Behavioral science in Mental Health Counseling Tianya McGriff 11/2017 Behavioral Science Career paper PHI302 Behavioral Science in Mental Health Counseling (PartI) A mental health counselor develops a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families and groups to accomplish mental health and career goals. Helping others to accomplish their goals and listening to various stories of hardship have always played a part in my life. Stories of others have helped me get through rough times, and so did my own personal stories do the same for others. My story may help save a life tomorrow. It is a rewarding career path that one may enjoy which requires excellent communication skills and a commit between each other. …show more content…
As a result if these ethics codes are not followed, legal action can be brought up against this counselor. Committing to clients is the first code of ethics which includes: “Primary Responsibility, Confidentiality, Dual/multiple relationships, Exploitive relationships, and counseling environments. “ Mental health counselors value objectivity and integrity in their commitment to understanding human behavior and they maintain the highest standards in providing mental health counseling services” ( https://amhca.site-ym.com/page/codeofethics). Establishing a relationship with the client opens up the floor in which she or he will be honest. S/he will be comfortable with speaking about the problem. The honesty of the client gives the counselor an ideal start of how the problem began. Under Ethic code C Assessment and diagnosis: Competent “Mental health counselors employ only …show more content…
She is not causing injury to her client instead she is supporting her although she is still in violation of her profession ethics codes. Prima Facie Duties states “Always do that act in accord with the stronger prima facie duty” (Kraseman, p38). This counselor sat her client down and made her see the situation from a professional level and did not just out right say no that she would not be able to attend, but she provided an explanation of why it would be unethical. A client will respect a person more who can make them understand. Patrice also, knew that she had to continue on a professional level. Another theory that can be applied to the dilemma would be consequentialist. In this dilemma, Patrice thought about what would have been the results if she would have attended her client event. Choosing the option to do what’s best interest the clients is always number one, but when there’s a choice to choose between the client and the job that’s when ethics are involved. Consequences will be the cost of anyone job, so Patrice had to make an ethical decision when she faced the issue of doing what is in the best interest of the client or face the consequences of losing her licensures. As in the movie “A Beautiful Mind” one ethical dilemma is when Nash’s wife, Alicia, is called upon the psychiatric hospital. She is faced with two choices, both fraught and beneficence, the chance
The ethical principle of nonmaleficence demands to first do no harm and in this case protect the patient from harm since she cannot protect. Nurses must be aware in situations such as this, that they are expected to advocate for patients in a right and reasonable way. The dilemma with nonmaleficence is that Mrs. Boswell has no chance of recovery because of her increasing debilitating mental incapability and the obvious harm that outweighs the intended benefits. If the decision were to continue treatment, suffering of the patient and family would be evident. Autonomy is the right to making own decisions and freedom to choose a plan of action. When making decisions regarding treatment of another person, it is important to respect the expressed wishes of the individual. John says that his mother would want to live as long as she could, but questions arise related to her quality of life and perception of prolonged suffering by prolonging the dying process. In BOOK states that quality of life changes throughout one’s life ...
Professional counselors are confronted with ethical decision making on a regular day-to-day basis. This could be both nerve-racking and challenging. In order for a counselor to face these ethical decisions, it is important for them to have guidelines in place for when an ethical or legal situation occurs. The first step is to recognize there is an ethical dilemma, once this is recognized the process to resolve it can be started (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2008).
A common struggle for counselors can sometimes be to find the right balance between “the demands or managed mental health requirements and obligations to clients” (Braun & Cox, 2005, p.426). Often times counselors may be t...
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?
This assignment was conducted with myself as the counsellor and Olivia, a fellow classmate, as the client. A fifteen minute counselling session occurred and was recorded, in order for students to be able to critically analyze their counselling skills. Olivia felt the need to talk with a counsellor due to the pressure she is experiencing trying to fit all of her commitments into her weekly schedule. Olivia is currently struggling with splitting her time between her family, friends, school, and new fitness goals. Throughout this counselling session various techniques were used in the beginning stage, action stage and ending stage of the counselling session. These techniques were used throughout these stages of counselling to gain information
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)
There are so many types of mental illnesses that affect people every day. When some people think of mental illnesses they think of the ones that would cause people to have physical symptoms as well, but that’s untrue, there are many more that you would never know anyone has if you were to see them on the street. As defined by the 2008 encyclopedia “a mental illness is any disease of the mind or brain that seriously affects a person’s ability or behavior. Symptoms of a mental illness may include extreme moods, such as excessive sadness or anxiety, or a decreased ability to think clearly or remember well.” A mentally ill person has severe symptoms that damage the person’s ability to function in everyday activities and situations. Every nation and every economic level can be affected by a mental illness. In the United States alone about 3% of the population has severe mental illness and to add to that number about 40% of people will experience a type of mental illness at least once in their lives. Some cases of mental illnesses can go away on their own, but some cases are so severe that they require professional treatment. There is so much more available to help people recover from their symptoms than in the past.
They listen to clients and ask questions, to help the clients understand their problems and develop strategies to improve their lives. Mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists work in a variety of settings such as private practices and mental health centers full time, Employment of mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists is projected to grow 29 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected in both occupations as more people have mental health counseling services covered by their insurance policies” (Bureau of Labor Statistics,
The Ethical Decision Making Model is an ethical guideline that is useful in ethical dilemmas and what course of action to take. It’s a framework that allows professionals to analyze and make ethical decisions to the best of their ability. It gives counselors a protocol to determine the appropriate course of action when faced difficult challenge. These decisions are taking into account; reflect a concern for the interests and the well-being of all clients concerns. Counselors should keep in mind the Golden Rule: “Do onto others as you would want onto you”.
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
The mental health assessment is a crucial part in everyday nursing care as it evaluates an individual’s mental condition to assess for risk factors of mental illnesses and provide optimal care and treatment. Mental health is described as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (CDC) If the patient not mentally healthy, they can develop mentally illnesses, which can affect treatment and the disease process of physical ailments because without mental health a person cannot be completely healthy. “Suicide Risk Assessment in High Risk Adolescents” is a nursing article that outlines suicide risk factors and prevention strategies for assist nurses in performing mental health assessments. Suicide, the act of
There are few circumstances counselors have to oblige when dealing issues from clients. Counselors have to be trustworthy; this is a fundamental to understanding and solving issues. Counselors have to keep information gathered confidential and restrict any disclosure of information to anybody. Clients voluntarily seek help to counselors for therapy or any kind of help they need. Hence as a counselor it is important to respect their clients’ self-government and ensure precision in information given. Commitment of a counselor plays a big role in a therapy. It is not ethical for a counselor to neglect a client such that the client’s well being is not taken care of. It is also important for counselors to have a fair treatment with all their clients. No matter how each client will be, there must not be any form of judgment, which will cause any form of unfair
The general practices of a Clinical Psychologist is to asses patients, diagnose disorders and recommend possible treatments. They integrate scientific theories, understand, and focus on intellectual, emotional, biological, social and behavioral adjustments. They allow people to vent and cope with their feelings while determining what exact type of treatment would best suit them and their emotional well-being. To become a Clinical Psychologist it can become a very difficult and distressing job and it may or can become overwhelming. However with the right patience and comfortable adjustments one can assess and help another cope with their mental instability.
Each situation discussed in this paper provides opportunities for a counselor to explore how a dual relationship would impact the therapeutic relationship with clients and the overall well being of clients. Each ethical dilemma should be handled individually and with the support of a counselor’s supervisor while also taking into account laws or guidelines set forth by employers as decisions are made. As a new counselor I look forward to this decision making process and the personal growth I will experience and the clients I will benefit as a result of my ethical actions.
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several