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Key concepts of counseling
Ethics in counselling
Key concepts of counseling
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Legal and Ethical Practices Assessment are an essential part of life and in the counseling profession. Through assessments, counselors are able to identify issues, evaluate, and plan interventions in addition to a wide array of other benefits. The purpose of this essay is to analyze legal and ethical issues in assessment practices in counseling. Furthermore, it is imperative to understand the role of assessments in counseling and identify best practices.
Assessment Laws as they Relate to My State
In the article, Counseling and testing: What counselors need to know about state laws on assessment and testing. Measurement And Evaluation In Counseling and Development, there is a vast amount of information about efforts to limit testing and how
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Moreover, it is imperative to follow the code of ethics in order to be in compliance. All of them are important however the ones that stood out the most were efficacy, privacy, and Americans with disabilities.
Efficacy
Counselors must ensure that proper measures are taken when administering an assessment. This includes but is not limited to providing proper tests, feedback, and following up with the clients’ needs and follow the code of ethics (Drummond, Sheperis, & Jones, 2015)
Privacy
Ethical counselors abide by privacy guidelines. The role of the school counselor is to support students’ right to privacy and protect confidential information received from students, the family, guardians, and staff members (ASCA, 2010)
Americans with Disabilities As with any population, counselors must strive to recognize the diverse experiences Americans with disabilities experience. Moreover, proper modifications must be made to accommodate to their needs (Drummond, Sheperis & Jones, 2015).
Reflection
As a future counselor learning and recognizing what makes a counselor efficient is imperative.
Ethics and counseling. Counseling & Human Development, 13(1), 1-12. ASGW (2007) Best Practice Guidelines.
The Kitchener Critical Evaluation Model came about in the 1980’s and is considered the building block for other models. This model believed there was a need to deeper the understanding of ethics beyond a counselor’s moral judgment (Cottone & Claus, 2000). Kitchener created five principles for counselors to follow that create a guide for what is ethically expected. The first principle is autonomy, which is given to the client for them to find their freedom. The second principle is beneficence, which is the counselor’s duty to seek out the good. The third principle is nonmaleficence, which is the counselor’s responsibility to do no harm to the client. The fourth principle is justice, which is counselors dedicating fairness to clients. The final principle is fidelity, where counselors are loyal to their clients (Herlihy & Corey, 2015). Kitchener viewed right and wrong on a critical evaluation level. Depending upon each situation there is
The topic of this paper focuses on the battles school counselors face as the law and ethical standards collide. School counselors face a number of legal and ethical issues and recognizing a clear decision isn’t always easy. School counselors have to work with a large number of students, parents, and administrators while conforming to ethical codes, state laws, and school board guidelines. This topic is of great relevance to me as I will be going into the school counseling profession. It is also a meaningful topic to me because life-changing decisions are made every day in reference to legal and ethical issues. Researching this topic has shed some light on the difficulty for school counselors to fulfill both legal and ethical requirements. The main reason for this is that laws and ethical codes may sometimes provide differing and contradictory messages regarding the same subject. This can lead to legal ramifications, even while following ethical norms as we will look at in the example case of Woodlock v. Orange Ulster B.O.C.E.S. (2006/2008).
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).
Using the IMED the counselor would first recognize that CRW elements exist within the ethical dilemma and then identify them. For example, Ana got a bad grade on the math test after she had been given supports, and that may make her father feel as if she is bringing shame to the family. Next, the counselor would take into account the school policies and procedures, and ethical and legal issues such as that any abuse or suspected abuse must be reported to child protective services (State of Hawaii, 2007). Additionally, the counselor must take into consideration the ethical codes that would apply to this case. The counselor would consider the limits of confidentiality, such as American Counseling Association ([ACA] 2014) ethical standard B.2.a, and American School Counselor Association ([ASCA] 2010) ethical standards A.2.c and A.2.d, which all ethically support a counselor’s breach of confidentiality when there is foreseeable harm to the student. The counselor must also recognize the student’s developmental and chronological age when determining the risk of harm to the student (standard A.2.c [ASCA, 2010]). Next, the
A counselor should always keep their thoughts to themselves and remain open-minded about the situation. The only time a counselor should share their thoughts is if it helps the client with their situation that they are dealing with. “Counselors must practice only within the boundaries of their competence (Standard C.2.a.), and, if they “determine an inability to be of professional assistance to clients” (Standard A.11.b.), they should facilitate a referral to another provider. (Kocet, M. M., & Herlihy, B. J. (2014). Addressing Value-Based Conflicts Within the Counseling Relationship: A Decision-Making Model. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 92(2), 180-186 7p. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00146.x).” Keeping your thoughts to yourself is
School counselors also need be able to effectively articulate these ethical and legal standards. Confidentiality,
Whether in school settings or other contexts, dealing with ethical and legal issues can be challenging for counselors. In many instances, the practitioner meets individuals from different backgrounds in terms of age, culture, religion, economy, and education among other factors. Each of these people have problems or needs that may be unique to their origins or not. In order to come up with effective solutions, a counselor needs to interpret the problem using the different world views including those of the clients. The counselor also needs to incorporate the underlying principles, policies or procedures in these interpretations as well as in the generation of the possible courses of actions. In fact, the proposed solutions need to be evaluated
The Oxford dictionary defines an ethical dilemma as “a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two courses of action, either of which entails transgressing a moral principle.” It is not uncommon to face such predicaments in the workplace but few occupations present more ethical dilemmas than that of a school counselor. Although jobs in counseling and social work often present ethical dilemmas, having to maintain confidentiality, share information with parents and bypass consent all while maintaining an honest relationship with the student seems almost impossible to accomplish. Deciding whether or not to breach confidentiality in order to help a minor student can seem like an unnerving task. Essentially, the final decision
In the case study of Gwen, there is one major problem presented. That problem is whether it is ethical for a supervisor to counsel his supervisee. I think that Gwen is going through the grieving process after learning about her mother’s condition and is in a vulnerable spot. She feels like she cannot continue her work with hospice patients because of personal feelings. Ken thinks that Gwen is a great therapist and does not want to see her give up. He also feels like he would be the most effective person to give Gwen counseling, because of their trusting relationship. I think that this would be a bad idea and could cross professional boundaries. The Ethical Guidelines for Counseling Supervisors strongly suggest against a supervisor entering in a psychotherapeutic relationship with supervisees. It is important to limit the possibilities of a dual relationship. Dual relationships can easily become unethical and present problems or possible harm to the client, which in this case is the supervisee. They can also create dependency or have unfavorable symbolic meanings. I also do not think it was a good idea that the counseling happened in the supervision sessions. This time should be spent on improving knowledge and helping clients. Spending most of the supervisor sessions working on personal problems could potentially harm the progress and well-being of the supervisee’s clients. My reaction to Ken blending the roles of supervisor and counselor is that it was not a good, professional, decision. He has entered a dual relationship with Gwen that could potentially cause harm to her or create a conflict of interest. Since Ken is Gwen’s supervisor, he has more power over the relationship than Gwen does. This power can easily be abused by Ken...
.... Also following a guideline pointed by Saddler (1986 -retrive from Forester-Miller, H., & Davis, T., 1996) counselors should apply the three test in their practice. The test of justice which determines if you would treat others the same in this situation, the publicity test, if you would want your behavior to be known and reported to the public, and the test of universality to ask yourself if you would administer the same action to another counselor in the same situation. With that in mind the professional has to believe that after all of this is achieved the professional is capable to perform the career with an outstanding background and knowledge on how and when to act and perform the social and personal changes that relies on the profession and always having in mind what is more beneficial to the patient in resolving and responding to their ethical conflicts.
Whiston, S. C. (2009). Principles and applications of assessment in counseling. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Strengths of the Ethical Decisions Making Model are Kitchener 's Critical Evaluation Model (1984), which involves understanding how ethical decision-making approaches play an important role in the ethical landscape of counseling. It involved the notions of loyalty, faithfulness, and honoring commitments (Kitchener, 1984). It’s best to form trust within the client/counselor relationship and implement faith in the growth of their therapeutic relationship. Kitchener (1984) proposes four goals to strength the model of increasing ethical sensitivity, improving ethical reasoning, developing ethical responsibility and tolerating ambiguity (Kitchener,
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...
Assessment is used as a basis of identifying problems, planning interventions, evaluating and diagnosing clients. Assessment involves identifying statements; actions and procedures to help individuals, groups, couples and families make progress in the counseling environment. Although counselors have the opportunity to limit their scope of practice with respect to modalities, theories, and types of clients, a counselor cannot function without an understanding of the processes and procedures of assessment in counseling. Formal and informal help counselors more accurately assess client issues, create case conceptualizations and select effective empirically proven therapies. The focus of assessments is on gathering information. Thus testing is a way in which counselors construct a measure of psychology through instruments or specified procedures to obtain valid and reliable methods in assessing a client. Counselor uses established scientific procedures, relevant standards and current professional knowledge