you give your friend?
Aspirational ethics reach toward higher standards than those of mandatory ethics, requiring the counselor to possess a stronger sense of duty. These principles guide counselors to do more than simply meet the “letter of the law” of the ethics code. The welfare of the client becomes the main focus of the counselor, who takes into consideration not only the interventions, but also the effects on the client. (Kottler & Shepard, 2011) Aspirational ethics include, but are not limited to the following principles.
As mental health services become more mainstream the individuals seeking those services become more diverse. The need for culturally competent counselors is on the rise. The following will highlight a scenario in which I am morally opposed to homosexuality and find myself working with a client who discloses he is homosexual and is having problems in his romantic relationship with another man. How I would handle this situation, ways in which my own moral standards in the context of this therapeutic relationship would be maintained, ways in which my moral stance might impact therapy, ways in which disclosure of my moral values may come into play, and considerations for how to address clashes between my own values and client values in the future will be the topics of discussion.
Linde, L.E., Erford, B.T., & Cheung, A. (2010). Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling. In B.T. Erford (Ed.), Orientations to the Counseling Profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations (pp.55-92). New Jersey: Pearson.
Licensed mental health counselors have many ethical and legal issues dealing with interacting with clients in a way that leaves them in a better place. It is crucial that counselors act within the b...
So your opinions on the topic may or may not help out the situation and also in some unfortunate cases can send the client into a ‘downward spiral’. By expressing your ethical issues on the topic to your client you may trigger unwanted emotions. These unwanted emotions can drive the client to hurt themselves or even make the client take legal actions towards the counselor. Ways to prevent this from happening is learning your own self-control and what your limits are when its comes to dealing the client. “You want to consider the best action that will protect your client’s needs, but you also want to ask yourself: What is the best action to protect the profession and myself? (Berton, J. D. (2014). Make the Rule to Break the Rule: Setting Your Ethical Standards. Counselor: The Magazine For Addiction Professionals, 15(5), 10-12
This case study is intended to analyze the movie When a Man Loves a Woman, and to provide worst and best case scenarios for treatment. This film depicts a family that is struggling with a family member’s alcoholic dependency. The mother, Alice Green, is a school counselor who has an addiction to alcohol that is causing her to experience problems in her life as a result of her use. Her husband, Michael Green, is an airline pilot that is very protective Alice and often steps in and takes over for Alice, even in her role as a mother. Alice has two children, Jess and Casey, which also bear witness to their mother’s deterioration from alcohol addiction.
While at the same time being encouraged in my practicum experience. During our conversations Amber encouraged me to speak to my supervisor about getting more direct client hours, which is my biggest problem. I encouraged Amber to find a theoretical orientation that is compatible with her personality, due to the fact that she feels inadequate because of her lack of technique. Amber also feels rejected by clients who are not continuing counseling services with her. Therefore, I agreed to pray for her, prayer is a meaningful part of our peer relationship since we are both Christians.
The social work profession and its Code of Ethics dictate that social workers must act in the best interest of the client, even when those actions challenge the practitioner’s personal, cultural and religious values. In practice; however, ethical decision-making is more complex than in theory. As helping professionals, social workers are constantly faced with ethical decision-making or ethical dilemmas. As noted by Banks (2005), an ethical dilemma occurs “when a worker is faced with a choice between two equally unwelcome alternatives that may involve a conflict of moral principles, and it is not clear what choice will be the right one” (as cited in McAuliffe & Chenoweth, 2008, p. 43). In addition, ethical decision-making is a process that
This paper will explore the concept of dual relationships between counselors and clients and the ethical implications of such relationships. In addition to presenting several examples of dual relationships, this paper will also explore how ethical decisions must be made to avoid potentially harmful or exploitive relationships in therapy as well understanding how different interactions between counselor and clients can be understood from an ethical standpoint, as well as how reviewing these ethical dilemmas may shape my future career as a counselor.
In order to be an effective counselor, one must remember to keep the client(s) in mind. The goal is to assist the client(s) in living the best life possible for that particular person or persons. With that being said, one cannot forget that they have their own set of morals, values, ideas, and the like. Social workers have to keep in mind that there will be cases that are complex and a favorable outcome may not be possible. In the instance that I am confronted with an issue that conflicts with my religious beliefs, I plan on assisting the client as much as possible by adhering to the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics, NASW standards for the Practice of Clinical Social Work, and discussing my concerns with my supervisor while compiling a way to reconcile my feelings and the client’s needs.