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Overview of the key concepts of ethics in relation to counseling
Overview of the key concepts of ethics in relation to counseling
Ethics and nursing in mental health
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Ethical issues are common in the field of mental health, and so mental health counselors rely heavily on sound ethical decision-making to navigate difficult decisions that affect the client’s wellbeing, law, and the counselor’s own liability. Using ethical decision-making models, counselors can make better decisions, however, there are situations where other factors outside of the counselor’s control can influence these decisions. These factors can include the education and experience of the counselor as well as their current emotions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of emotions, both positive and negative, on ethical decisions. Mental health counselors assist a variety of clients by administering assessments, developing treatment plans, leading individual and group therapy sessions, providing psychoeducation, and providing referrals while abiding by ethical guidelines. Mental health counselors work with a variety of clients of including adults, children, couples, families, and groups and can work in a variety of settings that include …show more content…
Ethical dilemmas occur when there is no simple right or wrong answer and come in many forms. Characteristics of a dilemma include having multiple courses of actions with certain and uncertain consequences to those choices. These decisions can involve such things as when to break confidentiality, who to discuss assessment results with, dealing with dual-relationships, etc. Often times that choice to break confidentiality or whom to discuss assessment results with are clear, sometimes they are not. A key component in determining if a behavior is ethical, other than the ethical guidelines themselves, is the context in which the decision is being made. For example, confidentiality should never be broken, unless the client who in this example is suicidal expresses that they are a danger to themselves or someone
After watching this movie, I believe I would have had the greatest empathic difficulty with the mother (Beth) if I were the counselor to this family. Beth presents as distant and withdrawn from her remaining family members as well as from her emotional self. Instead of acknowledging the death of her son, Beth appears to act as if the event never occurred. While I recognize and understand this is her way of coping, it is hard for me to connect empathically because of the emotional distance she has created. Additionally, Beth’s way of coping appears to be neglectful in that she seems to ignore the grieving needs of her living son and husband. To me, this action makes me believe Beth is selfish and does not care for the needs of others.
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?
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 decision making according to Bush, Connell & Denney (2006), is essential especially to help therapist or psychologist avoid any situation that might cause misconduct compromising the ethics of a patient. Also, the steps are useful to a forensic psychologist by assisting them to identify and solve any ethical problems they are likely to encounter. The belief of Bush, Connell & Denney stressed on the need to develop a sense of divergence among conflict of interest; this to Bush and colleagues is useful in the legal system hence,
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)
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).
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,
Health and Human Service Professionals can work in a variety of work settings. They can work with children, adults, elderly, or work with people who have substance abuse issues. I recently discovered that Human services fall under two different careers. Human service professionals can focus on either career they prefer. Social Services is one; this career focuses on improving the quality of life for clients. This is a career that emphases on helping others. The second focus is a Mental Health Specialist focus. Mental Health Specialist work directly with people who are trying to change their behavior or achieve a better mental health outlook. Those who are interested in working as a mental health counselor must obtain
It is essential for workers in health and social services to apply critical thinking skills in decision making. In particular, social workers have to make decisions on daily basis (Dolgoff, Harrington, & Loewenberg, 2012). Often, choices that confront social workers all contain positive and negative features, and it is upon one to weight and assess the known options and outcomes prior to choosing the one that is seemingly most ethical (Chase, 2015). The case of Jordan Knight, the counsellor, and Bruce Bane, his client, provides an example of case where making ethical judgements would raise interest in practice. Deeper insights into the practical and philosophical elements of a decision is crucial to promote ethical behaviors in
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.
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...
Anything that a person uncontrollable engages in is considered an addiction. These addictions can range from alcohol, food, and even drugs. There are various ways to get help with these addictions. Individual counseling aims to provide one-on-one counseling. Group counseling seeks to interact with others with similar problem to discover and recognize these compulsive patterns and how to change them. . This research seeks to compare and contrast these two ways of counseling while incorporating Biblical knowledge. Then compare some ethical issues in both individual and group counseling, focusing on issues of informed consent, rights of group members, and confidentiality.
Ford, G. G. (2006). Ethical reasoning for Mental Health Professionals. Thousand Oaks, California: Safe Publications, Inc. .
Koocher, G.P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2008). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Ethics play a major part in individual daily lives. Whether it is in an individual career, business, or family there are ethical values. Based on cultural, economics and religious differences many time the standards of ethics may vary. Some ethical values may be stronger and others may have few rules/laws they may abide by. Ethics are based upon a persons or groups moral principles, as we know some peoples’ morals should be questioned. This is the reason that large organizations have set in place their own ethical principles that they want their members to follow. Any profession that deals with psychology not only follows the organizational ethical rules but that of the American Psychology Association (APA). The APA refers to the ethical guidelines, Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Students of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology also follow another set of ethical values known as the TCS Codes of Conduct. Both ethical guidelines focus on the “do’s and don’ts” of the psychology world and that of the school. Both altos discuss at length the consequences of an individual