A Dual Boundary-Crossing - Essay Example

Section 1: Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships

Part A: Decision making – Decision-Making Model and Counseling Examples

Determining whether a dual boundary-crossing or dual relationship is ethical and appropriate primarily depends on the level of engagement a counselor shares with his or her client (Wheeler, & Bertram, 2015). To determine whether or not a boundary-crossing or dual relationship is ethical, I would seek to establish whether the relationship is sexual or exploitative in nature and whether it is, in fact, avoidable or mandated. In addition, although a client is rarely ever in charge of choosing what a counselor does, in case of risky situations, the counselor can make sure the client understands the matter and issues at hand. A dual or boundary-crossing relationship can be appropriate if it is of low intensity and is necessary in the counseling process. Lastly, such a relationship may be appropriate if it is a social dual relationship where the client and the counselor are friends, professional colleagues, business partners, or the relationship is mandated parallel to the specific setting the two are placed.

When making my decision regarding whether the relationship is appropriate and ethical, I would respond to several questions to ensure that the various aspects of the relationship contribute to the appropriateness of the relationship. First, I would seek to determine whether the dual relationship is necessary. In this case, the dual or boundary-crossing relationship is necessary if it contributes to the therapeutic process positively. For instance, if the client needs to have a closer relationship with the counselor in order to be open, the relationship would be necessary. If it is necessary, then I would proceed to establish if the dual relationship is exploitative. Exploitation of clients is both unethical and inappropriate. If exploitation can be avoided or is not evident, I would conclude that the relationship is ethical. For instance, if the counselor buys the client dinner, the client has less chances of being exploited as opposed to when the counselor asks or demands the client to buy then dinner. In addition, I would seek to find out who, between the counselor and the client, stands to benefit from the relationship and if the relationship could damage the patient or disrupt the counseling process. An example in this case would involve physical attraction between the client and the counselor that has the potential to lead to a sexual relationship. If the counselor stands to benefit in this case, the relationship would both be inappropriate and unethical. Lastly, to determine whether the relationships is ethical, I would establish whether the client gave informed consent in as far as the risks involved in the dual relationship are concerned (Herlihy, & Corey, 2014). An example in this case would be a situation where the counselor needs to consult a colleague by sharing some information about the client. The counselor could document a signed agreement to reflect informed consent of the client.

Part B-Ethical Issues and Dimensions

The ethical issues and personal opinion regarding the appropriateness of a dual relationship change depending on how long after the termination of the counseling process a relationship is established. Seeing that the therapeutic relationship is terminated and its purpose is served as needed, the said concerns on appropriateness and ethics are bound to change since the counselor and client cease to have professional-client relationship bound by a code of conduct that limits their interaction. However, it is in the best interests of the two individuals to decide whether they would like to initiate another dual relationship outside the confines of the counselor’s scope of work.

After the therapy is terminated, several ethical dimensions can change. One key dimension is that of the extent of their relationship in as far as physical attraction between the counselor and the former client is concerned. A former client may not have an issue with establishing a physical relationship with their former counselor. Secondly, exploitation as an ethical dimension would change, especially if the physical attraction between them is evident and they both stand to benefit from the relationship. However, it is in the best interests of the client to avoid getting in such a relationship, especially if they shared sensitive information about themselves or their lives that may act as points of weakness that may facilitate their manipulation for the benefit of the counselor. There are various situations that can be considered as a boundary violation with current clients but may be acceptable with former clients. One such situation is when a counselor engages in a sexual dual relationship with a former client whose therapeutic relationship was terminated long ago. Such a dual relationship may be considered a boundary violation if it is with a current client or a recently terminated client (Gutheil, & Brodsky, 2011). In this case, the time between the termination and initiation of another dual relationship outside therapy plays a significant role in determining if the relationship is unethical and inappropriate or otherwise.

Section 2: Professional Collaboration in Counseling

Working with a Multidisciplinary Team

Often, professional counselors work with other stakeholders, including colleagues, regarding the care of their clients for the purposes of maintaining professional and ethical boundaries and practices. Normally, if agencies that work with a client execute their functions independently of each other, the client may be subjected to fragmented services, which may fail to address the client wholly as a person (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, n.d). By working with other stakeholders, a counselor ensures the being of a shared vision among collaborators. This may facilitate strategies meant to achieve the common goal of a healthy client. With the engagement of other stakeholders, a client stands to benefit from improved health as fragmentation is prevented(Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, n.d). Collaboration between the counselor and stakeholders further ensure that perspective and responsibility is shared to facilitate the meeting of people’s needs and making sure therapeutic progress towards treatment goals already established by the engagement.

Typically, counselors and other stakeholders bring with them rather naturally and inevitably their toolbox of skills, perspective, knowledge and experience. In addition, like other professionals, counselors engage in their work with others from different angles to provide different viable options of approaching issues and cases to deliver successful treatment and recovery (ACA, 2014). Further, counselors may engage other stakeholders regarding a client’s care to receive different opinions on planning, consult on issues regarding risk and safety of the client and discuss and deliberate on developmental concerns regarding the client(ACA, 2014).

Working independently as a counselor I would share a personal space with my clients and work with them to facilitate their treatment. I would also work collaboratively with other mental health professionals to make sure that my clients receive quality care. Collaboratingwith other professionals, I would not hesitate to share my perspective on different issues concerning the wellbeing of my client and I would also be open to consider other perspectives from other stakeholders. I would be quick to provide viable recommendations available.

In a multidisciplinary team, a counselor plays a number of roles to facilitate the delivery shared treatment goals. In interdisciplinary teamwork, counselors are mainly focused on how best clients can be served(ACA, 2014). In addition, they participate and contribute in the making of decisions that seek to affect the health and well-being of clients by considering different values, perspectives, and experiences of their profession as well as those of colleagues from other related disciplines(ACA, 2014).

Relationships with Supervisors and Colleagues

Clinical supervisors play a significant role in counseling. According to the ACA Code of Ethics, the primary responsibilities of clinical supervisors include the incorporation of the principles of informed consent into their supervision, establishing and communicating procedures of establishing contact with supervisors in case of emergencies and absences, and sensitizing supervisees about the professional, ethical and legal standards and responsibilities(ACA, 2014).

Supervisor-counselor relationship, like any other relationship, has ethical issues that are different from the typical counselor-client relationship. One ethical issue regards confidentiality(Audet, 2011). Both the counselor and the supervisor must ensure that the depth of discussion they have is ethical and any information shared is kept confidential. Essentially, it is common practice to ensure that all explicit identifying information is confidential. Other ethical issues regard their physical relationship. The relationship is similar to that of the counselor and client in that information shared between them can only be used for supervisory purposes. On the other hand, it differs in the sense that the supervisor-counselor relationship can have a more intimate physical relationship than that of the counselor with the client (Audet, 2011).

Responding to issues regarding unethical conduct and incompetence of fellow counselors, I would adopt a criteria integrated in an ethical decision making model to address these concerns. Here, I would establish the issue of concern and investigate it to establish the finer aspects of the case before issuing a decision. I would then come up with other alternatives to address the situation and review their potential impacts on the overall operations. Lastly, I would select the most viable decision after which I would evaluate the consequences to establish if it properly addressed the issue of concern that prompted the process.

Section 3: Development of Your Thinking about Ethics

Throughout the course, I have learnt and come across important details related to ethical practice which I believe have significantly informed and improved my thinking about ethical practice. To start with, ethical practices apply to all professions including those associated with counseling and mentoring and therefore regulates how they relate to their clients and other stakeholders in multidisciplinary establishments(Owens, Springwood, & Wilson, 2012). In addition, through the course, I have learnt that ethical dilemmas are more common and may be difficult to resolve than one may think and that to solve these dilemmas. One is expected to engage in an ethical decision making process that is carefully-considered and aligns with ethical reasoning, professional ethical values and principles as well as ethical standards (Owens, Springwood, & Wilson, 2012).

Section 2: Professional Collaboration in Counseling

Working with a Multidisciplinary Team

Often, professional counselors work with other stakeholders, including colleagues, regarding the care of their clients for the purposes of maintaining professional and ethical boundaries and practices. Normally, if agencies that work with a client execute their functions independently of each other, the client may be subjected to fragmented services, which may fail to address the client wholly as a person (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, n.d). By working with other stakeholders, a counselor ensures the being of a shared vision among collaborators. This may facilitate strategies meant to achieve the common goal of a healthy client. With the engagement of other stakeholders, a client stands to benefit from improved health as fragmentation is prevented(Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, n.d). Collaboration between the counselor and stakeholders further ensure that perspective and responsibility is shared to facilitate the meeting of people’s needs and making sure therapeutic progress towards treatment goals already established by the engagement.

Typically, counselors and other stakeholders bring with them rather naturally and inevitably their toolbox of skills, perspective, knowledge and experience. In addition, like other professionals, counselors engage in their work with others from different angles to provide different viable options of approaching issues and cases to deliver successful treatment and recovery (ACA, 2014). Further, counselors may engage other stakeholders regarding a client’s care to receive different opinions on planning, consult on issues regarding risk and safety of the client and discuss and deliberate on developmental concerns regarding the client(ACA, 2014).

Working independently as a counselor I would share a personal space with my clients and work with them to facilitate their treatment. I would also work collaboratively with other mental health professionals to make sure that my clients receive quality care. Collaboratingwith other professionals, I would not hesitate to share my perspective on different issues concerning the wellbeing of my client and I would also be open to consider other perspectives from other stakeholders. I would be quick to provide viable recommendations available.

In a multidisciplinary team, a counselor plays a number of roles to facilitate the delivery shared treatment goals. In interdisciplinary teamwork, counselors are mainly focused on how best clients can be served(ACA, 2014). In addition, they participate and contribute in the making of decisions that seek to affect the health and well-being of clients by considering different values, perspectives, and experiences of their profession as well as those of colleagues from other related disciplines(ACA, 2014).

Relationships with Supervisors and Colleagues

Clinical supervisors play a significant role in counseling. According to the ACA Code of Ethics, the primary responsibilities of clinical supervisors include the incorporation of the principles of informed consent into their supervision, establishing and communicating procedures of establishing contact with supervisors in case of emergencies and absences, and sensitizing supervisees about the professional, ethical and legal standards and responsibilities(ACA, 2014).

Supervisor-counselor relationship, like any other relationship, has ethical issues that are different from the typical counselor-client relationship. One ethical issue regards confidentiality(Audet, 2011). Both the counselor and the supervisor must ensure that the depth of discussion they have is ethical and any information shared is kept confidential. Essentially, it is common practice to ensure that all explicit identifying information is confidential. Other ethical issues regard their physical relationship. The relationship is similar to that of the counselor and client in that information shared between them can only be used for supervisory purposes. Read More