Dual Relationships and Their Effects on Group Counseling with the Addicted Population The American Counseling Association (ACA) lays out a substantive and encompassing groundwork in terms of ethical guidelines for practicing counselors in their Code of Ethics. Many areas are addressed, including confidentiality, personal values, issues related to diversity and multicultural competence, just to name a few. As a future counselor, who is himself in recovery from addiction, one of the ethical standards that is very poignant and relevant when working with clients who have substance abuse disorders, is the area of dual relationships. This issue becomes increasingly relevant when the geographic area of practice is increasingly rural. Section A.6
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For this discussions sake, I will focus on the negative. The purpose of groups such as AA and NA, is for recovering individuals to share the struggles and successes they are encountering in sobriety, while leaning on the group for support. One common situation concerning drug and alcohol counseling is the issue of mandated clients. Doyle (1997) mentioned the perceived power of a counselor, and the effect that can have on a client engaged in the court system. While this client may not be willing to share during group about a possible relapse, or potential illegal behavior, they may feel that a group such as AA or NA, where anonymity is the leading principle, is a safe place to discuss their struggles. If the client is uncomfortable with the counselor’s presence, they may stop attending, even at the risk of revoked probation or parole, out of perceived notions of the counselor’s role and power of their …show more content…
It is a place that they have come to understand and appreciate for their own recovery; a place where they can discuss aspects of their addiction without judgement, in order to learn and grow. Often times, this includes being asked to share their “experience of strength and hope.” This is essentially an individual’s story of addiction and recovery, entailing what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now. Doyle (1997) stated, “for the substance abuse counselor at a meeting with current (or former or future) clients in attendance, the ability to share fully might be compromised, thus lessening the benefit of attending at all,” (p. 430). Everyone’s story is different, but when one is truly honest, the story itself can have a lot of information that can be held up for judgement, especially by a client. Therefore, a recovering counselor may hold back, or not share at all, which would in fact take away from their own recovery process. Furthermore, for many in recovery, meetings are the number one self-care act; limiting, or avoiding them, would affect overall self-care and spiritual
For this discussions sake, I will focus on the negative. The purpose of groups such as AA and NA, is for recovering individuals to share the struggles and successes they are encountering in sobriety, while leaning on the group for support. One common situation concerning drug and alcohol counseling is the issue of mandated clients. Doyle (1997) mentioned the perceived power of a counselor, and the effect that can have on a client engaged in the court system. While this client may not be willing to share during group about a possible relapse, or potential illegal behavior, they may feel that a group such as AA or NA, where anonymity is the leading principle, is a safe place to discuss their struggles. If the client is uncomfortable with the counselor’s presence, they may stop attending, even at the risk of revoked probation or parole, out of perceived notions of the counselor’s role and power of their …show more content…
It is a place that they have come to understand and appreciate for their own recovery; a place where they can discuss aspects of their addiction without judgement, in order to learn and grow. Often times, this includes being asked to share their “experience of strength and hope.” This is essentially an individual’s story of addiction and recovery, entailing what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now. Doyle (1997) stated, “for the substance abuse counselor at a meeting with current (or former or future) clients in attendance, the ability to share fully might be compromised, thus lessening the benefit of attending at all,” (p. 430). Everyone’s story is different, but when one is truly honest, the story itself can have a lot of information that can be held up for judgement, especially by a client. Therefore, a recovering counselor may hold back, or not share at all, which would in fact take away from their own recovery process. Furthermore, for many in recovery, meetings are the number one self-care act; limiting, or avoiding them, would affect overall self-care and spiritual