Counselor Ethics and Responsibilities (Essay Sample)

Counselor Ethics and Responsibilities
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Institution
Counselor Ethics and Responsibilities
Section 1
Teenage pregnancy as a result of rape is a common occurrence in our day which makes it a topic of concern. In the case of the 19 year old rape victim who wishes to abort against the wishes of her parents due to their religious beliefs, the best approach would be to agree with her decision. The best one can do is to try and counsel the parents to understand the girl’s point of view rather to sway them away from their beliefs. According to the NACAAD (2015) as regards the welfare of the client, the profession requires a counselor to stand by the client.
The second case involves John and Bill who after seven year in a relationship, differ on whether to adopt a child or a use a surrogate. In this case I would assist in helping them choose the right method by providing information material on all the available options that would allow them to make a satisfactory choice (Welfel,2015). The decision should be entirely their own and the most I could do is look for the best adsorption agencies, surrogate clinic and alternative birth methods. The session held would involve helping the gay couple to understand the each other point of view without imposing my personal view, on the matter.
Section 2 a
Autonomy basically is the freedom of client to make his or her own choices as well as the path in life. To achieve this counselor needs to employ the O.A.R.s. (open ended questions, Affirmations, Reflective listening and Summaries) method. The counseling tools is effective in ensuring that the clients freedom of choice is observed, employing the power of listening. This allows the client to talk about troubling subject (Welfel, 2015). Additionally, the tools allow the counselor to conclusively summarize the client’s issues.
Non maleficence can be defined as the avoiding any harm that would affect the interests of the client. According to NAACAD it is prudent for a counselor to always look after the interests of the client. For instance, a drug addict patient on probation who appears to have started using, the counselor should find a lenient way of communicating the information as such as by explaining the dangers of using while on probation (NAACAD, 2015). Additionally the counselor should work on guiding the addict to the right path while allowing him to make the decisions.
Beneficence is the ability to assist others whereby in this case it applies to the help a counselor gives clients, their surroundings as well as their associates. In order to help one client, it is important for the counselor to allow the client to explain feelings towards the current situation in relation to his environments and surroundings. This is done by listening keenly to the client’s woes and problems and assisting him to confront them in his own terms which would perfectly relate to his surroundings.
In applying justice, the counselor need to treat the client fairly regardless of their demographic or predispositions. Furthermore the counselor should not impose values over them but should keep an open mind for all clients. However there should not be any favoritism as it would also affect the other client’s fidelity. If there were contradicting aspects whether cultural religious or otherwise, it is ethically prudent for the counselor to refer the client to another counselor so as not to affect the treatment.
Section 2 b
According to ACA ethic codes (2015), informed consent requires a counselor to keep the client aware of all the processes that transpire during counseling as well as his rights and privileges to gain approval to commence with the treatment. For instance in the billing, a client should be aware of the how much the counseling sessions will cost. In doing so, informed consent enables the client to gain value for his money while giving the counselor the ability to protect whose rights.
Informed consent with regards to the right to privacy ensures that the client is aware that any information divulges in the closed session is confidential; however there are certain limitation that come with such right. This allows the patient to open up more and feel comfortable sharing. However, it is vital to get the informed consent in writing to avoid cases of malpractice (Yousef and Ener, 2014).
The HIPPA guidelines, set by the US department of health and human Services requires professionals to abide by the rules in order to ensure the best interests of a client by protecting the electronic of physical health records. It is the responsibility of the professionals to protect any information regarding clients that was told in confidence and any infringement on this would result because the client harms such as discrimination and stigmatization (Cosentino and Hess, 2013).
Additionally for the set guidelines to apply nationally, practicing counselor should comply with a standardized set of ethics as per the Board of Credentials. The rules work to protect the rights of the client and the clinicians. Therefore the mandated of the National Board of credential to ensure counselors incorporate informed consent as a mandatory process to include the signatures of both.
Section 3
The law on Duty to warn states that it is necessary for the counselor to warn a victim of eminent danger forms a client or notifies the law enforcement authority. In California statute law, under section 43.92 of the civil code enacted in 1986 and amended in 2007, a therapist bares no liability there is a duty to protect in a certain case where the police have been notified(Corey et al., 2014). This is considered to be the only to protect to ...