Essay about Counselor Ethical Boundaries and Practices

c. How might differences in personal values and gender/cultural issues create ethical dilemmas in this case? It’s an ongoing balance to decide how David going to view the cultural differences. There isn’t a simple answer. The principal rule supporting ethical obligations is that the counselor must act with full recognition of the importance of client’s rights, the ethics of the profession.(National Association of Social Workers 1999).

On the issue of abortion with the 19-year old rape victim, I feel that she has a right to choose whether or not to go through with the abortion. As her counselor I have to put my personal feelings aside and help her to make the best decision for herself. My client is firm in her plans to have the abortion and since she is an adult her parents have no legal right to make her change her mind. I am unable to convince the parents to change their minds as they are not my clients and I have no input in how they feel. According to the ACA (2005) I must be sensitive to the family’s cultural beliefs and in the

Many times in counseling sessions, situations arise that require the ability to make ethical decisions. When confronting these types of situations, counselors often refer to the Elizabeth Reynold Welfel’s Ethical Model, comprised of 10 steps, to guide them in making an ethical decision. These steps provide a framework which counselors may use to help with ethical dilemmas. Below are the 10 steps in the Ethical Decision-Making Model provided by Elizabeth Welfel in the book Ethics in Counseling and Psychotherapy to examine the multiple relationship case described in Herlihy and Corey’s ACA Ethical Standards Casebook (2006, p. 242) "A

I intend to show an understanding of the ethical framework for good practice in counselling, relating it to practice and also my own beliefs and opinions, how this influences the counselling relationship, I will also show the need for protection of self and client.

To begin, the counselor described her client and the ethical dilemma that took place. CMB was seeing her client, a 36-year-old white woman, for one and a half years. The client’s reason for attending counseling was to work through family issues, particularly, managing the effects of growing up with an alcoholic father. One day, the client asked CMB if she would take on her sister as a client. Initially, the counselor was hesitant, explaining that she does not normally like to take on new clients who have a personal relationship with her current clients. However, the client pushed, and explained that her sister was going through a very specific situation, unrelated to her own therapy, that would only require short term counseling. Further, the client said that is will not interfere with her counseling experience. So, CMB decided to take on her current client’s sister as a new client.

Geyer (1994) defines dual relationships as occurring when a mental health practitioner, “relates to a client in roles other than that of a mental health practitioner outside the therapeutic context” (p.187). Areas outside of context may include church, social gatherings, and organized events to name a few. The term dual relationship is interchangeably used with multiple relationships or nonprofessional relations. Corey et al. (2011) further defines this role as a professional who assumes multiple, two or more, roles at the same time with a client. The following paper will look to address a literature review of dual relationships along with a review of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist (CAMFT) and American Counseling Association (ACA) ethics codes regarding the topic. I will further provide personal reflections and values as they relate to dual relationships. In closing I will provide an ethical resolution to a hypothetical case and provide final thoughts.

Dual relationships can involve merging the role of the counselor with another professional relationship or combining the counselor role with a personal relationship. The ACA Code of Ethics does not use the terms “multiple relationships” and “dual relationships” due to surrounding issues being so controversial and complex; also because the ACA Code of Ethics does not consider dual relationships as necessarily unethical. According to the text, four characteristics of dual relationships make them problematic. One characteristic is they can be difficult to recognize, there are no danger signs that marks the point at which a professional relationship crosses the line into behavior which can lead to a relationship that is inappropriate. Another characteristic that makes them problematic is the fact that there is little consensus among mental health professionals regarding the propriety of dual relationships, with the exception of sexual dual relationships. The fact that some dual relationships are unavoidable is also a characteristic which makes dual relationships problematic. Lastly, their potential for harm ranges along a wide range from extremely harmful to caring or even beneficial which is a problematic characteristic of dual relationships as

Assignment 5 Boundary Issues Katroya Jones Florida State College at Jacksonville Boundary Issues Discussing the insights of boundary issues, it’s important to acknowledge the two type of boundaries; boundary violations and boundary crossings. Boundaries are essential to a healthy relationship within mental health providers. According to Ofer Zur, PhD, director of zur institute, Boundaries in psychotherapy define the therapeutic-fiduciary relationship, outline the therapeutic frame of psychotherapy, and distinguish psychotherapy from social, familial, sexual, business, and other types of relationships (HUS4526 - Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Professionals 2 - Dual Relationships, n.d.). Boundary issues mostly refer to un-ethical acts of the counselors such as, dual-relationships, self-disclosure, giving and receiving gifts, acts of physically touching, and contact outside of the counselor sessions. Boundary violations are most likely to be unethical and illegal.

I agree that forming social relationships outside the boundaries of counseling is an area that I would avoid. However, I must admit being torn during this week’s discussion. While I am a social worker and therefore must adhere to the NASW code of ethics, my current role is that of a family advocate. Which means a direct involvement in very personal family events such as parent-teacher conferences, doctor appointments, court hearings, and therapy sessions. I am not a licensed counselor however the families I work with are dealing with severe issues of drug use, child and spousal abuse, and mental illness of which I am told everything and confidentiality is essential.

It is important to understand that when counselors practices in any setting with clients as they interact on regularly bases with other professional’s workers should always conduct themselves in an ethically and legally appropriate manner (Remley & Herlihy, 2014, p.317). Chapter 12 discuses counselors who are in training for private practice and the type of roles those counselors have with other mental health professionals that are supported in their community.

There are many ethical dilemmas in the field of social work. Dual relationships are an extremely common issue that can be defined as when a therapist and client have multiple relationships. These relationships could be a friendship, a family member, a romantic relationship, an online relationship, and/or a sexual relationship. It can be debated whether some of these relationships can be acceptable to maintain while in a therapist-patient relationship due to ethical principles, and guidelines that may be broken to participate in the relationships.

Therefore, a counselor can attend a ceremony but needs to take professional precautious. When a counselor is attracted to a client then a counselor should remove themselves from the situation before they have a dual relationship that can harm the client and the counselor.

All four articles discuss the issues concerning the ethical boundaries of psychologies in terms of their professional and personal lives. The concept of dual relationships, without doubt, can be ethically and maintained according to Chan, McBey, & Scott-Ladd (2011). The issues that come about from relationships with psychologies in relationships involving these dual circumstances are largely open to interpretation (Chan, McBey, & Scott-Ladd, 2011). In fact, Gullett, Do, Canuto-Carranco, Brister, Turner, & Caldwell, 2009 describes these issues are complex and multifaceted simply for the reason that though that can be managed, the dual relationships are challenging and can not only hurt individuals but the psychologist profession as well. Howells, 2014 believes that while certain actions concerning the relationships are ethically right when not mixed with the psychologists’ professions, they are still wrong. According to Howells (2014), there are just certain morals and principal that individuals should always uphold. Undeniably the ethical code in regards to dual relationships for psychologists is subjective, and situational (APA, 2010; Chan, McBey, & Scott-Ladd, 2011; Gullett, Do, Canuto-Carranco, Brister, Turner, & Caldwell, 2009; Howells,

As I stated, previously we must explore the beliefs and allow the client to be autonomous to make their own final decisions and reflect on their own value system. We must ensure that no harm is done even unintentional harm within the counseling setting. We must work towards understanding our client’s story and lifestyle to ensure the best possible care for the client. Along those lines, we should never discriminate based on a behavior, such as extra marital sex (as discussed in this article). When counseling a client we must remember that this situation is not about us it is about them.

In Introduction to Counseling, students learned about the ACA Code of Ethics and Ethical Standards for School Counselors. The ACA code of Ethics update in 2014 with significant changes. One of the improvements was in the preface of the code; including how human development, diversity and multiculturalism, social justice, the integrity of the counselor-child relationship, and competency align further with other professional fields. Another vital area receiving amendments was the extension of the confidentiality law. If a person makes an appointment, it is just as confidential, as what is said during the session. In the past, there was concern counselors were making referrals due to religious beliefs. However, counselors jobs are to refer based on skill and not the counselor’s personal beliefs. It is imperative, new counselors, keep up with ethical codes and the changes which can occur at any time.