The Manner in Which Ethical Issues Have to Be Dealt With - Assignment Example

Table of Contents Introduction 2 Description of the Incident 2 People who will be impacted 4 Ethical Principles and professional standards of practice 5 Relevant laws, regulations & professional guidelines 5 Reflection on personal feelings and competence 6 Consultation with Others 6 Alternative Course of Action 7 Possible Outcome 7 Ethical Rationale & Monitoring 8 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction The manner in which people encounter different situations have made it mandatory that people look towards understanding the manner in which ethical issues have to be dealt with. The development of new rules and regulations which is aimed at improving the overall performance and ensuring better ethical standards have brought about wide spread changes in the manner people view things and the different rules and regulations which have their applicability in th different situations. This report looks towards presenting a case on ethical issue which highlights the different ethical standards and areas which were not followed and helps to bring forward the manner in which the overall performance gets reflected. In addition to it the paper also presents the manner in which different factors and rules govern the situations and the different alternative as well as the best alternative that can be applied to ensure that the process is genuine and reflects the correct and true situation and steps which will help to ensure maximum benefit for all. Description of the Incident The case shows that Juanita and her husband Russell have differences due to which both of them decided to lead their own life. They have three siblings and Nicholas being the eldest of them all started to sign of stress and emotional outburst due to the unhealthy environment that prevailed in their home. This led towards a fall in grades and a continuous fall in the marks obtained by him. When Susan who is a counselor at school came to know about the thing and understood the situation was able to identify the fact that Nicholas had been affected by the environment at home which had impacted his studies. This led towards a decision that Nicholas would be provided counseling sessions 2 days a week. This proved helpful and the performance of Nicholas started to improve. The situation then took another turn when Russell the father of Nicholas started calling Susan to find out the training and counseling sessions that was provided to his son. The father also told the teacher that the marks were affected because of the fact that Junaita wanted to keep her custody which was affecting them. Russell wanted to gather all the information that the counseling session was providing but due to the ethical rules and professional code of conduct that the counselors have Susan didn’t provide any information. This made Junaita file a complaint with ACA Ethics Committee where they brought forward the fact the Russell was looking towards finding private information which they didn’t want to conceal and ensured that both Nicholas and Juniata wanted to keep the records as secret and out of the hands of Russell which resulted in the case to be filed. Personal differences making others being unethical: The case highlights that the main point of conflict has been the differences which is present between Junaita & Russell which has already divided their family and the increase involvement of Russell to find out the different counseling and other training programs which Nicholas had undergone. Lack of secrecy issues: The complexity of the problem increases as Juniata & Nicholas doesn’t want the secret to be revealed but since Russell is the father of Nicholas and hasn’t been divorced yet nor the legal possession of the child passed on to any one from the verdict of the court Russell has every right to find out the actual matter. Etical issues related to professional code of conduct: Susan who had provided the counseling session based on the professional code of ethics and the code of conduct for counselor has to ensure that if the parties who have undergone the treatment doesn’t want the matter to be known to anyone else then it has to be concealed and the code for counselors also prescribes the same. People who will be impacted The case highlights that the primary client in the situation is Juniata, Russell and Nicholas where as the secondary client is Susan the counselor who has looked towards providing the counseling sessions to Nicholas. The situation will thereby have an impact on every person associated with the situation. Junaita & Nicholas will be impacted as concealing the fact to Russell would mean that Susan hasn’t followed the ethical practices and code of conduct which requires that all material information and treatment which a patient has undergone is concealed. Russell on the other hand every right to know the treatment that has been undertaken because he is the father of Nicholas. Susan on the other hand has to ensure that the professional code of conduct and ethics is followed and he is able to deliver his responsibilities truthfully. The different decisions taken will impact people differently and will give rise to ethical issues like lack of trust, disobeying the rules of professional code of conduct and breaching the contract which requires no material information should be concealed to outsiders. If the information is disclosed that would mean that Susan goes against the professional code of conduct if the information is disclosed by hem. This would also mean that the faith and belief that Nicholas & Junaita had on Susan is breached which will thereby make it difficult for them to continue future counseling sessions with the same person. In case the things are not disclosed then it would mean that Nicholas is not provided with his moral obligations and rights where he has every right to get information regarding his child. The other option is that Junaita & Nicholas look towards disclosing the information which would instead mean that the case which has been filed is incorrect and will be cancelled but it seems unlikely for such a thing to happen. Ethical Principles and professional standards of practice The British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP) Ethical Framework requires that the counselor looks towards following the ethical principles. The BACP states that the counselor should look towards being trustworthy, ensure that the rights of the clients is respected, look towards promoting the well being of the client, ensure no harm is done to the client and act fair (BACP, 2002). This will require that the counselor Susan looks towards protecting the interest of the client and doesn’t look towards passing on the information to outside parties without the prior approval of the clients. The case shows the importance of being trustworthy because if Susan looks towards disclosing the information it means that the decision will be unethical and untrustworthy as the belief of the clients will be shattered. This will also look towards ensuring that no beneficience is ensured as the rights of Junaita & Nicholas will be disobeyed. In addition to it the situation would lead towards untrustworthy situation which would mean that the requirements of the professional code of conduct are ignored (Lawrence & Kurpius, 2000). The moral law of code governing BACP and counselors also require that the counselor maintains empathy, sincerity, integrity, resilience, respect, humility, fairness, and courage while rendering the services (BACP, 2002). This clearly states that the professional code of conduct requires that the counselor looks towards protecting the interest of the party and in no situation look towards passing on material information which might impact the client in the future. Relevant laws, regulations & professional guidelines The fundamental right of a person also states that no person should act in a manner where they look towards passing on information pertaining to the client to the third parties. It should be ensured that at no cost the decision should be made where it looks towards protecting the rights of the person so that maximum benefit can be garnered over a longer period of time (Bond, 2000). This will require that every client and person associated with the case acts fairly and looks towards fulfilling the roles and responsibilities that has been applied The laws relating to the professional body of practices also require that maximum effort is laid to maintain the sovergnity and integrity of the degree which will further make the counselor to ensure that no information is passed on to others. This will also require that a basic structure through which the laws governing the professional bodies is put in place so that long term survival and better decisions can be made (Foster & Black, 2007). Reflection on personal feelings and competence I would have looked towards ensuring that all the clients dealt fairly and at no circumstances the information regarding the client is passed on to third parties or even his father in this situation. The ethical requirements and the professional code of practices also prescribes the fact that at all situation steps should be taken to ensure that they act fairly and ensure that the client is provided with the best service. This will thereby act as a breach of trust and I feel that all steps should be directed in such a manner that it ensures acting fairly in all the situation. Consultation with Others The counsellor in this situation could have looked towards taking the help of other people who have the required experience and knowledge so that better decisions can be arrived at. This will also help to develop strategies through which the decisions arrived will be ethical and look towards confirming with the requirements of the BACP principle and comply with the ethical code of principles Alternative Course of Action I would have looked towards ensuring that all the clients dealt fairly and at no circumstances the information regarding the client is passed on to third parties or even his father in this situation. The ethical requirements and the professional code of practices also prescribes the fact that at all situation steps should be taken to ensure that they act fairly and ensure that the client is provided with the best service. This will thereby act as a breach of trust and I feel that all steps should be directed in such a manner that it ensures acting fairly in all the situation. This will help to act in the manner in which the decisions would have looked towards the benefit of most and delivered superior results. This would have also safeguarded the requirements of the law and helped to deliver ethical results (Abrams, & Loewenthal, 2005) Possible Outcome The best possible outcome in this scenario would be that the counselor i.e. Susan looks towards keeping the requirements of the professional body and acts fairly. This will require that the counselor doesn’t disclose and information and looks towards acting in a manner that will help to keep the image of the profession as well as ensure that he has played his part in ensuring that no information is leaked. The counselor should leave the situation in the hand of Junaita & Russell based on which they will be able to determine whether they will communicate the situation among them. This will help to ensure that all the clients have acted fairly and will help to maintain the required standard through which better service delivery and meeting the different legal requirements will be possible. It will ensure that all clients are satisfied and no onr breaches the law (Bradley & Hendricks, 2008) Ethical Rationale & Monitoring It is imperative that the entire process is properly monitored and ensured that steps are taken through which it will be able to ensure that none of the clients act in a manner which will lead towards being unethical. It has to be ensured that all people remain ethical and act in a manner through which they will be able to ensure that all the different roles and responsibilities are fulfilled in the best possible manner. This will act as a guard and help to ensure that the clients are protected and the overall interest is looked at. This will also help to keep with the requirements of the professional code of conduct and will help to deliver superior performances. Conclusion The report thereby highlights the different ethical issues which the situation is arising. It is becoming imperative that the different issues are dealt in the most diligent manner by ensuring that the counselor remains ethical and fair and looks towards protecting the interest of the client. This will automatically convert into better standards and will thereby ensure that they are able to ensure that the high standards of the professional body are maintained. This will thereby ensure that they will be able to develop better alternatives and ensure that they are able to match the requirements of the clients. References Abrams, E. & Loewenthal, D. (2005). Responsibility and ethico-moral values in counselling and psychotherapy. Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 16(1), 73–86. BACP (2002) Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counseling and Psychotherapy Rugby: BACP Bond, T. (2000) Standards and Ethics for Counseling in Action London: Sage. 2nd edition, London Bradley, L. & Hendricks, C. (2008). Ethical decision making: Basic issues. The Family Journal, 16(3), 261–263. Foster, D. & Black, T. (2007). An integral approach to counseling ethics. Counseling & Values, 51(3), 221–234. Lawrence, G. & Kurpius, S. (2000). Legal and ethical issues involved when counseling minors in nonschool settings. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78(2), 130–136. Read More