This assignment considers some of the ethical and legal considerations involved in the provision of counseling services to clients with whom a practitioner may occupy more than one professional or personal role within the counselling relationship.
Considerations When Dealing with Multiple Roles When entering into a counseling relationship with new clients, psychologists must take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure that those relationships are not blurred by conflicting or overlapping professional, social or interpersonal roles. Section 3.05 of the American Psychological Association (APA) code of ethics makes it clear that, where such roles may exist, they hold the potential to create confusion and impair the professional judgment
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Where multiple roles exist, it may become difficult to distinguish where the limits of consent are applied. Remley and Herlihy (2010) point out that with the intertwining of such roles, the line between the clinical and non-clinical setting, and thus the need to seek informed consent, becomes impossible to separate as the nature of those roles moves further away from a strictly clinical setting. The inability to withdraw from the non-clinical component of such relationship may also leave clients feeling trapped in a therapeutic role from which they feel as though they have no choice but to participate lest they incur negative consequences that extend beyond their wish to withdraw from clinical services, thus scuttling their de facto right to consent to treatment (Wheeler and Bertram, …show more content…
A conflict of interest may unfold during therapy as the clinician attempts to balance either negative consequences should therapy not conclude to the satisfaction of the client, or positive consequences should the clinician anticipate the realization of some form of secondary gain at the hands of a contented colleague.
Issues that may be contentious or uncomfortable may not be treated in the manner in which they should out of concern for the clinicians’ professional relationship thus compromising the depth and effectiveness of work with the client couple as objectivity may be compromised.
Due to relationship between colleague and clinician, confidentiality may be difficult to ensure. Physical proximity creates a more informal air and increases the chances that either discussion or exposure to written records may occur as curiosity or personal relationships encroach on the professional relationship.
Moving
Sim, J (1997). Ethical Decision Making in Therapy Practice. Oxford: Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd. p.16.
This case study is an interpretation of a problem or situation that has occurred within a LPC’s (License Professional Counselor) care. As information is gathered, the depiction to this specific problem in this case study may also include additional information that may deem so to be necessary, in order to place possible solutions or actions that could have or will arise from the situation. This document will consist of a step by step analysis of the factors which impact the case, mostly in the order of what appears to be the most ethically sound decision. This document involves Stephanie’s (therapist) treatment of Martha Rose (client). The therapist, Stephanie, has been given a case through referral from an unknown source; Stephanie is working with this new case in SC (South Carolina).
Especially, in small communities where it is more common for psychologists to interact with clients and/or patients on a regular basis, such as social events, personal engagements, restaurants, grocery stores, shopping centers, and/or church outside of the workplace (Knapp, Handelsman, Gottlieb, & VandeCreek,, 2013; Pipes, Holstein, & Aguirre, 2005; & Schank, Helbok, Haldeman, & Gallardo, 2010), where the line between professional conduct, personal values, biases, and beliefs blur. It is at these times the aspirational principles of the APA, such as beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people 's rights and dignity can provide guidance and remind psychologists of the necessity of upholding professional codes of conduct regardless of situation (APA, 2010; Fisher, 2013). Discriminatory remarks and prejudicial views on an individual 's gender, sexual orientation, language barrier, or political views can harm current clients and patients as well as prevent potential clients and patients for seeking services and/or treatment from psychologists in the future harming the profession. Additionally, as psychologists the need to understand an individual 's multicultural identities as an essential part in providing services and treatment and failure to recognize and understand these similarities and
Disclosure is an essential aspect of a medical professional and his or her patients’ relationships. In the 1950s, the medical client and professional relationship was one of paternalism as opposed to the now fiduciary relationship. Then a paternalistic professional took all of the responsibilities, disclosed what he then thought was necessary, and essentially told the patien...
Workers in the helping professions endure a massive amount of ethical and professional issues. These issues affect the practice of counseling and the relationship with the client. The book Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions by Corey, Corey, and Hallanan gives many themes that one will encounter throughout their career. The book also gives possible solutions to problems and stimulates different ways to think about issues. The authors of this book provide good knowledge and information for anyone in the helping professions.
According to Allison L. Kramer (2016) in her “Why we can’t be friends” article, researches have observed numerous relationships between psychotherapists and their present and/ or previous clients. Boundary issues have been studied in the world of ethics and dual-role relationships with current clients are ordinary for some practitioners in their daily practice. Meaning it isn’t rare to run into dual relationships in counseling. These relationships aren’t always negative nor avoidable states Kramer. The example she used for dual-role relationships being advantageous and unavoidable was a school guidance counselor having multiple roles in the school. The counselor could also be “a coach of a sports team, thus filling both a counselor and
Mandatory ethics is the level of functioning where the counselor is abiding by the basic “do’s and don’ts” of professional counseling. These are definitive codes that will protect a counselor from legal action and professional censure. All mental health professionals will be held accountable by the minimum standards set by state licensure boards and courts of law. Issues addressed by the Code of Conduct of the American Psychological Association (APA) include, but are not limited to, competence, human relations, confidentiality and fees. (American Psychological Association, 2002)
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political, and bioethical reasoning. Inside these connections, it is the limit of a sound individual to make an educated, unpressured decision. Patient autonomy can conflict with clinician autonomy and, in such a clash of values, it is not obvious which should prevail. (Lantos, Matlock & Wendler, 2011). In order to gain informed consent, a patient
Ruddy, N. B., Borresen, D. A., & Gunn Jr., W. B. (2008). Colocating with medical professionals: A new model of integrated care. In The collaborative psychotherapist: Creating reciprocal relationships with medical professionals (pp.115–133). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Ethical issues in a counseling practice lay the foundation of a therapist in practice. Ethics are at the center of how the counseling process functions and operates in a successful manner for the clients who seek help in such a setting. In order for the counseling profession to be ethical and hold professional recognition, there are many facets that need to be examined and outlined to make sure all counselors and practitioners are functioning at the highest level and withholding their duties required by the counseling profession. The first introduction so to speak of the area of ethics also happens to be one of the first steps in counseling, which is the informed consent. The informed consent provides the basis of what happens or will be happening in a counseling setting and serves to inform the client to their rights, responsibilities, and what to expect. Most importantly, the informed consent is in place for the client’s benefit. It also is important to understand that culture and environment play a role in the treatment of a client and how theories can positively or negatively impact this treatment. Therapists need to understand how to work within the context of a theory while being able to understand the individual in their own environment. Although theories are put into place to serve as a framework, there are also alternative ways to approach counseling, one example being evidence-based practice. Such an approach is very specific, which presents a series of solutions for counseling as a whole, but also brings forth many problems. Every approach or theory introduces ethical concerns that need to be taken into consideration by the entire counseling community and how each can positively and negatively affect clients and the pr...
The Code of Conduct for Psychologists seem to be more strict or demanding. When in the position as psychologist or counselor you are responsible for the life of another. Not dealing with a client with standards could destroy the client’s life and the lives surrounding the client. People entrust of with their lives, thoughts, and care.
...f dual relationship there was also a possibility of the client becoming dependant on the therapist which could be seen as unethical by the BACP (2010).
Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which includes the client’s attitudes, feelings, and emotions of the counseling session. We will next examine the propensity of the client to reveal or not reveal information to the counselor, and how transference, and counter-transference can have an effect on the counselor-client relationship.
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 this case, the psychologist is presented with several ethical issues which could cause harm to the client. The first ethical issue that arose in this case is the potential for a role conflict. The psychologist and Mr. Hartwig had contact prior to the development of a therapeutic relationship when the psychologist bought a car from Mr. Hartwig. It may not be enough that the brief, informal relationship ended. The psychologist must assess the dimensions of the previous relationship from the viewpoint of the client as well as his/her own personal feelings (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2008). For example, the client could feel that he gave the psychologist a good deal and that the psychologist was indebted to him. This could leave the psychologist vulnerable to being manipulated by the client. Or, what if the car broke down? This could leave the psychologist feeling cheated and resulted in hostile feelings toward the client. The psychologist has an ethical responsibility to examine both relationships for role incompatibility prior to forming a therapeutic relationship. The psychologist seemed to be aware that there was the potential role conflict resulting from their initial meeting, and he acted ethically by attempting to refer Mr. Hartwig to a Psychology Registry.