1. Name two important circumstances in which counsellor would consider breaching confidentiality. What factors would need to be considered and what steps might be taken, before making this decision? Confidentiality is someone who is trusted with private or secrecy matter; confidential whisper or issue. (Credo Reference, 2001). Certain situations where the confidentiality between client and therapist, may need to be breached to ensure the safety of the client him/herself, the community or ourselves. Two important circumstances would be a client/child under 16 who has been abused or a client needs hospitalisation because they have been considering taking their own life or other concerning issues (Corey, 2009). In both of these cases …show more content…
As everybody is different and comes from different backgrounds, therefore give us all different values and beliefs, it is important to have an effective client-counsellor relationship based on four main areas of duty of care 1. Helper competence, 2. Client autonomy, 3. Confidentiality, 4. Client protection (Nelson-Jones, 2008). There will be times throughout the sessions with clients that your own values and belief creep in, and you do make judgement, therefore you as a counsellor have to know and acknowledge this happen and understand why it is happening. In the case of you may not believe in abortion but your client is thinking/seeking information and assistance with this issue whether to or not to have an abortion, is a very hard position to be put into if your values and beliefs say not to. Perhaps seeking information on behalf of the client and finding out the real reason behind the issue why or why not to abort, is because of the relationship situation, financial situation, housing/accommodation situation or age of client if authorities need to be advised, or suggested professionals that can help the client physically (other professionals) and emotionally (Counsellors). 3. There may be periods where a counsellor is not competent to engage in therapeutic relationship with a client. Name two cases where this may be so, and give reasons why terminating the relationship may be advisable? In case
Clearly, confidentiality is essential to the healing process. However, though it may appear to be a relatively easy concept, its application in the therapeutic atmosphere has proven to be quite complex (Younggren & Harris, p. 589). One issue that causes confusion for many professionals pertains to the differences between confidentiality and legal privilege. Quite often, ethical obligations overlap with the legal requirements. Frequently, the practitioner is not well informed about these particular limits on confidentiality and this lack of knowledge can place both the client and the helping professional at risk (Younggren & Harris, p.590, 598).
In the relationship between counsellor and client the need for confidentiality is vital as it is not only the bases that the relationship is built on and it is a legal obligation.
Before a counselling session starts it is important that the client understands confidentiality. To be able to understand this the counsellor must explain to the client that anything they say within the
The nature of therapist-client relationship and understanding the therapist’s role is vital in making sure that the client’s rights are not jeopardized. The client must be willing to trust the therapist. The therapist can earn the trust of the client will confidentiality guidelines that are established by requiring informed consent. The therapist-client relationship is based on counseling approach as well as relationship with the client. The therapist’s role is to understand the client’s needs, help them get their needs met mentally, and to develop the proper plan that fits the client’s needs. The therapist must fully
Remley and Herlihy (2016) defines confidentiality as an ethical concept which refers to the counselor 's obligation to respect the client 's privacy and in session discussion will be protected from disclosure without their consent (p.108). The receptionist never disclosed what was being discussed in wife A session; however, her inadvertent breach of confidentiality occurred the moment she divulged the fact that wife A is a patient at a mental health facility. An important premise to understanding the ethical principle of confidentiality is base that a counselor respects the client 's right to privacy (Remley & Herlihy, 2016; Quigley, 2007). Premise one states the "counselor honor the rights of clients to decide who knows what information about them and in what circumstances" (p.110).
Ethical considerations: The client practitioner relationship has to be approached with the utmost respect. Practitioners have a moral obligation as well as a legal obligation to make sure their clients are aware of confidentiality requirements and disclosure policies. The client has to feel safe in his or her environment to communicate openly about his or her needs and concerns, whereas the practitioner has a legal obligation to disclose any harmful statements made by the client in reference to specific people or self. The right to know laws make it so they even have to disclose directly to an individual when a life threat is voiced toward a named person. When both the
Breaking confidentiality is a serious ethical component in counseling and must be considered very carefully before doing so. Each state has laws regarding the disclosure of confidentiality whether it to the courts, the clients, relatives, lawyers, schools, or other unbiased parties (Corey et al., 2015). It is very important that the therapist is aware of the laws in regards to disclosure of confidentiality in the state in which they practice to ensure that they are practicing in an ethical manner and to avoid any legal
Professionals inform clients of the limits of confidentiality prior to the onset of the helping relationship." (NOHS, n.d.). This is an important standard to follow because…..
“Confidentiality is a professional’s promise or contract to respect clients’ privacy by not disclosing anything revealed during counseling, except under agreed upon conditions.”
B.2.a Confidentiality should be breached if the counselor believes the client will bring harm upon themselves or others. (The counselor would be obligated to break confidentiality in order to warn the
I believed that confidentiality could not be broken under any circumstances and that the only stakeholder would have been the client. Taking the act Utilitarian perspective, a helping professional needs to ask herself/himself whether that particular circumstance will result in the greatest happiness. Keeping this in mind, the therapist considers the potential consequence of each scenario. Thus, breaking confidentiality and reporting to the law enforcement is sometimes the best action to take as it would strop harm experienced by the client or others involved. In fact, maintaining confidentiality is not always an ethical decision. The therapist needs to consider the scenario that would bring the greatest good. Confidentiality might not always be the most important aspect, especially when treating a minor who is abused and/or neglected. This is when the notion of Consequentialism comes in handy, the good is determined by the consequences of the act. I believe this in particular is a very important ethical aspect that going forward with my studies, and eventually professional practice, will be especially
Confidentiality derives from the word confidence which is the mental attitude of believing in or trusting someone or something. While the term confidential indicates privacy (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary). In the profession of counselling, confidentiality has long been a cornerstone. It is a means of giving your client privacy to protect their identity while also insuring that the contents of their session will not be exposed. It is the “secret-keeping” duty that emerges from the professional relationship counselors establish with their clients (Younggren & Harris, 2008). In fact, the 2014 American Counseling Association code of ethics devotes an entire section (Section B) to the standards of confidentiality, it is an ethical obligation
It is also a professional relationship, in which proper limitations must be preserved. Because the counselor-client relationship is so vital, I cannot be involved in a social relationship or friendship that exists outside of the therapy room. Restricting our relationship to the therapy office keeps your therapeutic environment safe, protected, and free of outside complications that could inhibit your therapy effort. Through our therapeutic relationship, you will gain more information about me. Please remember you are only seeing my professional character.
The next step would be analyzing of clients needs and motivation. An important part of the assessment is determination the level of client’s dependency on the professional and potential vulnerability. To measure potential vulnerability, it is also necessary to review the client’s clinical profile. Clinician should ask the question about the potential benefits and limitation that dual relationship can
Instead, the counsellor’s role is to provide an atmosphere in which the client, through the exploration of her situation, comes to see herself and her reactions more clearly and accept her attitudes more fully.