Key Assessment: Legal and Ethical Application / Reflection Paper
As a counselor several key components guide our decisions for ethical and legal practice. Following the designated ethical codes of your specialty is of utmost importance. Professional codes guide our judgement, practice, and sound decisions. Ethical decisions, duty to warn and protect, countertransference, and supervision are all criteria to evaluate how counselors determine an ethical practice. Each criteria provides an opportunity for a counselor to significantly improve as an ethical counselor if followed by standards of a designated code of ethic. While code of ethics is a guideline, a counselor must be fully encompassed on judgement and responsibility of the counseling practice. …show more content…
The student also informs the counselor that homophobic slurs were used and his current teachers witnessed without interaction. As a school counselor, in this situation, I would revert to the American School Counselor Association Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2016) that describes the responsibility to students to be concerned with academic and social/emotion needs of the student (ASCA, 2016). In this situation, I would report to the parents/guardians and necessary school authorities of the bullying and physical abuse that the child is experiencing. ASCA Code of ethics mandates that the counselor reports any harm being done to the child either physically or mentally, along with following applicable federal, state, and local laws (ASCA, 2016). The incidences that the child reported to the counselor are serious abuse both physically and mentally. I would implement a safety plan for the student such as a schedule change, with the corporation of the school’s administration. The severity of the issue should be explained in high regard to the school’s administration and ensure the child’s safety from the suspected abuse. Disciplinary procedures are to be left up to the school administration and should not be implemented by the school counselor (ASCA, …show more content…
Ethics will follow every case, every supervision, and every aspect of the counseling field. The necessity to understand and continual education on ethics is of high regard for myself and the profession. The first take-away of this course is client rights and counselor responsibility. Informed consent, professional responsibility in record keeping, and malpractice were highly informative and relevant to the education as a counselor. Informed consent is a vital role in the counseling process and is stated in almost every professional code of ethics in counseling. Informed consent is the beginning of the therapeutic relationship and sets the framework to a conducive relationship. Malpractice is apparent in any licensed professional area of study. I took away ways that I need to be ethically sound and areas that I can seek supervision to prevent malpractice. The second take-away is the general phrase “welfare of clients”. In ethical counseling, every step should be calculated for the welfare of the client and positive outcome of the client. The client should be at the forefront of the relationship and all action should be indicative of the well-being of that client. This phrase is mentioned throughout the book in almost every chapter, and is of utmost importance in my education as a counselor. The final take-away is self-reflection and self-care.
As a counselor several key components guide our decisions for ethical and legal practice. Following the designated ethical codes of your specialty is of utmost importance. Professional codes guide our judgement, practice, and sound decisions. Ethical decisions, duty to warn and protect, countertransference, and supervision are all criteria to evaluate how counselors determine an ethical practice. Each criteria provides an opportunity for a counselor to significantly improve as an ethical counselor if followed by standards of a designated code of ethic. While code of ethics is a guideline, a counselor must be fully encompassed on judgement and responsibility of the counseling practice. …show more content…
The student also informs the counselor that homophobic slurs were used and his current teachers witnessed without interaction. As a school counselor, in this situation, I would revert to the American School Counselor Association Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2016) that describes the responsibility to students to be concerned with academic and social/emotion needs of the student (ASCA, 2016). In this situation, I would report to the parents/guardians and necessary school authorities of the bullying and physical abuse that the child is experiencing. ASCA Code of ethics mandates that the counselor reports any harm being done to the child either physically or mentally, along with following applicable federal, state, and local laws (ASCA, 2016). The incidences that the child reported to the counselor are serious abuse both physically and mentally. I would implement a safety plan for the student such as a schedule change, with the corporation of the school’s administration. The severity of the issue should be explained in high regard to the school’s administration and ensure the child’s safety from the suspected abuse. Disciplinary procedures are to be left up to the school administration and should not be implemented by the school counselor (ASCA, …show more content…
Ethics will follow every case, every supervision, and every aspect of the counseling field. The necessity to understand and continual education on ethics is of high regard for myself and the profession. The first take-away of this course is client rights and counselor responsibility. Informed consent, professional responsibility in record keeping, and malpractice were highly informative and relevant to the education as a counselor. Informed consent is a vital role in the counseling process and is stated in almost every professional code of ethics in counseling. Informed consent is the beginning of the therapeutic relationship and sets the framework to a conducive relationship. Malpractice is apparent in any licensed professional area of study. I took away ways that I need to be ethically sound and areas that I can seek supervision to prevent malpractice. The second take-away is the general phrase “welfare of clients”. In ethical counseling, every step should be calculated for the welfare of the client and positive outcome of the client. The client should be at the forefront of the relationship and all action should be indicative of the well-being of that client. This phrase is mentioned throughout the book in almost every chapter, and is of utmost importance in my education as a counselor. The final take-away is self-reflection and self-care.