There is a frightening truth in our profession: After we leave our graduate programs and finish supervision, nobody is there to tell us what to do. It is up to us to focus on ethics and, sadly, this is where things start slipping.
Tag: Ethics & Legal Issues
Ethics & Legal Issues
Counselors may want to help clients by providing court testimony, writing letters of documentation and other methods of advocacy, but clinicians should be careful not to extend themselves beyond the limits of their training and expertise.
Counseling clients for a reduced fee or for free – pro bono – in a private practice setting comes with some ethical caveats.
Without experience, it might be easy to be intimidated by police, angry parents or clever attorneys. But you cannot be arrested (as I was threatened on one occasion) for following counseling ethics and HIPAA requirements regarding client information. In fact, you will likely be in greater trouble if you concede to these “requests” and thus violate our code of ethics.
“Counselors should avoid any unnecessary breach of client information, but the prejudicial nature of revealing a client’s identity might be outweighed by the probative value for public health and slowing down this virus.”
As counselors, we understand there are some limits to confidentiality. However, voice assistant technologies in cell phones and other devices have the capability to leak what clients and counselors once believed to be confidential information.
“Because the personal is professional and the professional is personal in our work, it can be hard to separate the two. This makes it difficult to prevent internalization during the grievance process. I felt like a bad counselor and, thus, a bad person.”
“I would suggest that confidentiality comes in at a close second place for the core of our ethical conduct.”
Self-disclosure can establish trust and strengthen the bond between counselor and client, but the trick is knowing when it is (and isn’t) an appropriate tool to use.
Tears streamed down her face. Kaylah (not her real name) was a 21-year-old woman struggling with a romance in trouble. I’d seen it many times, even though I’d only been in the field for a few years at this point. My heart broke for Kaylah as I saw the same