Discussion Questions
3.) How important do you think maintaining the marriage should be when a couple enters relationship counseling because of conflict and emotional distress? Do counselors have a greater ethical responsibility to encourage couples to maintain the marriage when children are involved? What guidelines would you provide to a new couple 's counselor trying to help a couple decide whether to stay together or divorce?
I believe that maintaining the marriage should be the decision of the parties involved when a couple enters relationship counseling because of the conflicts and emotional distress that can be involved. I would not want to impose my personal beliefs on my client’s. By having a conversation around what values each client …show more content…
First, the counselor needs to have a conversation about what the family/group counseling process looks like, how the counselor is assessing the family/group, and also mentioning being aware of the impact of disclosure by other members of the system if any others are involved. Second, one should evaluate how the family unit is currently working and what changes they can make to keep the overall family cohesion if they want to keep the family together. Third, is to inform the family or group about who the client is and what guidelines and rules come with this in regards to issues of boundaries and confidentiality. The “client” is essential all members of the family/group and as the counselor one has an ethical responsibility to all of them. So one must be able to keep track of what is said in an individual session and within a family session. Also, if I was a supervisor, I would recommend all three of these things to be met before helping them to make any decisions on whether to stay together or divorce. The client’s must understand the process and be actively engaged before making any life changing decisions. As a supervisor I would make sure this was how my supervisee was acting and ensure these steps were met first by discussing this in the supervision process. I would recommend keeping these steps in mind for all providers …show more content…
What ethical dilemmas does that duty to confidentiality present to the family counselor? Do you agree with the standard that requires counselors to keep confidential the disclosure of any family member if it was communicated in an individual session?
I think counselors should keep individual’s secrets because this is an essential part of counseling due to confidentiality and the limitations of confidentiality. When a client discloses something to the counselor in confidence it should not be disclosed unless this client is harming themselves or another. I would encourage the client to let the family know if they believe this may be beneficial to do, but I would not break the trust of my client unless they were harming themselves or another. With this being said I may feel uncomfortable about keeping a secret during sessions with the family, but I would know that this is my ethical responsibility as a counselor. Again, I would have a conversation early on about these guidelines and remind my clients about what the family/group counseling process looks like, how the counselor is assessing the family/group, and mention the need to always be aware of the impact of disclosure by other members of the system during the initial
3.) How important do you think maintaining the marriage should be when a couple enters relationship counseling because of conflict and emotional distress? Do counselors have a greater ethical responsibility to encourage couples to maintain the marriage when children are involved? What guidelines would you provide to a new couple 's counselor trying to help a couple decide whether to stay together or divorce?
I believe that maintaining the marriage should be the decision of the parties involved when a couple enters relationship counseling because of the conflicts and emotional distress that can be involved. I would not want to impose my personal beliefs on my client’s. By having a conversation around what values each client …show more content…
First, the counselor needs to have a conversation about what the family/group counseling process looks like, how the counselor is assessing the family/group, and also mentioning being aware of the impact of disclosure by other members of the system if any others are involved. Second, one should evaluate how the family unit is currently working and what changes they can make to keep the overall family cohesion if they want to keep the family together. Third, is to inform the family or group about who the client is and what guidelines and rules come with this in regards to issues of boundaries and confidentiality. The “client” is essential all members of the family/group and as the counselor one has an ethical responsibility to all of them. So one must be able to keep track of what is said in an individual session and within a family session. Also, if I was a supervisor, I would recommend all three of these things to be met before helping them to make any decisions on whether to stay together or divorce. The client’s must understand the process and be actively engaged before making any life changing decisions. As a supervisor I would make sure this was how my supervisee was acting and ensure these steps were met first by discussing this in the supervision process. I would recommend keeping these steps in mind for all providers …show more content…
What ethical dilemmas does that duty to confidentiality present to the family counselor? Do you agree with the standard that requires counselors to keep confidential the disclosure of any family member if it was communicated in an individual session?
I think counselors should keep individual’s secrets because this is an essential part of counseling due to confidentiality and the limitations of confidentiality. When a client discloses something to the counselor in confidence it should not be disclosed unless this client is harming themselves or another. I would encourage the client to let the family know if they believe this may be beneficial to do, but I would not break the trust of my client unless they were harming themselves or another. With this being said I may feel uncomfortable about keeping a secret during sessions with the family, but I would know that this is my ethical responsibility as a counselor. Again, I would have a conversation early on about these guidelines and remind my clients about what the family/group counseling process looks like, how the counselor is assessing the family/group, and mention the need to always be aware of the impact of disclosure by other members of the system during the initial