Ethical Dilemmas In Counseling

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An Exploration of an Ethical Dilemma
The ethical dilemma presented with a counselor who is provisionally licensed and is earning supervised hours in a small rural area. Her supervisor does not focus on her counseling work and is now on vacation. The counselor has a counselor who came in with depression and marriage issues. The counselor saw a woman get out of the client’s husbands car, and heard that he is having an affair. The counselor’s daughter attends the same school as the clients, and they play together after school at times. The client’s daughter reported to the counselor’s daughter that her mother has a drinking problem and is always fighting with her father. The counselor has an emergency appointment with the client the next day and …show more content…

In our opinion, finding competent supervision is the foundational issue. In order to do this, the counselor could explore options within the town, and if there are none, then find a supervisor in another location that she can consult with. For the counselor to provide proficient services that maximize the well-being of the client, this is mandatory. The client additionally needs to speak to her client as soon as possible about their current dual relationship involving their daughters. Boundaries need to be established and a plan should be made regarding the daughter’s friendship, and how you will proceed in the future. There needs to be more transparency in this area, and it needs to be fully addressed with the …show more content…

We focused on the ones we deemed most important. The ACA code of ethics states that counselors should practice only within the boundaries of their competence based on their supervised experience [C.2.a] and monitor their effectiveness by taking reasonable steps to seek supervision [C.2.d]. The code also state that counselors need to take reasonable steps to consult with other counselors when it comes to their ethical obligations or professional practice [C.2.e.] (American Counseling Association, 2014). This shows the importance of the counselor to take steps to get competent supervision to be sure that she is providing adequate services. The ACA code also states that counselors should avoid entering into non-professional relationships with the client’s family members when the interaction is potentially harmful to the client [A.6.e.], implying that the counselor should really take a hard look at her client’s daughter coming to her house after school without discussing it with her

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