CAMFT Code Of Ethics Case Study

Rodrigo and Anna come to therapy seeking help for Jessica, Anna’s 15-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. Anna shares joint physical and legal custody of Jessica with Jessica’s biological father who rarely initiates visitation. The couple reports that Jessica is more reserved than she had been, tends to only wear long sleeve shirts and pants even in warm weather, and has lost weight. The couple also reports that Jessica has been withdrawing from school and her grades have steadily declined. Whereas she was once active in extracurricular activities and now spends the majority of her time in her bedroom on the computer and is irritable with her sibling and parents. The most recent complaint about Jessica was from Samantha who complained
Therefore, the therapist cultural competence in practicing in a rural community needs to be addressed. Levitt and Moorhead (2013) indicate that “counselors working in rural communities do not have the luxury of numerous referral resources, often practice as a generalist, and sometimes must weigh the risk of practicing outside their scope of training.” Consequently, it is vital for this therapist to be aware of her limitation as a therapist and consider the best interest of the client when deciding to practice outside their scope of practice. Another vital part of cultural competence is the therapist knowledge regarding her client’s cultural as stated in standard 3.6 of the CAMFT code of ethics (2011). Cultural sensitivity and understanding a client’s view of the family, marriage, hierarchy status, cultural traditions and approach to counseling will prevent a therapist from imposing their worldview on the client. Minimize countertransference and will develop sensitivity and skills pertinent to working with a diverse client
The behavior patterns Rodrigo and Anna described are similar to what specialist describe as the symptoms of sexual abuse. Levitt and Moorhead (2013) report that studies have linked occurrences with low academic performance, challenges in social interaction, unhealthy attachment styles, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, hyper-vigilance to stimuli, somatic complaints, shame, and guilt to childhood sexual abuse. The family also reported Jessica statement about the computer being her lifeline and her dying without it. The therapist should assess Jessica for suicide and sexual abuse. Corey (2014) indicates that suicidal clients are a high risk for a therapist. Therefore, it is imperative for the therapist to document the steps taken to assess the well-being of Jessica. In the world of therapy, it is said, “if you didn’t document, it didn’t happen.” This phrase demonstrates how crucial it is for a therapist to document what happens in therapy to prevent litigation.
The final ethical concern of this case deals with boundaries and multiple relationships. The code of ethics indicates that the therapist needs to set clear limits with clients and not enter into dual relationships. The fact that Jack and the therapist niece play on the same soccer team don't mean the therapist and the family will develop multiple relationships. However, it is a good idea for the therapist