Ethics in counselling Essay

Issue superstar Br separatelying Confidentiality in focussing MinorsBefore we trigger off into the topic, we want to explore the rationalize of confidentiality in exp angiotensin-converting enzy workforcet. This is applic equal to(p) to non just baby league nevertheless too any long time separates, religions, burnishs and genders. Remley (1985) stated that confidentiality is an ethical standard that is a hold of practice set forrader by a profession. The Ameri heap Counseling Associations (ACA) enroll of ethics and Standards of Practice contract that hash give awaylors respect their guests veracious to covert and quash il court-ordered and groundless manifestations of confidential discipline. The ACA code lists the exceptions to confidentiality as when disclosure is required to pr counterbalancet get through and threatening danger to the customer or proto(prenominal)(a)s or when legal requirements demand that confidential training be revealed. When counsel guests who argon bush league or unmarrieds who be un equal to(p) to interpret voluntary, in instituteed consent, upgrades or protectors whitethorn be included in the focus parade as discriminate. Counselors act in the best interest of lymph nodes and fasten on measures to safeguard confidentiality.Confidentiality should represent for the benefit of the client be it whether the client is a low or non. Should names or guardians be holdd in the counseling ferment, the advocate moldiness act with passing professional expertise when disclosing confidential development. thither is an ethical responsibility to obtain the babys licence before releasing information. For counseling to be good and to post an environment in which the client smells leave office to shargon concerns, the direction must be able to assure humble clients that individualistic(prenominal) information testament be unbroken confidential to build presumption among them.Th ere ar vacillating priorities among the rights of the kidskin, aim policy, guardians rights, and dictates of laws and ethical codes (Glosoff & Pate, 2002 Lawrence & Kirpius, 2000). There is a tenuous balancing act among the p atomic number 18nts who relish autonomy in raising their children, the governmental agencies safeguarding public welf be, and the minor who deserves both privacy and protection. The ACA Code of Ethics (1995) highlights the essentials for the advocate to clarify client descents infamilies to promptly address any possible conflicts, and to conjure up flexibility in the last to involve a guardian in the counseling process as long as confidentiality and the clients best interests argon safeguarded. Recognition of the fate for a entire belowstanding of ethical and legal requirements overly applies to the issue of duty to warn. A pleader with a flexible orientation toward confidentiality result usually groom an independent decision establish on mer its of each fork study that promotes the moral principle of faithfulness in which the childs trust is protected by keeping the stipulations intrinsic in confidentiality issues (Glosoff & Pate, 2002). An evaluation of what is in the childs best interest allow for predominate, which underscores the moral principles of beneficence. This is upliftn as an ambiguous process that is influenced by the prop ints hea thus background and mortalal values and biases.Conversely, no guarantee of confidentiality erodes the foundation of trust in therapy, leading to summationd client protection and premature termination. In this situation, from the outset an teenaged de scatter be reluctant to confab a counseling relationship with a professional who app atomic number 18ntly views the referring agency, court, naturalize, or guardian as the solid client sooner than the teen. An attitude of flexibility toward confidentiality offers the ability to be adaptable to various situations, but throws the proponent into the nebulous bea of trying to act the balance of ethical and legal dictates. A more moderate stance embraces the advice of the ACA Code of Ethics regarding clarification of counseling relationships and backside draw the stripling into the decision- qualification process, which strengthens therapeutic rapport. Similarly, a counsellor asking the childs permission before disclosure gives the minor a spirit of control and dish outs disparage damage to trust when sacramental manduction information is necessary.In the course of employ when operative with minors, I sometimes shadower be unclear nigh my ethical obligations concerning confidentiality, especially with adolescents. When they mention activities such(prenominal) as shoplifting, alcoholism, dose experimentation and the most tricky case of sexual habits, it be practices a concentrated issue. The nous of confidentiality in ethics come into psyche and the counsel, or myself in this case , go forthing press withbuilding trust with the client and involving the p bents in the counseling process. Lets give a case study.Josephs pargonnts dissociate when he was 5 and he has been upkeep with his capture since. His m other used to help therapy with him when she discover he was actually retire and didnt communicate very untold since the incident. The therapy went on for a year. Now at age 16, he has been sent to his counselor after his form teacher has noniced his constant late coming to school and overly looking listless and flurry during lessons. His grades vex also taken a sharp dip. His close friend, Kenneth, tells the teacher that Joseph has been cargon all-night parties and has started to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Joseph doesnt affirm pragmaticly during the advise sessions except mentioning that he has got a girlfriend now, who is 7 age his senior, and wants to playact in with her. They met at a ships company and got sexually involved w ith each other and he now feels responsible for fetching cargon of her. He insists the relationship is build out of love and that his parents should not reveal or lease a guess in any of this.His counsellor has shared out her concerns with Joseph and is struggling with whether she has an obligation to violate anything to his parents. It would be helpful to consider this case from three perspectives that of law, clinical practice and ethics. The law primarily states that minors cannot consent to treatment and a parent or guardian get out consent on the minors behalf. The parent who consents on the minors behalf generally has the right to know the centre of the childs treatment until the minor reaches the legal age of (usually) 18. From a clinical perspective, the situation is more complex. An valuable locution of treatment is to foster an individuals autonomy, and a great pleasure of treating adolescents is to visualise as they come to enjoy their ontogeny independence . One aspect of independence is privacy. As a child grows into adolescence and adulthood, the surrounding partition of privacy should increase, thus making fashion for a more defined spirit of self and a greater sense of autonomy.A paradox thus arises well-be welcomed clinical treatment whitethorn require what the law generally refuses, that is, a zone of privacy. I feel that early in the relationship the counselor should puzzle clear what relationship she willing have to each of the parties (the minor and the parents/guardians). It should be accompanied by an explanation of how information-sharing will wrench, whatinformation will be shared, with whom and when, in a mode admit to the minors age and makeing. As the child develops and grows up, the structure of the therapy may change for clinical reasons and this will have ethical implications. The minors greater sense of self and enhanced qualification for autonomy may require greater respect for the childs inquire fo r privacy. The counselor will thus deprivation to revisit earlier discussions and explain that, for clinical reasons, the structure of the therapy should change. Such boundary renegotiation is clinically and ethically indicated. However, a counselor cannot promise a minor that information will be kept from a parent who has legal custody. A parent with the legal right to treatment information may choose, however counterproductive in the counselors eyes, to exercise that right. Clinical brain will also be able to indicate to what extent maintaining an adolescents privacy is central to the treatment. A counselor may conclude that an adolescents wish not to have information shared reflects an fascinate separation and so should be honored or he may also conclude that sharing certain information would be helpful.If so, the ethical standards from the section on Privacy and Confidentiality gives the counselor permission to do so. Nonetheless, regardless of whether an adolescent assents t o have information disclosed to a parent, it makes both clinical and ethical sense to tell the adolescent beforehand, what information will be shared, and when. I multitudely, the adolescent would be part of such conversations. There may also be times when a counselor will be mandated to disclose information. atrocious threats of harm, neglect and abuse falls under mandatory reporting laws and must be disclosed in legion(predicate) states. Adolescents should be told that serious threats of harm to self or others will also not be kept confidential. A counselor may feel strongly that revealing information to a parent could harm the minor or be destructive to the treatment. Refusal to disclose in such a case, even in the face of a parents request, may be legally upholdable. A counselor in this state of affairs should stress both legal counsel and consultation from colleagues. Josephs healer revisited the issue of confidentiality when Joseph ushered a wish that she not cover wi th his mother.A compromise was reached whereby the healer would speak to Josephs mother completely with Joseph present. The issue of confidentiality became more complicated when the therapist felt that certain information should be shared and Josephrefused. The therapist should gently explore with Joseph the reasons behind this refusal. During some sessions, the therapist should be direct with Joseph closely her discomfort with his behavior, especially the illegal activities, and point out the kinds of risks he was fetching. Hope climby, over time, they would agree that Joseph himself would begin to speak to his mother round these issues, and that the therapist could go after up with a phone call. It is classical to discuss each and every stir between the therapist and mother good with Michael, as well as to subscribe his independent use of psychotherapy. Issue twain Trans heathen Issues in CounselingAs a counselor, we will be working with clients from various market-gar denings. In order to work in effect with ethnically divers(a) individuals and separates, it is primal to know what ending means in plentys lives and to recognise differences that faculty be ethnicly-based. The idea of ending is arouse and measurable, but can be very hard to define and represent. burnish is a set of meanings that provides a sort of muster in for how we should think, feel, and behave in order to be a part of a pigeonholing. It includes patterns of traditions, whimseys, values, expectations, and symbols in fact, every aspect of who we are that isnt biological in origin. a good deal plenty are part of more than one last for representative, we may belong to a professional assemblage, a religious group, and friendly groups each of which has its give way of speaking, dressing, and behaving. Often we dont recognise aspects of our market-gardening until we encounter ethnic ideas or practices that are disparate from ours. Knowing our profess cultur e is an of the essence(predicate) aspect of self- aware(predicate)ness, however, be mother we bespeak to be able to recognise culturally-based differences.Some cultural differences that affect way relationships include conversation styles, for example the way words and phrases are used, the degree of splendour given to non-verbal communication, and the appropriate degree of assertiveness in communicating. divergent attitudes toward conflict, for example whether conflict is positive or should be avoided, whether conflict should be intractable in face-to-face meetings. Different shape upes to complete tasks, for example whether or not it is pregnant to build a relationship with some other(prenominal) person in order to work with him or her on completing a task. Different styles of decision-making, forexample major(ip)ity rule or consensus. Different attitudes about loose emotion and personal matters. Different go aboutes to knowing, for example through symbolic imagery and rhythm, library research, visiting people who have had standardized take exceptions. As a counsellor, we will be working with children and families from various cultural backgrounds.One of the most important things to remember is not to assume that another person has the homogeneous values, beliefs, and practices that you do. We have to use our observation, listening, and questioning skills to strike what is important to the other person and how they see the innovationion. We need to be open to nurture about other ways of visual perception and living in the mankind.Counselors need to be aware of their feature ethnicity and how it influences their interactions with other cultural groups. Problems need to be understood inwardly the mount of the persons ethnicity. We short-change from our culture, appropriate ways of responding to illness. For example, one group of people may tend to grumble about their physical problems, term another may deny having any offend and see it as a form of punishment. Attitudes towards try outing help also sidetrack from one ethnic group to another. It is important to clearly spell out the tasks of the number 1 session to all family members and explain in detail the client-counselor relationship. The expectations the family may have about the encounter might be based on its experience with the medical profession. The family may expect the counselor to take jerk and provide advice. By world direct, dynamical and using a structured approach, the counselor establishes rapport with the family. The ethnic group may perceive the family as the primary descent of support for its members. If this is the case, the family may be experiencing pity and guilt for not organism able to solve its own problems. For example, an individual may troll to the family for support and seek our outsiders for support as a last resort. In some cultures, it is not acceptable to have a bun in the oven personal concerns with a st spher er therefore, the clients don the counselor into their family. There may be fears and embarrassment about not being able to speak the oral communication of the governing culture well enough to express difficulties. As a result the counselor may view the client as passive and resistant.Culture influences the familys orientation toward being internally or outwardly controlled. An internally oriented family has the belief that their lordments, or drop of achievements, are determined by their own actions, thus shaping their destiny. On the other hand, an externally oriented family has the belief that achievements and non achievements occur independently of their actions and that the future is predicated on chance. An externally oriented family may be interpreted by an internally focussed counselor as procrastinators. Another important dimension when working with the people who are from cultures opposite than our own is the locus of responsibility. locale of responsibility assess es the amount of responsibility or blame given to the client or the clients arcompassment. Determining if the individual or the system is the cause of the behavior is important when making an assessment and determining interventions. In Canadian culture lots the individual is seen as being responsible for his/her actions. Racial and ethnic minorities whose behaviors deviate from the middle class are labeled as deviant.Be aware of ethno cultural roles and hierarchy. If the father is considered the authority figure, make sure you address him, first present respect for his cultural positions. In attempting to seek information from the children, it is important to acquire permission before proceeding with the interview. Inquire about issues that may be specific to a particular ethnic group. Family members are often delighted to teach counselors about the call insults of their cultural group. If you experience resistance, check to see if you have violated a culture norm. We need to t ake note when the counselor becomes overly concerned about the familys ethnicity to the point where one loses perspective as to their reason for seeking help.A major assumption for culturally medium counseling is that counselors can acknowledge their own tendencies and the recoil of their cultures on other people. Thus, it is essential for counselors to understand their cultures and their worldviews before helping and assisting other people. accord to Padilla, Boxley, and Wagner (1973), there is increasing evidence that the accomplished counselor is not prepared to deal with individuals who are culturally varied from them. pagan sensitivity remains as one of theimportant characteristics of telling counseling. Padilla et als writing also shows that one of the characteristics of an effective counselor is the ability to recognize regeneration and cultural differences. It is undeniable that the need to assure multicultural mixed bag of clients is more open when counselors and clients have contrasting cultural backgrounds.Culture is the core of internal ways in which human beings develop their sense of self, including values, beliefs, public opinion patterns, perceptions, and worldviews. All these qualities help determine and experimental condition ones external culture the ways in which one establishes and maintains a relationship with the environment and others through unverbalised norms, language, traditions, rituals, and loyalties that influence attitudes, behaviors, and customs (Gushue, 1993). While it is dependable that Singapore is a ripple of different ethnic groups, each group has bear frequently of its individual unique cultural character. This is because Singapores policy has eer been geared towards multiculturalism, where every ethnic group is allowed to preserve its own culture term peacefully interacting with others. In the light of this, commission and intervention is always presented indoors the cultural context and constrain ts inherent in our planetary society. The sympathy of a clients unique culture is necessary in order for a counsellor to effectively help the former behave and feel differently in a believe relationship so as to achieve their goals. Psychological judgments are never thaw from the influence of therapists own cultural values. In intervention, counsellors need to be knowledgeable of the culture of their clients because each culture holds different ideas about what constitutes problems in living.As we have grown up in a cosmopolitan environment, we are immersed in various orientations of different ethnic groups. Our sensation of our own culture altogether increases when we go to asss where our culture is not the norm. Similarly in a advise room, when we are with our client from a different culture, our awareness of our own culture tends to increase too. We are aware too of the diversity existing within the same culture as people may communicate and interact in a whole range of wa ys. Our worldviews as ethnic majority are extremely correlated with cultural upbringing and animation experiences. There is a tendency to take for granted that the ethnic minority has full knowledge of our culture since it is pervasive inthe society. On the other hand, some of us harbor tinted views of the ethnic minority that cause us to unwittingly im put upon them stereotypes and conceive notions. In my opinion, sensitivity includes respect and toleration of who they are, the way they are and their beliefs.People of the minority race should be treated reasonably and equally. There isnt a need to treat them with sympathy otherwise, it would only prompt them that they are being differentiated. I knowledgeable from my Indian and Malay friends at school about their feelings as minority races in Singapore and that they prefer to be seen as equals. To be more effective counsellors, we have to first come across ourselves or be aware of our personal values, beliefs, prejudices a nd motives for helping people. For instance, my own cultural beliefs that men should be stronger and be able to take on the world and solve their problems rationally and efficiently make me more sympathetic toward my female clients. The curiosity to explore the deeper meaning of our own cultural behavior will certainly learn and make us more sensitive to the differences or similarities existing in different cultural groups. A wise counsellor would always try to transcend such barriers and enter into the establish of reference of his client and operate from there.The clients we see include students from as young as 6 years old, elder patients at Nursing Homes/hospital. We also have couples with marital, family and financial issues. Their age group ranges from early 20s to the 70s. They are a mix of Singaporean Chinese, Malay, Indian and some immigrants. Our clients are mainly from low to average income group with basic education. English and Mandarin are the main languages used. Dialects are used when hash out the elderly folks.Each member in the group shared both universal and unique cultural issues they face in counseling. The sexism issue Annie regularly encounters involves female victims of home(prenominal) violence in Indian family whose men predominate in positions of power. Most oppressed Indian women inevitably choose not to react for fear of being ostracized by their own family and community. According to Yeo (1989), Asian derives their individuation from membership in a family and a community and focusing on the individual might well alienate the person from the family.Peter and Juliet shared about the greenness gender issue where parents think they must stay with sons only, while conflicts with daughters-in-law are usual issues too. Some parents choose to stay on their own to avoid humiliating their sons. aesculapian and emotional problems may result from loneliness, ridiculous self care and diet.Jennifer related her early experienceIve encountered difficulties on many occasions with clients of a different race, peculiarly Malay clients, in dealing with issues on pregnancy crisis. My early impression was that they were both not willing to share nor undefended to explore other options and alternatives pertaining to their decision to provoke their pregnancy. The session became more fruitful only after I acquired greater consciousness of the Malay culture.For Magdalene, while she is competent in conversational skills with some dialects, attempting to pay pleader proficiencys or skills present a real challenge. Majority of the counselling approaches are westward in origin. The concepts and explanation are all in English. It is easy to miss the deeper nuances when she attempts to apply or translate them into dialect or language which she is not fully competent in.Both Magdalene and Ruth observe that it is culturally the norm of the older generation to arrogate crisis to some external causes and to seek help from temple mediums. The words of the mediums will then be true as truth. It can be a real challenge to counsellors from a different faith.Ruth, the youngest member in our group, perceives age as a stumbling quit to effective counselling when her clients are much older. In the Asian context, age is a sign of maturity and wisdom. With elderly clients, we are expected to show respect and humility, not as someone to solve their problems.Annie face the hearty-economic issue when she encountered Singaporean men who resorted to increase their socio-economic status by taking wives from the poorer ASEAN countries. The wives work out more as domestic helpers orcare providers to the elderly/invalid parents or young nephews and nieces within the extended family. The relationship is come along strained by language barrier and other cultural issues. westerly Counselling Models in Singaporean settingThe group is matter-of-fact in our counselling approach, integrating different therapy mod els to meet the clients unique needs. With cross-cultural interaction comes the possibility that the clients intentions and actions may be misperceived, misinterpreted, and misjudged notably, when we employ the Hesperian counselling models on culturally different clients. We are aware that some of these models may not even fit people from western cultures due to within-culture diversity and other diversity factors beyond culture. (Egan, 2005)The second theme that emerged was the need to understand the worldview of culturally different clients in order to know how best to unify the western counselling models in our counselling work.Magdalene commented that the concept of individuation in Bowen supposition is culturally not in in tandem with many elderly Chinese clients, who come from an environment where the family, community, or clan takes former over self hence distinction of self can be alien to them.A persons indistinguishability is formed and continually influenced by his or her context. Working effectively with clients requires an understanding of how the individual is embedded in the family, which in turn requires an understanding of how the family is affected by its place in a pluralistic culture. (Sue, Ivey & Pedersen, 1996).Bowen guess encourages the therapist to look into the Family of Origin to examine the interlocking relationships. This can present itself negatively as in-laws or family members may not be forthcoming when it comes to talking about sensitive and conflicting issues inflicting the family. Juliet presumed Bowen Theory will be better understood and accepted by theEnglish-educated clients, but she found out to her dismay that some concepts contradict their cultural beliefs.Peter found Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) to be too confrontational in style. vocalizing a client that he is horriblising and catastrophising his disembodied spirit issues when he is seeking understanding from a counsellor in his moments of anxie ty is not going to be welcomed. Asians generally seek familial help when they have problems. The concept of going to a counsellor who is a stranger is already a major deviation from their social norms. Facing a challenging counsellor may get down as a humiliating experience for some.Annies observationSolution-focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) focuses on what clients want to achieve through therapy kinda than on the problem(s) that made them seek help. The approach does not focus on the past, but on the present and future instead. This goes eat up well with the clients she sees who are pragmatic and time-conscious.However, Magdalene observed that asking the miracle question to a pragmatic elderly client may pose a challenge. Some of them have mindsets that have been deeply entrenched in their being they do not see the need to change. Similarly, to challenge the Irrational Beliefs (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) of the elderly whose sense of self has been conditioned to befool a resigne d disposition can be an uphill task.The use of hot-seat fantasy technique to help clients express their feelings where there is simple(a) business may not be favored by the more orthodox and traditional clients as unleashing negative emotions towards the deceased is considered a taboo.Magdalene related her encounter use Gestalt approach, I encouraged him to imagine that the mother was present at the moment, and for him to tell her what was on his mind. He responded, she is already dead, what is there to say? I realized laterthat while he might be severity mouthing and blaming her for his current plight, it was culturally not appropriate for him to confront her.Ruth felt ham-handed when she encountered elderly people who often off-and-on(a) her during conversation to correct her. Her age and lack of knowledge in dialects made it difficult for her to express herself aptly. But she found Carl Rogers Person-Centered therapy useful when working with clients who question her abilities .Multi-cultural CompetenciesThe challenges we face as counsellors in a multicultural environment require that we know and understand the clients culture so as to be congruent with the frame of the world that the client is in during counselling, i.e., individuals are best understood by taking into consideration salient cultural and environmental variables. Regardless of the therapists orientation, it is essential to listen to the clients and determine why they are seeking help and how best to pay the help that is appropriate for them. (Corey, 1996) In this pluralistic and post-modern age, no one helping approach has all the answers for the clients we see due to the complexity of human beings, as expressed by Sue, Ivey and Pedersen (1996).The third theme that emerged was the need for therapists to manufacture therapeutic strategies that are congruent with the range of values and behaviours that are characteristic of a pluralistic society.Jennifer had this to sayWithout a deeper und erstanding of the Malay culture and religion, my counselling sessions with the Malays would certainly be unfruitful. There are family and social pressure to learn within the context of religion and culture. The Malay clients who are big(predicate) out of wedlock find themselves opting for spontaneous abortion as the only way to avoid violating family tradition. I have to work on interventions that are congruent with the values of the clients.It is a sign of respect that counsellor refrains from deciding what behaviour should be changed. Through near questioning on the counsellors part, ethnic minority clients can be helped.The process of internalizing a new culture is an on-going undertaking. Generally the group is willing to be exposed to all kinds of clients so as to open up our own world views of the different cultures in our society. This includes interacting with people of different races at social events and festive celebrations. We recognize that with the culturally-const raint client we have to go wearisome during the first counselling session. The clients can be invited to teach the therapists about the significant separate of their cultural identity.We all acknowledged the importance of supervision and guidance when we are uncertain and need clarification. We also will be seen as more professional if we master the basic terminologies of counselling approaches in other languages/dialects.Having an enquiring and inquisitive mind about the different cultures will help broaden our perspectives. schematic education on the multicultural aspects of counselling will help to hone our skills. We can also gain insights by drill articles and books related to multicultural counselling. There are hefty handbooks offering the theoretical background, practical knowledge, and training strategies needed to achieve multicultural competence. (Pope-Davis, Coleman, Liu, & Toporek, 2004). In addition, there are highly detailed research studies offering further insigh ts in multicultural competence. (Darcy, Lee, & Tracey, 2004). The greater our perspicaciousness and breadth of knowledge of culturally diverse groups, the more we can be effective practitioners (Corey, 2001).ConclusionIn summary, the qualitative doubtfulness has promoted self-awareness of our own personal culture as we develop a sense of the world. Courage, desolation and humility are some important elements we identified to secure trust and word sense by our clients of different cultures. Our group will certainly strive to integrate appropriate counselling approaches to create therapeutic strategies that are congruent with the clients range of values and behaviours, without abdicating our own deepest beliefs and values.