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Mental health counselor ethical dilemmas
Mental health counselor ethical dilemmas
Ethics for counseling professionals
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When working as a counselor or psychologist there will be various dilemmas that will require the therapist to make the decision to break confidentiality with the client. Sometimes therapist are stuck in the dilemma whether it is ethical appropriate to bridge that therapist-client confidentiality. The article, “Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors: When Do Pediatric Psychologist Break Confidentiality?” discusses a study conducted to determine when pediatric psychologist deemed it appropriate to break confidentiality between their adolescent patients. The study included vignettes about patients engaging in health risk behaviors. Participants had to respond to the survey based on when they would break the confidentiality with their patients. The
A promise of confidentiality assures clients that information revealed during counseling will not be shared with others without permission. An individual has the right to choose the time, circumstances, and extent, to which he or she wishes to share or withhold information. Marriage and family therapist have different confidentiality aspects from other counseling areas. Marriage and family therapist mostly have more than one client in a therapeutic relationship, there are different limitations for each individual client. AAMFT Standard II (2015 2.2) states When providing couple, family or group treatment, the therapist does not disclose information outside the treatment context without a written authorization from each individual competent to execute a waiver. Conclusively, counselors may be counseling a couple, group, or family for treatment, each client has their own rights to privacy protection and confidentiality. All counselors must follow specific guidelines when in regards to disclosing information that has potential harm to the client or identified others. If court ordered or third party payers have requested information it is the counselors job to obtain written consent from the client to release information about that
The expectation in the practitioner/client relationship is that any information disclosed will not be shared with others. Confidentiality is emphasized to provide the client with a safe haven in which to share traumatic events or embarrassing personal information about themselves (Krase, 2013). Disclosing this type of sensitive information...
...ments. In psychotherapy the psychologist must ensure that there is a high level of trust between him and the patient. There must also be high confidentiality rate between both parties. Only at necessary times should a patient’s record be disclosed to third parties. There must also be set boundaries between the patient and his or her psychologists and there must be no form of sexual interaction between both parties. In terms of pharmacological treatments with patients who suffer from ADHD, the over prescription of Ritalin must be revised as more and more young children are forced to take the drug which often times leads the child to lose his or her freedom of personality. These ethical issues must be looked into as these drugs are given to children so that they can fit into a socially normal behavioural society which in turns makes them be subject of discrimination.
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...
Explain the significance of confidentiality in ethical psychological practice, as it applies to the case above.
Reid, D.D. Confidentiality In; Duncan, A.S., Dunstan, G.R., Welbourn, R.B. eds. Dictionary of medical ethics (2nd ed). London; Darton, Longman and Todd, 1981.
Discussing confidentiality with a client provides great benefits for the client/helper relationship. The client should feel informed about the therapeutic process, and providing them with such information at the beginning can help to ease the client’s concerns about what can and cannot be done with their information. The client should feel at ease when the helper informs him or her that their information is strictly confidential except given the circumstance noted above. It is also an opportunity for the client to ask question for clarification and feel empowered from the beginning.
The purpose of Ethical standards in counseling, is to safeguard the integrity of both the clients and counselor relationships, while respecting the uniqueness, of cultural values and diversity (Remley & Herlihy, 2016). However, in group counseling, some of these ethical standards may have some variations that differ from those of individual counseling. As in both individual counseling and group counseling the effectiveness in obtaining a valid informed consent, depends upon the therapists and the extent of their training, experience, and sound judgement in conveying all necessary information to the clients who will participate in the counseling.
In the counseling field, it is necessary for clients to trust the therapist and be able to disclose sensitive information about themselves. Many times when a person is coming in for counseling the individual is vulnerable and looking to improve the quality of life. This is the reason why confidentiality is highly important in therapy. It is an essential piece that helps to create a rapport and relationship between the client and therapist. One area in which it is extremely important to explore confidentiality is when clients have HIV/AIDS and there is a third party involved. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has presented an ethical dilemma for many counselors in knowing how to approach decision-making processes in situations encountered within this population (Cottone & Tarvydas, 2007).
Confidentiality and privileged communication are two terms that are crucial components in the counseling profession. Both clients and counselors rely on these as the foundation of the rules that each will rely on and abide by once a working relationship is formed. A client may “reveal information and emotions that are potentially embarrassing or damaging to their reputation” (Stevens & Smith, pg. 32). Privileged communication is the actual things a client may tell a counselor. Any communication between a client and counselor is considered a “privileged communication the counselor is protected by law from having to reveal what the client told them” (Nugent & Jones, pg. 25).
There are many kinds of situations when you would break confidentiality. These types of situations includes; if there is an evidence or a reasonable cause that the child is suffering or is at risk of suffering significant harm or suspecting any kinds of abuse happening at home. If there are any concerns, you have to contact the department of Community Services and explain to them about your concerns for the child.
In any situation where sensitive information is accessed or shared, confidentiality is valued and demanded. It helps to maintain privacy, security and trust in professional relationships. Confidentially is very important in the field of social work that places great importance on ethical values. Social workers and organizations where social work transactions take place, have ethical responsibilities to their clients. In an interview with Madeline Pepin, a social worker from Little Flower, has spoken about a social worker responsibility to their clients. However, the most important responsibility that a social worker has to their clients are privacy and confidentiality.
Counselors must also consider the type of relationships that the child has with his or her parents to determine whether or not information should disclose to parents, or if not disclosed, could cause harm to the child (Kitchener & Anderson, 2011). According to the American Counseling Association (ACA), Section A.4, counselors have an ethical responsibility not to cause harm to their
There are some questions a patient 's doctor must be a secret, you can not tell a third party about the problem. Another example, if a teenager says to a doctor, "I am depressed, I have been trying to kill myself" ( "Youth confidential: a young person 's right to privacy"). Doctors are not sure of information, because the doctor is this guy right help. Teen confidentiality concerns may be an important barrier to access to health services. Adolescents have the right to contraception confidentiality when it comes to contraception.
The clinician explained that where possible, consent to break that confidence would be obtained. When consent is not given, or is refused, the information may still be lawfully shared if there is justification that it is in the interest of the public for it to be shared but still consent should be sought and is the first option when possible. The parents were informed that there may be times when the researcher has to break confidentiality but that, if this happened, they would be informed why this has happened and who the researcher is going to inform. Confidentiality would only be broken if the researcher is informed of, or suspects historical, immediate or possible future harm to the child, parent, another person or clinical malpractice. None of the above reasons were detected by the clinician so there was no need to break