Law vs. Ethics in Counseling
Ethical standards are often drafted by professional groups or associations with the main objective of guiding the conduct of the members of such associations. Ethical standards not only help to guide the behavior of members, but also improve professionalism and form a standard of accountability. In the United States, the AACD (American Association for Counseling and Development) and the ACA (American Counseling Association) have developed ethical standards to be used by counselors. These standards not only provide a guideline for how to deal with certain issues, but also provide a framework for gauging accountability and professionalism in the field of counseling. However, the ethical standards don't offer specific answers to the actual real-life dilemmas that counselors face in the line of duty. In cases where the ethical standards don't provide specific answers, it is the duty of counselors to seek advice from their fellow practitioners, professionals and their supervisors before deciding on their next steps. At least once in almost every counselor's career path, he or she may learn of a colleague's unethical conduct. It is the duty of all counselors to address any misconduct that they become aware of.
Unlike ethical standards, laws are actual codified standards that must be adhered to. Failure to adhere to codified standards may result in one being penalized in a court of law. Governing laws are often set to guarantee moral and legal justice. In cases where ethical standards and laws say two different things, the counselor must act in a reasonable way, ensuring that no harm comes to his or her client. Usually, since the penalties associated with breaking laws are more severe than those associated with not sticking to ethical guidelines; counselors will often follow the law if that course of action won't put the client at risk. There are several laws that are linked to counseling; however, the majority of them are case laws. They include: Ramona trial (1993) in which the court declared that counselors have a duty of care - counselors are legally required not to act in a negligent manner; Tarasoff vs. Board of Regents of the University of California (1976) -- in which the court declared that counselors have a legal obligation to warn if an identifiable individual is in the way of harm; Weldon vs. Virginia State Board of Psychologist Examiners (1974) -- in which the court stated that counseling is a profession that is separate and distinct from psychology; and the 1971 Iowa Law Review Note in which counselors were legally recognized as experts/professionals.
Counter Transference as an Ethical Concern in Counseling
There are two types of counter transference, helpful and unhelpful or harmful. Many modern counselors openly tell their clients their own feelings and may use it to understand the similarities or differences between their own experiences and those of their clients. However, harmful counter transference is whereby a therapist or a counselor shares misplaced feelings with a client or shares feelings so as to satisfy their own psychological needs. For instance, unhelpful counter transference can happen in a situation whereby a client may start acting defiant to a counselor and he or she may then transfer the feelings or emotions of defiance that he or she felt towards their parent to the counselor. However, a problem would arise if the counselor would react to the client as he or she would respond to their own child, for instance by unknowingly becoming controlling. Such a reaction would negatively affect the work relationship and propagate some of the unhealthy behaviors that the client may be suffering from. Another example of counter transference is whereby a counselor is not prepared to deal with clients who express personal beliefs or preferences that are different from their own, such as homophobic or racist remarks. When a counselor reacts to such remarks without being aware of the counter transference then he or she could likely further jeopardize the client's unhealthy thoughts and behaviors. A professional counselor or psychologist could react to the situation by trying to understand the root cause of the damaging or negative views or beliefs that the client has and discussing that cause with the client. A therapist who spends a lot of time on smaller details of the client's life may not be aware of his own counter transference. A good counselor should endeavor to always be on the lookout for any sort of counter transference from their side when working with clients who have experienced the same kinds of stress or trauma that they have also experienced. Counselors may also show counter transference by: being overly interested in a situation; showing their anger; visibly distancing themselves from their clients or pushing clients to take action without taking into account their wishes or opinion. A counselor or a therapist must always remain neutral when treating a client regardless of what he or she might feel about the situation.
Meaning of Discriminatory Referrals in Counseling
There is an ethical dilemma that exists with regards to client referrals. Two standards (standard 3.01 on Unfair Discrimination and standard 2.01(b) on boundaries of competence) of APA's Ethical Principles...
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