To Friend or not to Friend - Research Paper Example

To Friend or not to Friend The twenty first century has seen a massive increase in the use of social networking across the world.This increased usage has transversed all sectors and professional fields alike, living everybody connected in one way or another to other people through their tiniest personal devices such as the mobile phones and the tablets. For example, Facebook, which is one of the widely used social media site, in the period between 2009 and 2010 reported that its membership had more than doubled (Bratt, 2010). With such connectivity between people, the key question that arise concerns the impacts of social networking on those professions such as social work that have strict guidelines on client-professional relationship. Enlisting counselors as one profession in the larger social work bracket, the use of the social network sites has numerous ethical and professional implications on the practitioners. While the social networks provide essential tools for connecting with friends and family, counselors should be aware of the ethical concerns that surround their use. This paper, therefore, aims to evaluate the ethical dilemmas that could be caused by counselors having their clients as friends on the social media sites. The social media sites have been defined as the spaces for individual presentation of self, expression of social networks, and establishment and maintenance of communication with others. Members, through the utility of the sites, post personal information, they share pictures and create connections with other users who they share similar interest. For the users of these sites negative, chances of negative consequences being produced exist particularly in relation to public disclosure of private information online (Brew, Cervantes & Shepard, 2014). The helping professionals are also not exempted to the potential harm that may be caused from irresponsible use of the online resources. Numerous ethical and professional concerns are raised by the relatively easy access to the private information publicly posted. While the counselors may bask in the advantage of the social media providing various tools for the maintenance of relationship with people such as clients living far distances away, serious issues are raised by the use of the social networks regarding ethical personal conducts and boundaries. It is indeed a proclaimed responsibility for the professional counselors to be aware of the impacts of their actions on other people, especially the clients. This statement bears significance to how the counselors should conduct themselves both outside and within the counseling arena. The advice for counselors within the confines of a counseling session is always the recognition of their own needs and making efforts to keep the needs from hindering the therapeutic development of the clients (Bratt, 2010). The suspension of actions such as those of self disclosure is usually considered an ethical practice, unless it is to the belief of the counselor that the self disclosure bears some benefit to the client. In the confines of counseling, the definition of self-disclosure can be advanced as the proclamation of personal instead of professional information to the client by the therapist. As such, the conscious maintenance of a degree of control over personal disclosures is important within the spheres of direct interpersonal communications (Handon, n.d.). Nevertheless, as a result of the increasingly popular use of the social media, the counselors must be cautious of the self disclosures made in the cyber jurisdiction. The internet and the associated online resources have indeed altered the nature of self disclosure and transparency for the helping professionals. Even though self disclosure is conceived of as purposeful, Bratt (2010) asserts that the potential occurrence of unintentional disclosures cannot be ignored. Since the social media sites are fundamentally ‘conferences’ for relaying personal information, using these sites increases the risk of counselors getting involved in the unintentional disclosures. Through the use of various online resources available, many clients have the capacity to find essential information regarding their therapists. This is especially quite common through memberships to social networks such as tweeter, Facebook, and MySpace. Although the intention of the client may be benign such as curiosity, chances are there for committing malign actions that may include befriending of the counselor through the use of online pseudonym. Such intrusive and curious clients using false names may scour the very private and personal information without the knowledge of the counselor (Brew, Cervantes & Shepard, 2014). The issues of unintentional self-disclosures bring forth the need for counselors to enforce awareness of their own attitudes and how they carry themselves outside the context of the sessions. Therapists in their line of duty are likely to embrace and put to practice the needed attitudes of a helper such as open mindedness and empathy. It is nevertheless notable that outside the sessions, the counselors may demonstrate behaviors or attitudes that are not therapeutic (Bratt, 2010). For instance, in their personal lives the counselors may respond or offer a naughty humor, get involved in political criticisms, or demonstrate prejudicial attitudes. The demonstration of socially unacceptable attitudes, involvement in questionable or irresponsible behaviors by the counselors in their private lives may become known in the community (Brew, Cervantes & Shepard, 2014). This may consequently tarnish their professional reputations. This, therefore, shows that if the counselors engage in such behaviors within the spheres of the online social network, the chances of negative consequences are increased by the available vast readership over the internet platform. The lack of professionalism or a slip in the demonstration of the same may impose significant deleterious impacts on one’s career. From the beginning of the career in counseling, one of the most stressed principles is usually the importance of the confidentiality of the client. Since the counselors hold a great wealth of information (some intimate) about their clients, complex ethical and legal obligations exist on the need to keep such information private (Bratt, 2010). Confidentiality within the realms of counseling are defined as basic and essential ethical responsibility by counselors to employ any reasonable precaution to safeguard and respect the information disclosed by a client. All counselors, therefore, reserve the responsibility of protecting such information from irrelevant revelation to people outside the therapeutic relationship. The importance of client autonomy is addressed through the principles of respect for self-determination and integrity in relationship that underlie the profession of counseling (Handon, n.d.). This emphasizes the need for clients to live their own lives information regarding their well being kept in confidence. However, with recent technological advancements, confidentiality has become a big issue as a result of the online conduct of professionals. A temptation to or potential for the counselors to reveal their clients’ private information is increased through the utility of the social networks and social media (Brew, Cervantes & Shepard, 2014). A counselor may post information about the situation he has had without mentioning the name of the client. However, as Bratt (2010) asserts, the online audience to confidential information posted by the social workers or other professionals may in one way or the other identify the client based on whatever description is available on the postings. The confidentiality act requires the client information to be revealed only in situations such as with a written consent from the client, a court-order served to the counselor, concern for public safety and health, and/or law enforcement proceeding (Bratt, 2010). Since any of these conditions are not met by the social media, the revelation of the client information in such platforms may attract considerable legal ramifications. The revelation of such information also poses considerable harm to the client. Through the use of the social media or networks, there is the possibility of building multiple relationships. Multiple relationships in counseling is described as those relationships in which a counselor is in a professional role with a client besides another role with the same client, or with a different individual who is close to the client. Even though no code of ethics in counseling advances that nonsexual multiple relationships with clients is not ethical, such multiple relationships are largely discouraged (Bratt, 2010, 340). Such discouragements are, therefore, advanced as norms of the profession. The establishment of the multiple relationships is generally objected because they may impair the judgment of the counselors, or their ability to provide effective services. Multiple relationships also harbor the threat of causing exploitation or harm to the client (Handon, n.d.). Such relationships are also discouraged because of their potentiality of undermining the potential of counselors to maintain the basic principles upon which counseling profession is based. Through the possible interactions and relationships that a counselor may build with his clients through the use of social media and social networks, multiple relationships are likely to be established, which is a threat to the execution of responsibilities in line with the stipulated principles of counseling. In conclusion, various ethical dilemmas result from counselors having clients as friends in the social media. The dilemmas as have been discussed revolve around the issues of multiple relationships, the principles of counseling such as confidentiality, unintentional self disclosure among others. References Bratt, W. (2010). Ethical considerations of social networking for counselors. Canadian Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy, ISSN 0826-3893 Vol. 44 No. 4 © 2010 Pages 335–345 Brew, L., Cervantes J. M., & Shepard, D.(2014). Millenial counselors and the ethical use of Facebook.. Retrieved from http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org/millennial-counselors-and-the-ethical-use-of-facebook/ Handon, R. M.(n.d.). Client relationships and ethical boundaries for social workers in child welfare. Retrieved from http://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/ethics-articles/Client_Relationships_and_Ethical_Boundaries_for_Social_Workers_in_Child_Welfare/ Read More