Part 3
Study Guide
Chapter 1—Introduction to Professional Ethics
Learning Objectives
Identify common themes and limitations of ethics codes
Understand the difference between law and ethics
Learn about professional monitoring of practices
Differentiate between aspirational ethics, mandatory ethics, principle ethics, and virtue ethics
Learn about the role of ethics codes in making ethical decisions
Understand how the six moral principles can be applied to ethical dilemmas
Learn about the steps to take in working through an ethical dilemma
Appreciate involving the client in the ethical decision making process
CACREP Standards (2009)
1.PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION AND ETHICAL PRACTICE—studies that provide an understanding of all of the following aspects of professional functioning:
g. professional credentialing, including certification, licensure, and accreditation practices and standards, and the effects of public policy on these issues
j.ethical standards of professional organizations and credentialing bodies, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling
Professional Codes of Ethics
1.If codes of ethics do not provide specific answers to the ethical dilemmas you will encounter, of what value are they?
2.What are common themes of codes of ethics?
3.What are some of the main limitations of ethics codes?
4.What are the main objectives that codes of ethics fulfill?
5.What is the relationship between law and ethics? What might you do if you were faced with a conflict between a legal standard and an ethical principle?
6.How is the practice of counseling regulated?
Ethical Decision Making
1.Be familiar with the meaning of the following terms and the differences among these terms: ethics, values, morality, community standards, reasonableness, and professionalism.
2.Differentiate between mandatory ethics and aspirational ethics.
3.What are the differences between principle ethics and virtue ethics?
4.One model of ethical decision making is based on these six basic moral principles: autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, and veracity. Be able to define each concept and provide an example for each principle.
5.Select an ethical dilemma and apply systematic steps to the resolution of the dilemma. Show the steps you might use in making an ethical decision. How might you include a client in making such a decision?
6.What are some of the advantages of including the client in the process of working through ethical decisions? Discuss the feminist model of ethical decision-making, showing how some of the ideas of this model can lead to client empowerment. If a professional disagrees with a particular ethical standard, and decides to practice in a way that is not sanctioned by an association, what are the consequences for that practitioner?
7.The text states that you need to develop an ethical sense that will enable you to better serve the welfare of your clients. What are some ways that you can think of to best develop this ethical sense?
Dealing with Suspected Unethical Behavior of Colleagues
1.What would you do if you suspected a mental health professional or a colleague was engaging in ethically questionable behavior?
Self-Assessment: An Inventory of Your Own Attitudes and Beliefs About Ethical and Professional Issues
1.After taking this inventory, what are a few of the items that you found yourself most struggling to answer?
2.How does taking this inventory provide you with some awareness of what is involved in ethical dilemmas?
Chapter 2—The Counselor as a Person and as a Professional
Learning Objectives
Appreciate the role of counselor self-awareness in ethical practice
Provide a rationale for the importance of personal therapy for counselors
Clarify how countertransference can be an ethical concern
Explore client dependence as a potential ethical problem
Examine how stress can lead to therapist impairment
Develop a personal strategy for maintaining vitality
CACREP Standards (2009)
1.PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION AND ETHICAL PRACTICE—studies that provide an understanding of all of the following aspects of professionalfunctioning:
d. self-care strategies appropriate to the counselor role
3.HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT—studies that provide an understanding of the nature and needs of persons at all developmental levels and in multicultural contexts, including all of the following:
f. human behavior, including an understanding of developmental crises, disability, psychopathology, and situational and environmental factors that affect both normal and abnormal behavior
5.HELPING RELATIONSHIPS—studies that provide an understanding of the counseling process in a multicultural society, including all of the following:
a. an orientation to wellness and prevention as desired counseling goals
b. counselor characteristics and behaviors that influence helping processes
Pre-Chapter Self-Inventory
1.Before you read this chapter, take the pre-chapter self-inventory as a way to assess your beliefs and attitudes pertaining to the topics addressed in this chapter.
2.What are a few of the items in this inventory that you most strongly agreed with?
3.What are a few of the items in this inventory that you most strongly disagreed with?
Introduction
1.In what way do you see your personal life being related to your professional work?
2.How do you think that your work as a counselor might have an impact on your personal life?
Self-Awareness and Influence of Therapist’s Personality and Needs
1.How do unresolved personal conflicts affect the counselor’s ability to work with clients?
2.What are some of your major motivations for you becoming a counselor? How might these motivations and needs be met through your work?
3.Assume you were asked the question, “What do you personally get from doing counseling?” How would you answer this in a job interview?
Personal Therapy for Counselors
1.What is the rationale for the premise that therapy is essential for therapists and for trainees?
2.What role do you think experiential learning toward self-understanding should play in a counselor training program?
3.Do you think that personal therapy should be required of all trainees in a counseling program? If so, why? And what form of therapy do you think should be required?
4.To what extent should therapists make use of therapy for themselves? For those practitioners who are reluctant to seek professional assistance for themselves when they are highly stressed, what do you think might account for this reluctance?
5.Do you think that therapy should be required for an impaired therapist?
Transference and Countertransference
1.How can transference and countertransference be ethical issues?
2.In what way is transference an “unreal” relationship in therapy?
3.When is countertransference a problem? If you were to become aware of countertransference reactions toward a particular client, what course of action would you likely follow?
4.Identify some of the major ways that countertransference is likely to be manifested. What are some of the signs that a therapist is experiencing countertransference?
Client Dependence
1.In what sense is promoting client dependence an ethical issue? What are some examples of fostering client dependence?
2.How can delaying termination of therapy be a form of client dependency?
3.What are some ways that you can develop collaborative relationships with your clients?
Stress in the Counseling Profession
1.What are the major sources of stress for therapists? What are some sources of stress that you are most concerned about pertaining to your work as a counselor?
2.In what sense can a career in counseling be a “hazardous profession?”
3.How does the stress of professional practice impact the counselor’s personal life? What are the ethical issues here?
4.What are some of your concerns about your ability to cope with the stresses associated with being a professional?
5.To what degree might you be susceptible to stress caused by being overly responsible?
Counselor Burnout and Impairment
1.What is your concept of the impaired therapist? What suggestions would you have if an impaired colleague sought you out for help?
2.How can you prevent burnout as a counseling professional?
Maintaining Vitality Through Self-Care
1.How is self-care an ethical issue?
2.What are the components of wellness? How can wellness be a model for preventing burnout?
3.What is your personal strategy for maintaining your vitality?
Chapter 3—Values and the Helping Relationship
Learning Objectives
Explore the ethical issues involved in imposition of therapist values
Differentiate between exposing and imposing of therapist values
Critically examine a variety of case examples on value situations
Explore the role of spiritual/religious values in counseling
Examine end-of-life decisions from an ethical perspective
Learn how to effectively address value conflicts in therapy
CACREP Standards (2009)
1.PROFESSIONAL ORIENTATION AND ETHICAL PRACTICE—studies that provide an understanding of all of the following aspects of professionalfunctioning:
j.ethical standards of professional organizations and credentialing bodies, and applications of ethical and legal considerations in professional counseling
2.SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY—studies that provide an understanding of the cultural context of relationships, issues, and trends in a multicultural society, including all of the following:
- individual, couple, family, group, and community strategies for working with and advocating for diverse populations, including multicultural competencies
e. counselors’ roles in developing cultural self-awareness, promoting cultural social justice, advocacy and conflict resolution, and other culturally supported behaviors that promote optimal wellness and growth of the human spirit, mind, or body
5.HELPING RELATIONSHIPS—studies that provide an understanding of the counseling process in a multicultural society, including all of the following:
a. an orientation to wellness and prevention as desired counseling goals
b. counselor characteristics and behaviors that influence helping processes
c. essential interviewing and counseling skills
7.ASSESSMENT—studies that provide an understanding of individual and group approaches to assessment and evaluation in a multicultural society, including all of the following:
f.social and cultural factors related to the assessment and evaluation of individuals, groups, and specific populations
g.ethical strategies for selecting, administering, andinterpreting assessment and evaluation instruments and techniques in counseling
Pre-Chapter Self-Inventory
1.Before you read this chapter, take the pre-chapter self-inventory as a way to assess your beliefs and attitudes pertaining to the topics addressed in this chapter.
2.What are a few of the items in this inventory that you most strongly agreed with?
3.What are a few of the items in this inventory that you most strongly disagreed with?
Introduction
1.Is it possible for counselors to keep their values out of their counseling sessions? What are the various views on this issue?
2.How do counselors’ values influence every phase of the therapeutic process?
Clarifying Your Values and Their Role in Your Work
1.How can therapists discuss value issues with clients in an open and noncoercive way?
2.What do the ethics codes state about the therapist’s personal values and working with values in the therapeutic process?
The Ethics of Imposing Your Values on Clients
1.Do you think that there are times or circumstances where it is ethical for you to direct clients in a particular direction? What about instilling in clients certain basic values such as responsibility, avoiding harm to others, being honest with others, self-determination, developing the ability to give and receive affection, finding a sense of purpose, and living authentically?
2.You will inevitably incorporate certain value orientations into your therapeutic practice. What is the ethical obligation you have in informing clients about your value orientation? How might you do this in your practice?
3.Is it possible for you, as a therapist, to interact honestly with your clients without making value judgments? Do you see it as desirable to avoid making judgments in all circumstances?
4.Can you remain true to yourself and at the same time allow your clients the freedom to select their own values, even if they differ sharply from yours?
5.At what point are counselors ethically obligated to refer a client because of a conflict of values? When would you feel it necessary to refer?
6.Do counselors need to share the same life experiences and worldviews of their clients to effectively work with them? If you have a background that is quite different from your client, how will you be able to make a connection with him or her?
Value Conflicts Regarding Sexual Attitudes and Behavior
1.What are your values pertaining to sexuality? In what ways might these values either help or hinder you in making effective contact with clients? Can you think of any areas where you would have a tendency to push clients to make a certain decision with respect to sexual behavior?
2.If you were working with a couple, and if one person had been involved in an extramarital affair for some time, how might this affect your work with them?
3.Can you counsel people who are experiencing conflict over their sexual choices if their values differ dramatically from your own?
Value Conflicts Pertaining to Abortion
1.In what way might clients who are exploring abortion as an option present a challenge to clinicians, both legally and ethically?
2.What are your own moral and ethical views on abortion, and how do you think your values might influence your work with clients who are considering having an abortion?
3.Before a counselor were to make a referral for a client considering abortion, what are some of the key ethical issues involved?
4.In counseling minors who are considering an abortion, what are some legal and ethical issues that need to be addressed?
Case Studies of Other Possible Value Conflicts
1.Identify one specific value that you are likely to push, or an area where you expect to struggle because of a value conflict with a given client. How might this value either enhance or inhibit the effectiveness of counseling. How could you proceed to lessen the chances of imposing your values?
2.Review the cases in this section of the textbook. Which case would you find most challenging because of a possible value conflict? What would you do in this situation?
The Role of Spiritual and Religious Values in Counseling
1.Discuss the trend in the counseling profession that seems to be taking a stronger stand on incorporating spirituality and religion as a factor in assessment and treatment.
2.To what extent do you understand your own spiritual and religious beliefs? How might this influence your ability to understand and work with the spiritual and religious beliefs of your clients?
3.The premise of the authors is that spiritual and religious values can play a major role in a client’s life. What is your reaction to this premise?
4.Religion and spirituality are oftentimes part of the client’s problem, and they can also be part of the client’s solution. What are your thoughts about that statement?
5.How would you expect your spiritual and religious values to affect the manner in which you counsel? Would you be inclined to introduce the topic of spirituality or religion if your client did not make specific mention of such factors, if you believed that doing so would be helpful?
6.What are some ways that religion and spirituality in counseling might conflict? In what ways can the two work in concert? What is the interface between the values espoused by religion and spirituality within the framework of counseling practice?
7.What ways could you include a client’s background in spirituality as part of the assessment process?
8.What are some reasons to include spiritual and religious values in treatment? What potential problems can you see with doing so?
9.What is the responsibility of training programs in preparing future counselors to deal with the religious and spiritual concerns of their clients?
10.What kind of competencies in spirituality do you think counselors should have by the end of their training?
End-of-Life Decisions
1.What are the ethical considerations in the right to die and in rational suicide?
2.If a person is able to make a free and rational choice about ending his or her life, do you think that the state should interfere in this choice?
3.What are some of the arguments for and against physician-assisted suicide? What is the possible role that a counselor might assume in such cases?
4.What is the essence of the NASW’s policy on end-of-life decisions? To what extent do you support the client’s self-determination in end-of-life decisions?
5.What are your values regarding clients exercising self-determination in the area of making end-of-life decisions? How might your values influence your interventions in such cases?
6.How do the concepts of rational suicide, aid-in-dying, and hastened death differ from each other?
Chapter 4—Multicultural Perspectives and Diversity Issues
Learning Objectives
Learn essential terminology related to multiculturalism and diversity
Identify how cultural encapsulation is an ethical issue
Examine ethics codes from a diversity perspective