Counselor Ethical Issues Paper

I believe another key characteristic trait of a counselor is one who is culturally responsive to the diverse needs of the individuals we serve. The counseling profession would be inadequate if there were a lack personal awareness of the diverse multicultural groups that create the communities in which we live in (Brinson, J. A., & Lee, C. C., 2005). To be a competent counselor, a person must possess the ability to be nonjudgmental and communicate positive unconditional regard both on a cultural and personal level that is understandable to the individual. A culturally responsive counselor is cognizant of how his or her values, biases, and assumptions may impact a person's counseling experience of diverse cultural backgrounds. In that regard, an effective counselor is able to be cognizant of

* I believe it is unethical for the counselor to reveal anything said in individual counseling with the husband. She didn’t address a “no secrets” policy in the informed consent. Sharing this information with the wife without his permission is unethical. In marriage counseling the “no secrets” policy needs to be addressed and explained in the informed consent. Since she did not have a policy concerning this, she is bound by confidentiality which should have been in her informed consent.

This paper is a response to a video discussing the issues of confidentiality, privilege, reporting, and duty to warn. This paper looks at these issues and their explanations in the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics as well as the Georgia State Board of Professional Counselor’s ethical guidelines and provides a commentary on the laws. It was found that these issues are not always black and white, but there is some debate on these issues. Confidentiality is both an ethical and a legal responsibility yet there are often times when the ethical demands clash with the legal demands. This paper explores some of those crashes and explains what I have learned from the video and the professional and stage guidelines concerning confidentiality and its implications and how I will apply what I have learned into future practice.

Cultural competence as it pertains to counseling is a vital skill to possess in today’s ever-changing society. Counseling is a high demand profession which involves interaction with person from all walks of life and all types of backgrounds. As we become more sensitive to cultural diversity around us, we must make an effort to understand those who are different from us. The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender or LGBT community has come to the forefront of our social consciousness with much media attention given to the issue of marriage equality in many states.

Dual relationships and the ethical behavior that revolves around boundaries with clients present a multitude of very complicated situations to counselors where a clearly defined course of action is not always evident. Aside from no accord amongst mental health professionals and boundary issues being unavoidable at times, recognition and prediction of potential benefits or pitfalls correlated with dual relationships can prove to be troublesome as well (Remley & Herlihy, 2010). For most cases, it is best if an outline is used to discern when it is appropriate for a counselor to breach the client-counselor boundary.

When speaking with my client he made mention of the fact that in all his years of practicing this past decade has been where the highest emphasis on cultural sensitivity has been made. He noted that as a white middle age male, he had had to learn new things about himself to be able to overcome preconceived notions and biases that he may have held without knowing. Cultuaral sensitivity is very important in trating cllients. Since behavior is culturally relative, when a counselor is competent, he or she would understand the context of the clients thought or behaviors within their given culture. It also promotes a better relationship between the counselor and the client as the client begins to truly trust that the counselor sees him/her as a unique individual and not just another stereotype. Another professional issue that comes up in the counseling setting is the core witness status. In the interview with David, he remarks that he has rarely been subpoenaed to testify in court even though he deals with a love of adolescents from the juvenile system. He however did mention that the times he had been subpoenaed were for civil and not criminal

According to Baruth & Manning 2012, "it is a counselors task to help these clients accept and value their culture and to help them resolve difficult conflicts that can impede personal and social growth (p.149). The counselor plays the role of consulting, teaching, and training when dealing with the Native American and Asian American communities.

On the issue of abortion with the 19-year old rape victim, I feel that she has a right to choose whether or not to go through with the abortion. As her counselor I have to put my personal feelings aside and help her to make the best decision for herself. My client is firm in her plans to have the abortion and since she is an adult her parents have no legal right to make her change her mind. I am unable to convince the parents to change their minds as they are not my clients and I have no input in how they feel. According to the ACA (2005) I must be sensitive to the family’s cultural beliefs and in the

There is no doubt that the counsellor needs to be aware of the complexity of culture (Pedersen & Ivey, 1993). Culture results from the interaction of a number of variables including ethnographic, demographic, socio-economic, and relational factors. Within a culture, people develop patterns of behaviours based on a number of assumptions they have learned either directly, observationally or vicariously (Mitchell & Krumboltz, 1996). People also develop a cultural identity by

There are many ethical issues that can arise during counseling. One issue that is fairly common is sexual attraction from patient to counselor, counselor to patient, or even in both directions. Even though an attraction may exist, this does not necessarily mean that these instincts will be followed in any inappropriate way. In fact attraction is a natural part of life and is impossible to avoid. However, any fulfillment of these desires is an unethical act that could not only be in violation of the code of ethics that a counselor is bound by, but it could also subject the counselor and their organization to litigation and legal action.

Counselors who are unaware of diverse cultural viewpoints are more than likely to do intentional or unintentional damage when working within communities opposite of their own and with those whose cultures and worldviews differ from theirs. If a counselor is unaware of their own cultural identity, biases, and stereotypes, how then will they know if they are unintentionally causing harm to their clients or build rapport? Cultural self-awareness is relevant because counselors need to know their cultural identity and what they must offer their clients in a therapeutic relationship and to help clients become aware their cultural identities.

The relationship of a counselor to his or her client can be troubled when the two come from different cultural backgrounds. "As counselors incorporate a greater awareness of their clients' culture into their theory and practice, they must realize that, historically, cultural differences have been viewed as deficits (Romero, 1985). Adherence to white cultural values has brought about a naive imposition of narrowly defined criteria for normality on culturally diverse people" (Bolton-Brownlee 1987). The challenge for counselors today is to balance multiculturalism and sensitivity for the client with the need to move the client forward and enable him or her to reach productive life goals. Cultural acceptance cannot be synonymous with complacency.

Jessica is sixteen years old, and is sent to the school counselor following concerns from her year level coordinator. Jessica is finding it difficult to concentrate in class, is continuously late to school, and often arrives to school disheveled and unkempt. The coordinator is concerned about what may be happening at home with Jessica, and that she may be getting involved in a notoriously bad circle of friends in the area known for drug taking and other delinquent activities. Although reluctant during the first few sessions to disclose anything much, Jessica begins to trust the counselor and opens up about her frequent drug use. She says she used to only smoke marijuana, but that now this had increased to weekly

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

Being aware of culture in the field has many benefits. The main benefit would be that it would help in providing better therapy for the client in question. Understanding how culture affects a client’s life can help explain the clients various roles and identities in life. Apart from that, understanding socio cultural settings will help the psychologist be more aware of the needs of their clients. For example, Indians are less comfortable in seeing a psychologist and are less liable to tell their family and friends that they are in currently undergoing therapy (Zhang, Snowden, & Sue, 1998). The psychologist should use information about the clients’ culture to personalise the therapy in order to enhance the effectiveness of it as well as to not discourage the client as well as to understand how culture affects the client and the disorder. The involvement of culture would also make the psychologist more aware of their own personal biases and mind-sets that maybe prevent the therapy from being effective. Creation of guidelines to help psychologists in the assessment of clients from varied cultures are important.