Term Paper on "Ethics and Counseling and Ethics Counselors"

Term Paper 6 pages (1830 words) Sources: 12 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Ethics and Counseling

Counseling and Ethics

Counselors have a unique opportunity to help others gain a higher level of fulfillment in their lives. Becoming a professional counselor is often a "calling" that requires education, skills and training. To become truly professional, however, a counselor must live by guidelines that spring from and parallel their services. Because a counselor develops a relationship with his or her clients, emotions, knowledge and actions are generated on the part of both client and counselor.

While the counselor seeks to help clients out with their difficulties and challenges in life with counseling and psychotherapy, specializing in individual psychotherapy / counseling, couple and marital therapy, family therapy, and counseling for leaders in business.

Clients who come to professional counselors experience the following:

feelings of depression, anxiety or confusion concerns about relationships, at home or at work loss or bereavement feelings of loneliness and an inability to connect with those around them physical problems with no clear physical cause finding there is no meaning in life fears of rejection if people really knew them' eagerness to develop potential suffering from trauma or abuse, whether past or present desire to develop personally or at work - to live a fuller, more satisfying life.

The American Mental Health Counselor Association has a guideline as to how counselors work with their clients, considering the client is experiencing difficulties in their life, are extremely vulnerable and often follow suggestions given by a professional counselor easily. AMHCA members follow the highest professional standards and pledge to abide by this code:

Mental health counselors believe in the dignity and worth of the individual. They are committed to increasing knowledge of human behavior and understanding of themselves and others. While pursuing these endeavors, they make every reasonable effort to protect the welfare of those who seek their services, or of any subject that may be the object of study. They use their skills only for purposes consistent with these values and do not knowingly permit their misuse by others. While demanding for themselves freedom of inquiry and community, mental health counselors accept the responsibility this freedom confers: competence, objectivity in the application of skills, and concern for the best interest of clients, colleagues, and society in general. In the pursuit of these ideals, mental health counselors subscribe to the following principles:

Primary Responsibility

The primary responsibility of the mental health counselor is to respect the dignity and integrity of the client. Client growth and development are encouraged in ways that foster the client's interest and promote welfare.

Mental health counselors are aware of their influential position with respect to their clients, and avoid exploiting the trust and fostering dependency of their clients.

Mental health counselors fully inform consumers as to the purpose and nature of any evaluation, treatment, education or training procedure and they fully acknowledge that the consumer has the freedom of choice with regard to participation.

Counseling Plans -- Mental health counselors and their clients work jointly in devising integrated, individual counseling plans that offer reasonable promise of success and are consistent with the abilities and circumstances of the client. Counselors and clients regularly review counseling plans to ensure their continued viability and effectiveness, respecting the client's freedom of choice.

Freedom of Choice -- Mental health counselors offer clients the freedom to choose whether to enter into a counseling relationship and determine which professionals will provide the counseling. Restrictions that limit clients' choices are fully explained.

Clients Served by Others -- if a client is receiving services from another mental health professional or counselor, the mental health counselor secures consent from the client, informs that professional of the arrangement, and develops a clear agreement to avoid confusion and conflicts for the client. Mental health counselors are aware of the intimacy and responsibilities inherent in the counseling relationship. They maintain respect for the client and avoid actions that seek to meet their personal needs at the expense of the client.

Diversity -- Mental health counselors do not condone or engage in any discrimination based on age, color, culture, disability, ethnic group, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, marital status or socioeconomic status.

Sexual Relationships --Sexual relationships with clients are strictly prohibited. Mental health counselors do not counsel persons with whom they have had a previous sexual relationship.

Former Clients -- Counselors do not engage in sexual intimacies with former clients within a minimum of two years after terminating the counseling relationship.

Other areas: Multiple Clients (having a relationship with each other), Informed Consent, Conflict of Interest, Fees and Bartering, Pro Bono Service, Consulting, Group Work, Termination and Referral, Inability to assist clients, and Appropriate Termination. (AMHCA p. 1)

Counselors are often faced with dilemmas and sound ethical decision making must be one of the skills that a professional counselor needs to inculcate. The appropriate course to take when an ethical situation arises can be a challenge. To assist counsels meet this challenge, the ACA Ethics Committee has developed a Practitioner's Guide to Ethical Decision Making (Forester-Miller and Davis, p. 2).

This guide identifies five moral principles and, like the AMHCA, spells out guidelines and philosophical attitudes that counselors are encouraged to adhere to as they approach the counseling relationship, such as autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice and fidelity. They recognize that different professionals may implement different courses of action in the same situation, and therefore admit that there is no simple answer to complex problems, but that honesty, along with keeping the best interests of the client at heart with no thought for gain or personal motives should guide the counselor's actions (Forester-Miller and Davis, p. 2-3).

Those who investigate and do research in the area of ethics for professional counselors, such as Cottone and Claus, find a wealth of information in the literature. However, they say, though new models are being assessed, "few models seem well grounded philosophically or theoretically" (2000, p. 275).

There are a myriad of situations in which counselors work and find difficult situations arising. Groups and facilities who hire counselors try to incorporate the service into their programs, and sometimes this in itself becomes a problem. For instance Alcoholics Anonymous has counselors as members of the recovery program, rather than as outside, independent professionals, which in itself engenders close encounters and violates some of the ethical and legal standards for professionals (Schoener, p. vii).

Those with disabilities who have problems requiring the services of a counselor now are guided by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the book Ethics for Addiction Professionals discusses how this Act has had an impact on groups who hire counselors from among their members (Ibid. p. viii).

Managed care facilities employ counselors and it is in this setting that counselors find problems arising from the close proximity and interrelationships which these facilities foster (2001, pp. 119-122).

Technology has caused problems dealing with the revelation of truth (such as in lie detectors and paternity tests), which were not part of the scene for distressed individuals. Now, dealing with this confirmed revelation of truth has become an ethical issue itself (Lucassen & Parker, p. 1033).

Ethical issues even impact the way in which individuals and counselors access and use assessments offered via the Internet (Sampson, p. 1). Although empirical research generally supports the psychometric properties and utility of Internet-based assessment, there are numerous ethical and professional issues involved (Barak, p. 3-21).

Of the approximately 15 million of 62 million rural residents, struggling with mental illness and substance abuse, the need for adequate and professional-acting psychiatric counseling may be hindered by the overlapping roles of those who administer these services. Limited resources create conflicting interests when the boundaries between caregivers, patients and families are close or non-existent. The cultural stigmas surrounding the patient-counselor relationship also creates stress that affects rural caregivers. Roberts, Battaglia and Epstein examine these roles in an article in Psychiatric Services and suggest constructive approaches to the ethical dilemmas found in rural Alaska and New Mexico (1999, p. 497-503).

Needless to say, opportunities for bad choices in ethical situations arise in the cities, as well, where technology, work relationships and anonymity breed temptations.

In each of the environments where counselors work, there are factors that create the chance and occasionally the perceived mandate to make a bad ethical choice. As job opportunities for counselors rise in number and venue, counselors may be coming out of school less well educated and trained.

Unequipped to deal with the intense situations that surround them, this large number of professionals has given in to more behavior that is ethically censured. Even though their fellows may be sued, censured or have their licenses revoked, counselors seem to be unaware of the dangers of acting in an unprofessional manner (Kitchener, p 43).

This may be part human nature and part ignorance for some, but with all of the communication available with both the guidelines and the consequences being thrown at them, one would think that professional counselors would not give in to temptation and violate their own standards (Stadler, p. 5).… READ MORE

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