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.
Being in dual or multiple relationship is one of the ethical traps which could be very dangerous for her career. The law is not clear about it, but it is unethical to have dual or multiple relationship with her client. Improving his mental health by referring him to different specialist such as psychiatric is very essential as a preliminary response to this case. On the other hand, ethical resolution of his case to be on the graduate psychology school and being aware of limitation of confidentiality and boundaries, still asking Julia for going out, make it more difficult to follow all the ethical and the law to be followed by Julia. . Reporting his danger for his former supervisor must be done by her could help the MFT community to improve the knowledge of this mater and future problems. Consulting with her colleagues and her own supervisor and inputting from agencies, other specialists, and community leader is very helpful for getting feedback. At the end, there is some action to be taken such as reporting, decides to whether tell him about reporting or not, seeking help from other therapist and specialist, and avoiding perfection, ponder, procrastinate, and
Counselor should never have a dual relationship with a client it can bring a lot of ethics issue that affect the client and counselor. According to ACA "A.6.b. Extending Counseling Boundaries Counselors consider the risks and bene ts of extending current counsel- ing relationships beyond conventional parameters. Examples include attend- ing a client’s formal ceremony (e.g., a wedding/commitment ceremony or graduation), purchasing a service or product provided by a client (excepting unrestricted bartering), and visiting a cli- ent’s ill family member in the hospital. In extending these boundaries, counselors take appropriate professional precau- tions such as informed consent, consul- tation, supervision, and documentation to ensure that judgment
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.
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
Ethics in the counselling and psychotherapy protects the client and the therapist involved in the therapeutic relationship and the therapeutic process as a whole; with the concepts that act as a guide for the therapists in provision of good practice and care for the client. The framework is built on values of counselling and psychotherapy; principles of trustworthiness, autonomy, fidelity, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence and self-respect, and provides standards of good practice and care for the practitioner (BACP, 2010). Ethical framework contributes to the development of the therapeutic relationship and process by assisting therapist’s decisions, and guides their behaviour and proceedings within their legal rights and duties. The ethical frame is structured on the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship and the therapists should be aware of their categories and be responsible for their forms. Monitoring and being aware of what goes on in and out of the room physically, emotionally and psychologically is primarily the duty of the therapist.
Hoy, L.I.S.W., M.S.S.A., J., & Feigenbaum, PhD., E. (2005). Ethics in community care: Making the case for ethics consults in community mental health centers. Community Mental Health Journal, 41 (3) 4-11. Retrieved April 8, 2014, from file:///E:/ethics%20in%20commuity%20making%20the%20case%20for%20consults%20in%20community%20mental%20health%20centers.pdf.
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.
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
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...
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.
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
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
Koocher, G.P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2008). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.