Billing Issues In Counseling

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Recommended: Concept of counseling ethics

Ethical Minute Paper 2
Latisha M. Gibson
Liberty University

Abstract
The purpose of a counselor records is to benefit the client and in some cases the counselor. A counselor must document relevant information pertaining to the client. Conducting records is the best way to provide counseling services. Clinical case notes benefit the client and they allow the counselor to summarize the relevant information pertaining to the session for future sessions. It is an ethical obligation to let clients access their records. Nevertheless, a counselor can limit the access of clients to their records when it would cause harm to the client. Billing is also a problem in the counseling profession. An issue that seems to be a problem …show more content…

A counselor should give their client a copy of an informed consent document. Rights that are listed on the informed consent document is not absolute, and there may be exceptions based on certain situations. One of the codes that I will be discussing in this paper is, “a client has the right to have access to one’s records” (American Counseling Association, 2014, p.8). I will also be discussing billing issues in the counseling profession. Some counselors have misrepresented information to health insurance companies to get a client reimbursed for services render. Nevertheless, it is unethical for a counselor to engage in fraudulent situations. It is critical for a counselor to follow the rules and regulations according to their state where he or she practice …show more content…

The client cannot seem to come to the reality that his wife dead. The client is listing some of the problems he is experiencing since his wife dead. He feels like he needs someone to talk to and his insurance does not cover counseling. The client feels like he cannot afford counseling services. The client insurance will not cover counseling unless he has a mental health diagnosis. The client insists that the counselor gives him a diagnosis (Billing Issues in Counseling, n.d). The counselor is thinking the client is going through bereavement, but he wants her to say he is depressed because he really needs counseling (Billing Issues in Counseling, n.d). Recording a diagnosis in a client record is harmful and it could be used against the client as a third party. It is better to refrain from making a diagnosis than to guess one incorrectly. The ethical purpose of diagnosing is to help the client get help. The counselor should not commit fraud to giving the client a mental diagnose. Counselors who are trained to diagnose mental health disorders have an ethical and legal obligation according to the standards in the mental health field (American Counseling Association, 2014). The counselor determined that the client did not have a DSM disorder that the health care plan would not reimburse or

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