You have been assigned the task of creating an assessment to measure the competency of caseworkers who are being considered for a position in your family counseling practice.…
ETHICAL FRAMEWORK, LIMITS OF PROFICIENCY AND THE LIMITATIONS ON COUNSELLORS COMPARED TO OTHER PROFESSIONS THAT USE COUNSELLING SKILLS.…
I chose to review ethical dilemma 4. Where Wilma, a counselor in a community agency, has been working with Donna for several months for anxiety and panic disorder. On multiple occasions, Wilma has given Donna homework to complete between sessions that has not been…
Professional School Counselors have a primary obligation to the students to treat them with dignity and respect and as unique individuals (ASCA, 2010). The initial meeting between the counselor and the student was at the request of the student’s mother. In my opinion the mother asked the counselor to seek information that was confidential. The counselor did seek the information and reported back to the parent with what she found. I understand that it is the counselor’s responsibility to provide parents/guardians with accurate, comprehensive information in an objective and caring manner, as is appropriate and consistent with ethical responsibilities to the student (ASCA, 2010). However, in this situation I do not feel that sharing the information was appropriate and violated the student’s right to privacy. The mother should have handled that situation at home. She essentially asked the counselor to spy on her daughter and report the information back to her. It was wrong for the parent to ask this of the counselor and it was even…
In the meeting, Susan, the psychologist assigned to David’s case, reviews the steps that must be taken. His teacher and the parents believe that with Susan’s help, David’s aggressive and disruptive behaviors will be gone by the end of the week. Knowing this, Susan will go into the first meeting fully prepared to explain that it will take some time to assess and prepare a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) for him. Susan asks for the contact information for David’s parents because it is imperative for her to speak to them before any group meetings can be scheduled. It is important that Susan receives verbal permission before she can schedule the initial meeting with the staff at the school. Without verbal permission, she will violate the American Psychological Association’s ethics code of informed consent: 3.10, which gives her permission to speak with other individuals who are directly involved with David and to conduct interviews and observations with him (APA, 2010). Susan also requests that David’s parents be in attendance for the initial…
The ACA Code of Ethics is a set of standards for professional helpers to follow. The Code “reflects the counseling profession’s understanding of the responsibilities inherent in the covenantal relationship with society” (Ponton & Duba, 2009). This Code is a set of standards to basically keep everyone on the same page when working with clients. Upon reading the Code, I was intrigued with the Bartering component found in section A.10.d. I did not realize that bartering was allowed at such a professional level. The Code states that “counselors consider the cultural implications” before agreeing to a bartering arrangement (ACA Code of Ethics, 2006). Bartering could be considered, especially when working with clients from other cultures,…
In this article the counselor states: “I found that when working with such clients, my role as counselor is more akin to a special type of travel companion who is willing to understand and respect the process of walking along a sacred life path. This is the only way I can effectively help a client explore the deeper dimensions of the self that are being challenged. As the hero's companion I must be willing to share in the client's pain as well as new, and oftentimes unexpected, discoveries.” (Halstead, 2000) The counselor learned that he needed to be a companion not a guide. He also learned that no matter how hard a situation is or no matter how many times someone tells you that you cannot do something, if you have the willpower and want to, you can overcome anything you encounter on life’s journey.…
As a future counselor, I can say with certainty that at some point in my counseling career I will be faced with an ethical dilemma. What will help me in this type of situation is having a solid understanding of the ACA Ethical Guidelines. My understanding of ethics is that it is beneficial to both the client and the counselor and serves as a guide for counselors and protects the client. From the counselor perspective, ethical guidelines provide guidance, boundaries and answers to ethical dilemmas that arise during counseling sessions. To be discussed in this paper is a summary of my understanding of ethics as it pertains to ethics and legalities course I am currently enrolled in. In addition the ethical codes…
The first is an abortion case where a nineteen year old had been raped, resulting in a…
Hill chose to discuss Amy situation with another counselor. Stand 4.01 states, “Psychologists have a primary obligation and take reasonable precautions to protect confidential information obtained through or stored in any medium, recognizing that the extent and limits of confidentiality may be regulated by law or established by institutional rules or professional or scientific relationship” (APA, 2010). Confidentiality is important and as a counselor you should maintain a client’s confidentiality. Patient confidentiality means that information received during that session should remain private. No other person should have access to that information. Anything that is discuss between client and counselor is between them unless consent was given by the client. Mrs. Hill has clearly broken the confidentially rules and should be disciplined accordingly. The only time confidentiality agreement can be broken is when the client safety is of concern. Amy safety is not in question so all information gathered during her session should have stayed that…
In this scenario, there is a 16 year old female client who presents in my office with her mother. Her mother states, that the client has been distant, grades has been slipping and she has been skipping school. Mother states that she just divorced her father and had to pick up extra shifts just to pay the bills. She does not have that extra time like she use to, where she was able to attend the extracurricular activities and support her daughter.…
When a client discloses behavior with another person with whom they are in a certain position, and the counselor believes there is a great risk of harming others, it is the counselor’s ethical duty to describe the behavior to the professional association, agency, or any other appropriate authorities. When making decisions about dilemmas, it stems from the fact that legal obligations do not always align with ethical…
This paper will discuss some of the many aspects of ethics encountered in the mental health field. A mental health professional was selected to interview and provided information to this student on this topic. The areas of ethics discussed during this interview included clinical ethics in the daily life of a working therapist, boundaries, therapeutic relationship, safety concerns, mandated reporting, informed consent, confidentiality and therapist self-care. This paper will describe and summarize the interview, including my reaction to the interview, my inner dialogue, what I learned in the interview process and how my expectations regarding ethical practice have been influenced or changed by the interview process.…
Ethical Minute Paper 2 Counseling students view video based scenarios as a method for improving proficiency and additional training. The video scenarios, Whose Records? And Billing Issues in Counseling were reviewed to determine ethical behavior. The ACA Code of Ethics (2014), Florida State Statutes (FSS), and The Florida Administrative Code were used as a guide for evaluating the behaviors demonstrated in the videos…
1. According to the text, describe and discuss the unique considerations you may have to undertake as a counselor when working with the elderly client and how you would handle them.…