Legal And Ethical Issues In Counseling

Anyone contemplating an occupation in correctional counseling, or is currently practicing should fully understand the multitude of legal and ethical issues required in order to be an effective counselor. Understanding legal and ethical issues is necessary for several reasons. First, individuals in correctional institutions use litigation indeed, and it is prudent for counselors to fully understand the legal parameters they have to work with to avoid consequences or manipulation by their clients. Second, by understanding the legal and ethical issues and utilizing ethical practices, the counselor establishes an authentic rapport between the counselor and the client. Third, by not understanding the ramifications of all the legal and ethical
For example, if an offender informs the counselor his or her intent to escape, the counselor must decide negate confidentiality protocol. Clearly, in such a situation, the counselor must decide whether to divulge the information to the authorities, or more likely administrative or security personnel. Most correctional institutions have policies that dictate a requirement for the counselor to reveal information that could comprise of a threat to institutional safety and security. Moreover, there are numerous court cases regulating the concept of confidentiality when it comes to information concerning the safety of third parties. One leading court case involving counseling and the safety of third parties is Tarasoff v. Regents (1976). This case dictated that mental health professionals are obligated to protect a third party when there is reasonable belief a client might endanger the third party (Hanser et al, 2011). Additionally, ethical standards from the American Counselor’s Association maintain that counselors report to proper authorities when clients reveal an intention to harm themselves or
The requirement of accurate notes is mandatory by ethical codes of conduct, ACA, Section A.1.b (2005) (Hanser et al, 2011). Case notes and session recording are required due to not only the litigious nature of society, but also the nature of offenders to utilize litigation frequently. The accurate recording of notes provides the counselor from potential liability. Additionally, case notes enable the counselor to maintain the sessions focused on the important issues that are a concern of the offender. Providing a tool to monitor, counselors utilize case notes to measure the offender’s progress, or lack thereof, and ensure the counseling sessions are focused on the particular goals of the offender (Hanser et al,