Final Ethical Issue Paper Sexual relationships with clients is a serious ethical issue that individuals cannot agree on because they have different opinions. Most businesses have policies which state that it is not ethical to have sexual relationships with clients. While other businesses do not mention this issue in their employee handbook. The reason for this is because people view things differently and if the majority of employees believe that sexual relationships with clients is not ethical, then they make it a policy and if they all do not believe it is an ethical issue then they do not. I personally think it is not ethical for human services professionals to have a sexual relationship with a past client regardless of the time period. Ethical relativism would support therapist to have a sexual relationship with their client. The reason for this is because ethical relativism states that what a person believes is right to them is right no matter what others think. If a therapist believes it is okay to have a sexual relationship with a client then they are going to have a sexual relationship with a client, because they believe is it okay. However, the therapist should take into consideration the opinion of their employer. Ethical egoism …show more content…
In order for physical contacts to be appropriate boundaries have to be set. Boundaries must be set in order to prevent anyone from feeling uncomfortable and to avert any issue from occurring. Some therapist or clients do not like to be touched and they have to make each other aware of that. The best time to set boundaries is in the first session after the therapist explains confidentiality and consent to the client. The client should set their boundaries and ask the client if they have any boundaries of their own. This is to prevent and dual relationships from occurring as well as to make the setting more
Moreover, both codes strive to promote the wellness, autonomy, and right to justice for individuals utilizing services. A further similarity between the two codes includes standards on sexual and/or romantic relationships with former clients, such as a counselor is prohibited from engaging in a sexual and/or romantic relationship with a former client for a minimum of 5 years after the last known professional encounter (ACA Code of Ethics, 2014, p. 5; AMHCA Code of Ethics, 2010, p. 4). Although engaging in a sexual and/or romantic relationshup with a former client may seem unlikely, this distinction and timeframe might be valuable to some individuals throughout their career. Furthermore, both ethical codes agree that when a counselor counsels multiple clients, such as individuals in a relationship, the counselor must clearly deliniate the roles within the theraputic dynamic and adjust and/or terminate the dynamic if the roles become unclear at any point (ACA Code of Ethics, 2014, p. 6; AMHCA Code of Ethics, 2010, p. 5). This is important to note due to the fact that the issue of multiple relationships in a therapeutic setting occurs frequently. In respect to termination, both ethical codes state that a counselor does not abandon or neglect a client, but rather make appropriate refferals as needed (ACA Code of
Handon, R. M. (2014, December). Client Relationships and Ethical Boundaries for Social Workers in Child Welfare. The New Social Worker, (winter), 1-6.
Standard 1.09 of the NASW code of ethics says that social workers should not engage in sexual relationships with current clients. The difference between this standard and the question is current and former clients. However, if standard 1.09 is saying social worker as a general term, then I also believe that the same ethical standards regarding sexual relationships with formal clients should be applicable to all social workers. In situations like this, I do not see a difference between a social worker and a clinician. They are still people who work with clients and should not engage in sexual relationships. In order to determine if a social worker is a clinician, it would depend on the type of work that is being done. If a social worker has a therapeutic relationship with a client, I would consider this to be a clinician. If a social worker is solely providing information and linking resources to the client, this would not be considered a therapeutic relationship. Regardless of whatever job the social worker does, it is never appropriate to engage in sexual activity with a
There is a pressing need for a high level of worker/client boundary identification when working within a client population, however realizing a conflict of interest scenario is vitally important when facing a dual relationship with a client. There are so many issues that are faced by a human service professional, explaining all of them may be difficult. In this field there are issues such as burnout, secondary trauma, compassion satisfaction, dual relationships, and boundary issues. (Reamer, F. (2012). As human services professional or social workers there is a code of ethics. In statement 6 of the code of ethics, it states human services experts must be mindful that in their associations with customers/clients power and status are unequal. Accordingly they distinguish that double or various relationships might build the danger of damage to, or abuse of, customers, and may debilitate their expert judgment. In any case, in a few neighborhoods and circumstances it may not be achievable to escape social or other nonprofessional contact with customers. Human service professional experts...
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.
The article “Managing boundaries under pressure: A qualitative study of therapists’ experiences of sexual attraction in therapy” states that throughout a lifetime of practice, many therapists don’t cross boundaries and the relationship is strictly professional. That leads to the questions about what strategies they use to help them during difficult situations where boundaries could be crosses. (Martin, Godfrey, Meekums, & Madill
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (2011). Issues and ethics in the helping professions. (8th
As a student new to social work, The Code of Ethics written by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is in the forefront of my mind whenever practicing my freshly learned skills. According to the Code, these rules were written as the “values, principles, and standards to guide social workers’ conduct” (Code of Ethics - NASW, n.d.). Within my most-recent session, certain aspects of this code were relevant, including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, a commitment to the client, the dignity and worth of a person, the importance of human relationships, integrity and competency of the worker, and social diversity.
To conclusion this, ethical issues rising in social work have regularly received substantial attention but responses to them have habitually been premised on the conviction that professional boundaries are clear for all to see and are professionally determined on the basis of separation and passivity as opposed to connection and dynamism. Working together with the client in the setting of professional boundaries is most likely to have a optimistic impact on the quality of the relationships we have with clients itself a vital factor in successful outcomes.
Introduction Workers in the human services field have the obligation to protect their client's right to privacy and confidentiality, as a matter of course. The exception comes when such confidentiality would cause serious harm to the client or others. Another exception, related to the first, is when agency guidelines, local, state, or federal laws state otherwise. Human service professionals are obligated to inform clients of these caveats to confidentiality before rendering services to clients.
In the Human Service professional we are bound by a code of ethics, we have a duty to our clients to help them during a crisis. When faced with dilemma’s we can use this code to help in decisions, to distinguish right or wrong, and set a standard on how we should conduct ourselves. It is standard to ensure people that are in a venerable state are treated with dignity, and respect. In this Human Service field we have three Associations that have a code of ethics in place to help us in our profession. Because of the ever changing times and happenings the code of ethics will probably be revised and improved to ensure the welfare and safety of people.
Ethics in the counselling and psychotherapy protects the client and the therapist involved in the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic process as a whole; with the concepts that act as a guide for the therapists in provision of good practice and care for the client. The framework is built on values of counselling and psychotherapy; principles of trustworthiness, autonomy, fidelity, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence and self-respect, and provides standards of good practice and care for the practitioner (BACP, 2010). Ethical framework contributes to the development of the therapeutic relationship and process by assisting therapist’s decisions, and guides their behaviour and proceedings within their legal rights and duties. The ethical frame is structured on the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship and the therapists should be aware of their categories and be responsible for their forms. Monitoring and being aware of what goes on in and out of the room physically, emotionally and psychologically is primarily the duty of the therapist.
Her scientific casework methods are still used in assessing clients in today’s practice. The Social Work profession also built off her values of individuality, dignity, and importance of human relationships in the core values of the profession, these can be seen in the National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics. While Social Workers still follow most of Richmond’s values today, other values have been re-evaluated as time has progressed. Instead of Richmond’s suggestions of gathering personal information without the client’s knowledge (Pumphrey, 1961), the Social Work profession now values confidentiality and privacy when dealing with clients.
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.