A counselor has a client that has been struggling with using crystal meth for a while now. The client goes to Narcotics Anonymous meetings and enjoys the environment and community that the group allocates. Although he goes to NA meetings, the client does not want to entirely give up using crystal meth. Given that he does not want to be fully sober, he contacts his prior boyfriend, who always has access to the drug. Whenever he wants to use meth, his former boyfriend is the person is the provider. Recently, his former boyfriend offered to trade the meth for sex in return. The client complied and used the drug. During a session, the client informs the counselor that throughout the sexual interaction he began to feel uncomfortable …show more content…
He fears that his NA acquaintances will find out he was using meth again. When working as a substance abuse counselor at an LGBQT center, there are very ethical dilemmas that arise. A substance abuse counselor supports individuals to overpower those feelings and emotions that trigger drug and/or alcohol abuse. Operating those services in a LGBQT center will convey intersecting situations. For instance, the counselor will partaken a challenging position with the confidentiality of the client because he is being asked to not report that he was a victim of rape, on behalf of his prior boyfriend.
Part A- Ethical Dilemmas The client asked his counselor if he would not report that his past boyfriend raped him. He does not want the information to reach his friends in NA due to them discovering that he was using meth again. This puts the counselor in an ethical dilemma of confidentiality. According to the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics, section B.1.d, on the first session of counseling with a new client, counselors must notify clients about the limitations of confidentiality. They have to identify circumstances where confidentiality could be broken. In this case, the counselor could decide to report the rape because it put the wellbeing of the client at risk. The counselor might …show more content…
According to Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals, seventh standard during therapy, biases and values cannot be inflicted towards clients. Having ethical competence is remembering to not bring personal feelings, values and biases while with a client. Knowing you have those prejudices and working to change and control them aids your professionalism and the counselor to client relationship. Operating your services in a LGBQT center and agreeing to work there knowing that you will be discriminating against clients due to your values is ethically incorrect. Strain on individuals like not being accepted by others and not having the support of peers, family members and the community aid, the rise of mental health issues in the LGBQT community (Sue & Sue, 2016). The client using crystal meth and agreeing to trade sex for it can be a result from struggles people have put in their path due to being a member of the LBGQT community. Being a counselor to a client that is substance abusing and identifying as part of this community, you must be attentive of the intersectionality’s that are