A Summary Of Ethical Issues In Counseling

The ethical dilemma in this particular situation is that the client deals with depression and it happens a lot when her parents are not home. However, her parents will not be there this weekend, which may cause the client to get down and depressed. The counselor has the dilemma whether or not to give her personal number to the client. If she does give the client her number it could give the client a sense of relief, but it can also overstep the client/ counselor relationship and those boundaries do not need to be crossed. Also, if the counselor does not give the client her number this could cause the client to be depressed, make her feel like she is alone, and could potentially make her be suicidal. There are pros and cons

According to Corey et al. (2015) confidentiality should be a high priority for the counselor. It is a counselors ethical duty to not share information a client provides to the counselor to another party. It is best that the counselor be familiar with the laws regarding confidentiality so they are aware of when it would be okay to share information when mandated or allowed by law and also when they are or not or are able to decline to share information as the counselor.

As a counselor learns and practices the code of ethics, he or she will grow and mature as a professional. In my experience, it is not uncommon for ethical situations to arise in session; however, counselors must keep in perspective their role and responsibility as not to project onto clients or allow for countertransference. When faced with ethical decision making; a counselor is not required to make an independent or isolated decision. Ethical challenges are a part of the profession for counselors; therefore it is common practice to consult with colleagues or supervisors. An ethical counseling professional demonstrates sound judgement and determines the best outcomes for clients in complex

After reviewing the scenario, the main issues presented are lack of cultural sensitivity, improper use of Biblical content, and the counselor’s imposition of personal values. However, there are certain specifics missing from the session, which are important to assessing the extent to ethical compliance, or defiance. The first noticeable ethical violations are the ones regarding the lack of cultural sensitivity. Code A.2.c. of the ACA Code of Ethics states, “ Counselors communicate information in ways that are both developmentally and culturally appropriate. In collaboration with clients, counselors consider cultural implications of informed consent procedures and, where possible, counselors adjust their practices accordingly” (American Counseling Association, 2014). Similar to AACC’s ethical code I-540, which states, “Christian counselors proactively communicate with clients in a culturally sensitive manner” (International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors, 2011).

There are various ethical issues that could be encountered in the counseling profession, therefore, it is imperative to be aware of laws. Furthermore, avoiding problems before they occur is of the essence, by following the ensuring wellness, continuing education, and supervision and peer consultation (Jackson-Cherry & Erford, 2014). As stated in the text, many states depend on court rulings rather than statutes to guide the actions of a counselor, this issue is not black and white (Jackson-Cherry & Erford, 2014). It is imperative to understand that the decisions a counselor makes not only affect the client but others members of society and their families.

The ethical issue is the competence issue from the counselor. Standard two of The Code of Ethics regulates psychologists need to complete and learn the skills needed for certain areas of their practice (APA, 2002). The possible ethical issue with this areas of practice in this scenario is the experience of the counselor involved is not a t he skill level she would need to observe or issue guided information for the parents. The counselor, assuming not a psychologist, still needs to practice within their training boundaries (Alexandria, 2005). The issues with these counselors’ limitations were exceeded beyond her knowledge and comfort to help the children with these particular physical and psychological issues. The children’s education in the future would have been very difficult for themselves to track, especially for the teachers and the parents. In a competence requirement, it is a dynamic process an the development of the competence does not end when a psychologist becomes licensed or registered after graduation (Rodolfa, Greenberg, Hunsley, Smith-Zoeller, Cox, Sammons, and Spivak , 2013). The counselor should have referred the parents and the students to a professional for observation of the specific diagnosis the children had. Legal complications for the counselor would be dismissal from the school. The American Counseling Association's (Alexandria, 2005) Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice require that counselors avoid providing services when issues are likely to cause harm to clients. Competency codes that were potentially violated with this scenario are C.2.a. boundaries of competence, E.9.c. assessment services, and F.1.a client welfare (Alexandria, 2005). A best practice to avoid this situation is for the school to place a counselor that is competent the students that are within the their skill

Some laws are vague regarding the issues of confidentiality when treating minors. Usually minors are not allowed to consent to treatment – only the parent or guardian can do this. Exceptions exist however, and vary from state to state. Minors are considered not sufficiently mature until they reach the age of 18 to make decision about their treatment and then the parents may have limited access to confidential information. It is vital for a counselor to match the minor’s developmental level with the stage of development as well as their understanding (Kurpius, 2000).

There are many legal, ethical and safety issues that a counsellor must take into consideration when working with children and/or young people. Issues being dealt with should aim to intertwine all three safety, ethical and legal principles together rather than as separate entities. An important issue that one must face is the extent of Confidentiality. An ethical approach to this is covered by the New Zealand Association Counsellors Code of Ethics. It describes that “Counsellors shall treat all communication between counsellor and client as confidential and privileged information, unless the client gives consent to particular information being disclosed” (NZAC, 2012). This statement is

B.1.c. Respect for Confidentiality—protect the confidential information of prospective and current clients. Counselors disclose information only with appropriate consent or with sound legal or ethical justification (ACA Code of Ethics, 2014).

The American Counseling Association was established in the mid 1900’s.  It is an organization that many counselor or future counselors may consider as their bible.  With a very informative website available, there are various tabs and links that will allow the person browsing the site to gain more knowledge about counseling as well as suggested membership to the various divisional organizations associated with ACA.  While browsing through the website, I found many surprising facts in addition to words of comfort through blogs written by members of ACA. The American Counseling Association is a professional organization in which the ethical guidelines are thoroughly explained for counselors and counselors in training.

In this article, Boden (2006) investigated the ethical dilemmas that school counselors face in their line of work. He surveyed responses from school counselors examining potential difficulties that school counselors faced. According to Boden, the five most challenging areas school counselors reported and faced includes student confidentiality of personal disclosure (46%), acting on information based on danger to self or others(45%), awareness of colleagues ethical breach (34%), parental rights (33%) and dual relationships with faculty(19%). All counselors do share the commonality of navigating a collaborative relationship with parents while respecting confidentiality of the student. In Susan’s case, she too had similar concerns involving the

Remley, Jr., T. P. & Herlihey, B. (2016). Ethical, legal, professional issues in counseling. Boston, MA:

There is a code of ethics for counselors and school counselors. A professional school counselor is obligated to follow the ethical standards. These ethical standards identify what a counselor should do, how they should act, and who needs to be informed. Confidentiality is a very important piece of ethical standards. A school counselor must maintain the confidentiality of the students. However, there are limits to confidentiality such as in the case of abuse or neglect, harm to self or others. If a student identifies suicidal thoughts and it is determined that they are in imminent danger of attempting suicide then confidentiality must be breach. This ethical dilemma may be difficult for the school counselor however the safety of the student

Ethical standards in counseling and moral principles in group work have advanced over the past couple of decades solidly in the areas of treatment and the growth and development of individual participants singularly and together. Apart from the American Counseling Association (ACA), the National Association of Social Workers and the American Psychological Association, the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA), the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) come behind their own codes of ethics. While all these entities encourage significant values of trust, equal treatment, goodwill, and ethical standards of responsibilities for professionals it is imperative for persons

People of different professions consult with their respective code of ethics when they feel guidance is necessary. As a counselor, regardless of our specific track, we may find ourselves referring to the American Counseling Association’s (ACA) Code of Ethics (2014). I feel the existence of a code of ethics provides the necessary guidelines and justification when things are ambiguous. It serves the purpose of keeping things under control and within limits by minimizing the amount of harm received by any party. As the counselor, this set of guidelines provides clear limits and boundaries between the counselor and client relationship as well as protection for the client’s privacy and well-being. Although the guidelines are set forth as safeguards, it is not all inclusive, where everything is addressed explicitly. New technology and situations arise as we progress, revisions are necessary to effectively utilize these fundamental guidelines. In addition, the guidelines provide the foundation for practicing competently and professionally across different professions and platforms.