In the mental health profession of counseling, therapy, psychology, psychiatric and social services ethical dilemmas are faced primarily on a daily basis. Being that mental health professionals are working with clients who are often fragile and vulnerable, they must develop an intense awareness of ethical issues. On the other hand, mental health professionals would never intentionally harm their clients, students or colleagues and others whom they work with. Unfortunately, good intentions are not enough to ensure that wrong doings will not occur and mental health professionals have no choice but to make ethically determined decisions. Depending upon the experience and expertise of the professional determines the outcome of the ethical circumstance. For example, if you were practicing mental health professional and had a friend who’s a licensed psychologist, who is invited to attend the wedding of a patient that she has been seeing in court-ordered therapy for a year; what advice would you give your friend? The advice you give to your friend is based upon your role as a mental health professional. Each mental health professional has a set of guidelines they must follow. Some guidelines overlap each other, while others remain stand-alone. Yet, sometimes an ethical issue is simply not predictable. Nonetheless, given the ethical principles of psychologists, if you decide to give advice to your friend, please advise them of conflict of interest, dual relationships and boundary violations. As a psychologist in a mental health profession, you should avoid conflicts of interest when providing any professional services to a client. Engaging in any activity with a client that makes the boundary between a provider and a client somewhat un... ... middle of paper ... ...h professional the advice you gave you friend who is a psychologist is solely based upon the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, your expertise and experience. Any advice advised to you, should be a foundation to formulating your own ethical opinion. However, be aware that many ethical dilemmas sneak up on you and you have to remember you role as a mental health professional. Yet, there are situations where dual relationships, boundary violations and conflicts of interest of unforeseen. Works Cited American Psychological Association (APA). (2002). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. American Psychologist, 57, 1060-1073. Bernstein, B.E. J.D., L.M.S.W. & Hartsell, T.L. Jr. (2008). The portable ethicist for mental health professionals: A complete guide to responsible practice (2nd ed). Wiley.
Often times, decisions must be made by considering values and how they may conflict. Commitment to clients, privacy and confidentiality, as well as conflict of interest all must be considered at some point when considering what is ethical in social work. In one case, the parents of a client who committed suicide requested that the social worker speak at the client’s
The field of clinical mental health is one of great reward, but also one of grave responsibility. It is the duty of the counselor to provide the client with a safe environment and an open mind, in order to foster a healthy therapeutic relationship. The majority of mental health counselors would never intentionally harm their clients; however; good intentions are not enough to ensure that wrong will not occur. The ethical expectations and boundaries are regulated by both laws and professional codes. When discussing ethics, one must realize there are two categories, mandatory and aspirational. (Corey, Corey & Callanan, 2007)
This book provides readers within the mental health professions with a comprehensive look on both the theoretical as well as practical aspects of providing sound, ethical care to individuals which seek their help. Becoming an ethical helping professional challenge and encourage students and professionals when making ethical choices as a helping professional to consider both the process and the content of the decision. The book is comprised of thirteen chapters which are subdivided into three sections. Section one looks at the foundation where chapter contents include; counseling ethics and the big picture and philosophical and culture: roots and prism. Section two focuses on the day to day challenges common to all and includes confidentiality, trust and boundaries, roles and limits. Section three on the other hand, entails specific specialties and professional identities where chapter titles include counseling in schools, teaching mentoring and supervision. Each chapter is supplemented with a pause for reflection section and concludes with a wrap up section. The book ends with an epilogue, references, and appendix, author and subject index sections respectively.
This paper will examine the complicated roles a counselor has related to the use of prescribed medication in treating mental health issues. The first section will explore the boundaries and ethical implications for a counselor surrounding the recommendation and prescription of psychotropic medication. The next section will include the counselor’s role in client education about medication. The third section will relate to the details of client referral when medication is warranted.
Welfel, E. R. (2013/2010). Ethics in counseling & psychotherapy (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning.
Supposing my client is distressed at the circumstance that I have to report her on behalf of informing me that she’s going to potentially harm her exboyfriend. It is my legal responsibility that I inform my patient in the calmest manner that their safety and wellbeing is my utmost concern as their psychiatrist. However, if what they had told me, needs to be reported and they need to be admitted into the Emergency Unit of the nearest hospital. I have to contemplate that I have the APA Ethical Aspirations to stand by. The APA Ethical Aspirations are Beneficence and Nonmaleficence, Fidelity and Responsibility, Integrity, Justice and Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity. It is understandable why the client got angry about me having to report her, nevertheless the aspiration “Beneficence and Nonmaleficence” does not just apply only to the client but to the community the client is in as well. My job as a clinical psychologist is to help my client be able to have a functional life in the community, minimize any negative risks. Then, in this situation, by informing me that she will be harming her ex-boyfriend with a weapon, she would be a danger to the
We are going to explore the world of ethical issues in psychology. As in any medical or mental health fields there are rules we all must follow as professionals. In this essay today we will be exploring a case study where we have a young lady who has been stricken by a mental disability. We will be looking at the facts in which her disability was handled by a professional in the field of psychology. We also will be discussing the rights and wrongs that are presented in her case study. We will also be discussing the APA ethical codes and gain a clearer understanding of where some things went wrong and why shall we begin.
So your opinions on the topic may or may not help out the situation and also in some unfortunate cases can send the client into a ‘downward spiral’. By expressing your ethical issues on the topic to your client you may trigger unwanted emotions. These unwanted emotions can drive the client to hurt themselves or even make the client take legal actions towards the counselor. Ways to prevent this from happening is learning your own self-control and what your limits are when its comes to dealing the client. “You want to consider the best action that will protect your client’s needs, but you also want to ask yourself: What is the best action to protect the profession and myself? (Berton, J. D. (2014). Make the Rule to Break the Rule: Setting Your Ethical Standards. Counselor: The Magazine For Addiction Professionals, 15(5), 10-12
Ethical issues in a counseling practice lay the foundation of a therapist in practice. Ethics are at the center of how the counseling process functions and operates in a successful manner for the clients who seek help in such a setting. In order for the counseling profession to be ethical and hold professional recognition, there are many facets that need to be examined and outlined to make sure all counselors and practitioners are functioning at the highest level and withholding their duties required by the counseling profession. The first introduction so to speak of the area of ethics also happens to be one of the first steps in counseling, which is the informed consent. The informed consent provides the basis of what happens or will be happening in a counseling setting and serves to inform the client to their rights, responsibilities, and what to expect. Most importantly, the informed consent is in place for the client’s benefit. It also is important to understand that culture and environment play a role in the treatment of a client and how theories can positively or negatively impact this treatment. Therapists need to understand how to work within the context of a theory while being able to understand the individual in their own environment. Although theories are put into place to serve as a framework, there are also alternative ways to approach counseling, one example being evidence-based practice. Such an approach is very specific, which presents a series of solutions for counseling as a whole, but also brings forth many problems. Every approach or theory introduces ethical concerns that need to be taken into consideration by the entire counseling community and how each can positively and negatively affect clients and the pr...
G.P. Koocher & P. Kieth-Spiegel (1998) pointed out many conflict of dual and multiple role including personal, client/therapist, therapist/supervisor and therapist/colleague, and how they can improve and complicate the counselling process. Boundaries and competence runs along side one another, which made come to conclusion that if the therapist is considering breaking them s/he should know what they breaking and how to break them ethically. Sometimes the outcome of ethical dilemma can only be “determined by the client and counsellor at that time” which could enable the therapist to change the priorities of Ethical principles and modify his/her actions according to the client’s circumstances (T. Bond, 2000:62).
Provided a professional counselor establish a self analysis and reread the code of ethics before violating the client or become unethical. The counselor is not trying to build an attraction relationship just be objective to advise the client in a healthy clinical based on the ethical codes. As with all client-counselor interest conflicts, you can get through this by remembering that you are in charge. You're the counselor, and you have the capability to deal with anything that comes your way. Provided it might take a little fumbling.
t is imperative the counselors follow certain ethics so that clients can successfully get the help they need and both the counselors and clients can maintain a healthy relationship. At times, these ethics, or guidelines, are outright ignored or misunderstood. This can lead to dire consequences that can negatively impact both counselor and client. Confidentiality and the client/counselor relationship are two of the common dilemmas that are found among ethical errors. For both issues, it is important the pros and cons are weighed before allowing a client to open up and reveal personal information about themselves.
Maureen H. Miner recommends in his article that any training in ethics will be judged by the quality of ethical choices made by those who complete it. If psychologists are to be recognized as professionals who are committed to best practice, then we should take ethical training very seriously. (Miner, 2005)
Since the client was upset and rejected the arrangement, clearly 6 months of hard efforts were damaged between the counselor and client. On the other hand, it would seem reasonable to violate the right of autonomy and confidentiality, if the client stated they were to hurt themselves or another person. In this case, it would be the responsibility of the counselor to engage to “duty to warn”. If this was the circumstance, therefore, the counselor would be practicing the ethical principle of
In this case, the psychologist is presented with several ethical issues which could cause harm to the client. The first ethical issue that arose in this case is the potential for a role conflict. The psychologist and Mr. Hartwig had contact prior to the development of a therapeutic relationship when the psychologist bought a car from Mr. Hartwig. It may not be enough that the brief, informal relationship ended. The psychologist must assess the dimensions of the previous relationship from the viewpoint of the client as well as his/her own personal feelings (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2008). For example, the client could feel that he gave the psychologist a good deal and that the psychologist was indebted to him. This could leave the psychologist vulnerable to being manipulated by the client. Or, what if the car broke down? This could leave the psychologist feeling cheated and resulted in hostile feelings toward the client. The psychologist has an ethical responsibility to examine both relationships for role incompatibility prior to forming a therapeutic relationship. The psychologist seemed to be aware that there was the potential role conflict resulting from their initial meeting, and he acted ethically by attempting to refer Mr. Hartwig to a Psychology Registry.