Professional Counselor Ethical Standards and Principles

Melinda- A woman struggling over an abortion decision
July 10, 2020
The Practice of Clinical Psychology
July 10, 2020

Professional Counselor Ethical Standards and Principles

Tasks: need it in 5 hours
In a minimum of 200 words respond to the following:
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE BELOW USE YOUR OWN
As a professional counselor ethical standards and principles are important and should be held deemed for practicing/interacting with clients. The American Counseling Association(ACA) 2014 code of ethics have put in place a number of rules regulations and guidelines that encourages therapeutic professionals to adhere by; and how it displays that professional counselors values morales and standards in a counselor-client atmosphere. Section C of 2014 ACA code of ethics professional responsibility as explained in (AUO2017) module 3 overview reading. As a professional counselor it is a responsibility to provide that client with information about counseling process before engaging in a counseling session inform and discuss with the client who they are as a professional; of their credentials and licenses and to use a informed consent document; giving the client the opportunityto whether or not they would still like to proceed with the treatment(psychotherapy) process; ACA code of ethics A.2.a. Informed Consent. Also as part of the consent process it is essential that the client is informed about the value of confidentiality and how it encourages the relationship between to two. Confidentiality in some cases have limitations and can be disclosed if the professional counselor detects a risk of harm that the client can impose on themselves and others criminal activity and physical abuse; this should be address to the client as well.Ethical Issue: My client is a 42 year old female; and in one our counseling sessions she revealed to me that her husband’s brother had been sexually abusing her the whole time she has been married to his brother. She also explains that this man is a ex convict who has been in out of jail for attempted murder and rape charges; and he has threatenedher life if she told anyone their horrible secret that he would kill her! As her counselor I felt empathetic and emotional from what my client just disclosed; I make an irrational decision to go to the house and confront the man. As a professional I am absolutelycommitting an ethical violation.As a professional counselor the clients welfare should have been my primary responsibility I needed to see what I could have done to get her out of that situation and also should have asked her permission if she wants to discuss this issue with her husband in one of her counseling sessions. It was my responsibilityto keep all things confidential and keep her out of harms way.The ethical issue that I represented was not adhering to ACA 2014 code of ethics; A.1. Clients welfare A.1.a. Primary Responsibility A.4.a Avoiding Harm to client B.7.b. Disclosure of Confidential information B.1.c. Respect for Confidentiality and code B.1.b. Respect for privacy.I have learned that a professional counselor should always display professionalism at all times especially when dealing or treating clients; that our clients confidentiality is their civil right and it aids to building a counselor-client relationship. Counseling is not always an easy job; there are some dilemmas in counseling that call for a ethical decisions; which most professionals are encourage to get the opinion from other professional colleagues and ACA code of ethics. This is why I say as counselors-in-training in this program that this is not to be taken personally; but to see it as a counseling experience. We can all learn from each other whether we disagree to agree; in this very moment we are in a professional counselor-client mode. THIS IS A TEST OF CHARACTER AS A PROFESSIONAL!References:Argosy Online University. (2017). Module 3 overview. Informed Consent and Confidentiality. Retrieved from http://www.myeclassonline.comAmerican Counseling Association. (2014). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.aca.org.