Counselor Ethics and Responsibilites Paper-5

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Grand Canyon University *

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505

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Health Science

Date

Apr 29, 2024

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pdf

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9

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Counselor Ethics and Responsibilities Paper Angelica K. Hasan Grand Canyon University CNL-505: Professional Counseling, Ethical and Legal Considerations Dr. James Powell April 10, 2024
Introduction Many components are considered for ethical responsibilities and guidelines a counselor must follow. It is the counselor's responsibility to make sure they protect themselves and the client. To protect their client and themselves, they must do the following: warn and protect client records, maintain self-care, advocate for government affairs, do not project beliefs, and values as a counselor. During this paper it will briefly speak upon the ethical responsibilities the counselor must maintain and detailed information about the factors mentioned above. The Counselors Role in Protecting Clients Rights Counselors are key factors when it comes to evolving and shaping the community and an individual. Within the health care system, it is particularly important to have personal autonomy. “Patients are encouraged to make autonomous decisions regarding their goals and treatment plans” (Corey et al., 2023). It is mentioned by Ryan “ that clients will feel more autonomous about their treatment when they are given the opportunity to define the importance of the steppingstones that must be taken as part of the treatment procedure .” (Ryan et al, pg. 201, 2011). Autonomy refers to the clients' right to make decisions about their own treatment. Counselors respect this by respecting client's choice to refuse or terminate treatment, inform clients about risk and benefits before treatment and making sure to obtain consents before treatment. Nomaleficence also known as “do no harm” is a fundamental principle in counseling . “Counselors should refrain from any actions that risk hurting clients” (Corey et al., 2023) . Counselors will uphold this by avoiding actions that could harm clients psychologically, mentally, and physically. As well as seeking supervision when lacking assurance of the potential harm of treatment or intervention and making sure to refrain from relationships with clients that could lead to exploitation or harm. “In other words, the counselor will promote and contribute
towards client's welfare at all times” (Mertz, et al., 2016). Beneficence refers to promoting good for others, also meaning the counselor will contribute to the welfare of the client. The counselor will uphold this principle by actively promoting the well-being of the client, using evidence- based practice to ensure effectiveness of treatment, and continue to update their knowledge and skill set to successfully provide care. The duty of the counselor is to make sure they are always fair and treat everyone equally. “Every client deserves appropriate se rvices and to be treated fairly , which is the responsibility of the counselor” (Corey et al., 2023). The counselor should make sure to avoid discrimination, advocate for clients who face barriers to accessing mental health services and ensure that their services are accessible to all who need them. “The counselor will keep their promises and maintain their commitments and loyalty when completing their counseling duties” (American Psychological Association, 2017). To uphold the requirements of the fidelity principle counselors, need to be faithful, loyal, and honored commitments. “This is critical towards ensuring that trust is established between the client and the counselor in a therapeutic relationship” ( Tarberg et al., 2022). Informed consent is a fundamental aspect of healthcare that ensures respect for patient autonomy. It involves providing the patient with adequate information about proposed treatments or procedures. Including the benefits, risk, and alternatives and obtaining the patients voluntary agreement to proceed. The ACA states “that counselors must review their informed consent agreement with clients both verbally and in writing” (ACA, 2014). The consent should provide information regarding billing, HIPPA compliance, right to privacy, and board regulation. Counselors must provide billing information, fees, and nonpayment fees strategy. The ACA code of ethics states, “Counselors must protect the confidentiality of prospective and current clients as well as only disclose information with appropriate consent or with legal or ethical justification”
(ACA, 2014). The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) demands that the healthcare system or providers always protect the privacy and security of a patient's health information. The counselors have a commitment and responsibility to show compliance with provisions of the credential board. Section 2: Responsibility to warn and Protect Counselors are responsible ethically and legally to their clients. Two major responsibilities are “duty to warn” and the “duty to protect.” These duties arise when a client poses a significant threat to themselves or others. There are factors that the counselors need to consider, imminent danger, identifiable victim, client's intent and ability, and professional judgment. In cases of danger the counselor can forsake their confidential agreement in case of protecting the client or others. The ACA states, “Counselors have a duty to protect clients from harm” (ACA code of ethics A.1 .a). In the state of Arizona according to Arizona Revised Statues, “ Mental health professionals have a duty to warn or take reasonable precautions to provide protection from a client's violent behavior when the client has communicated a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim” (Arizona Legislative 36-517.02). Section 3: Client Record-Keeping "One important ethical, legal and clinical responsibility of mental health practitioner is to keep adequate records for all clients” ( Corey et al., 2023). Counselors should ensure that all client records are confidential and do not share without the client's consent unless it is legally required. Record-keeping proves to be effective in protection when it comes to the client or the counselor in the event of ethical or legal issues happen. “The client record keeping is also known to offer protection against the variances in memory prevailing between the counselor and the
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