ASU Ethical Dilemmas in Therapy Essay Paper
1.Fees. Regarding the matter of establishing fees, I would tend to
have a standard fee that is the same for all my clients.
use a sliding scale to accommodate those with financial hardships.
increase my fees with existing clients as the cost of living increases.
retain the fee agreement initially made with clients.
2.Therapy for therapists. For those who wish to become therapists, I believe personal psychotherapy
should be required for licensure.
is not an important factor in the ability to work with others.
should be encouraged but not required. ASU Ethical Dilemmas in Therapy Essay Paper
is needed only when the therapist has some form of psychological impairment.
3.Therapist effectiveness. To be an effective helper, I believe a therapist
must like the client.
needs to be licensed by the state.
needs to have experienced feelings or situations similar to those being experienced by the client, but not necessarily the same problem.
4.Ethical decision making. If I were faced with an ethical dilemma, the first step I would take would be to
5.Being ethical. For me, being an ethical practitioner mainly entails
acting in compliance with mandatory ethical standards.
reflecting on the effects my interventions are likely to have on the welfare of my clients.
avoiding obvious violations of my profession’s ethics codes.
thinking about the legal implications of everything I do.
first discuss the matter with the supervisor.
report the supervisor to the director of the agency.
ignore the situation for fear of negative consequences.
should realize the need for specialized training.
may be acting illegally.
8.Feelings toward clients. If I had strong feelings, positive or negative, toward a client, I would most likely
discuss the feelings with my client.
keep my feelings to myself.
accept my feelings unless they began to interfere with the counseling relationship.
9.Being ready. I won’t be ready to counsel others until
my own life is free of major problems.
enjoy these feelings if they were positive.
refer my client if these feelings were negative.
direct the sessions into less emotional areas.
11.Dealing with diversity. Practitioners who counsel clients whose sex, race, age, social class, or sexual orientation is different from their own
will most likely not understand these clients fully.
should refer the client to someone who is more culturally competent.
will probably not be effective with such clients because of these differences.
12.Ethics versus law. If I were faced with a counseling situation in which it appeared that there was a conflict between an ethical and legal course to follow, I would
13.Values. In terms of appreciating and understanding the value systems of clients who are culturally different from me, I would
not impose my cultural values on them.
refer them to another therapist.
attempt to modify my counseling procedures to fit their cultural values.
familiarize myself with the specific cultural values of my clients.
respect my client’s values, even though I have different values.
tell the client at the outset about my fears concerning our conflicting values.
refer the client to someone else.
attempt to understand my need to impose my values.
encourage my client to find meaning in life, regardless of his or her psychological and physical condition.
16.When to refer. I would tend to refer a client to another therapist
if I had a strong dislike for the client.
if I did not have much experience working with the kind of problem the client presented.
if I saw my own needs and problems getting in the way of helping the client.
17.Role of values. My ethical position regarding the role of values in therapy is that, as a therapist, I should
never impose my values on a client.
expose my values, without imposing them on the client.
not knowing and understanding enough about their sexual orientation or overidentifying because of my own identity.
establishing a positive therapeutic relationship and deciding whether to disclose my own sexuality identity.
making mistakes that could damage the therapy process.
19.Unethical behavior. Of the following, I consider the most unethical form of therapist behavior to be
promoting dependence in the client.
breaking confidentiality without a good reason to do so.
accepting a client who has a problem that goes beyond my competence.
20.Counseling friends. Regarding the issue of counseling friends, I think
21.Confidentiality. Regarding confidentiality, I believe it is ethical to break confidence
when there is reason to believe a client may do serious harm to him- or herself.
when there is reason to believe that a client will do harm to someone else.
when the parents of a client ask for certain information.
and inform the authorities when a client is breaking the law.
the client decides to do so.
the therapist judges that it is time to terminate.
it is clear that the client is not benefiting from the therapy.
ethical only when client and therapist discuss the issue and agree to the relationship.
never ethical, regardless of the time that has elapsed.
24.Touching. Concerning the issue of physically touching a client, I think touching
is unwise because it could be misinterpreted by the client.
should be done only when the therapist genuinely thinks it would be appropriate.
is ethical when the client requests it.
25.Sex in supervision. A clinical supervisor has initiated sexual relationships with former trainees (students). He maintains that because he no longer has any professional responsibility to them this practice is acceptable. In my view, this behavior is
clearly unethical because he is using his position to initiate contacts with former students. ASU Ethical Dilemmas in Therapy Essay Paper
ignore such values out of concern that I would impose my own beliefs on my clients.
actively strive to get my clients to think about how spirituality or religion could enhance their lives.
avoid bringing up the topic unless my client initiated such a discussion.
conduct an assessment of my client’s spiritual and religious beliefs during the intake session.
27.Family therapy. In the practice of family therapy, I think the
therapist should focus primarily on the needs of individual members of the family.
therapist should attend to the family’s needs and, at the same time, be sensitive to the needs of the individual members.
therapist has an ethical obligation to state his or her bias and approach at the outset.
wrong because it takes away the professional’s judgment in many cases.
29.Gift-giving. If a client were to offer me a gift, I would
accept it cheerfully.
never accept it under any circumstances.
discuss the matter with my client.
30.Bartering. Regarding bartering with a client in exchange for therapy services, my position is that
it all depends on the circumstances of the individual case.
I would consider this practice if the client had no way to pay for my services.
diagnosis is counterproductive for therapy because it is based on an external view of the client.
diagnosis can be harmful in that it tends to label people, who then are limited by the label.
the usefulness of diagnosis depends on the theoretical orientation and the kind of counseling a therapist does.
32.Testing. Concerning the place of testing in counseling, I think tests
generally interfere with the counseling process.
are essential for people who are seriously disturbed.
can be either used or abused in counseling.
33.Risks of group therapy. Regarding the issue of psychological risks associated with participation in group therapy, my position is that
34.Internet or technology-enhanced counseling. Regarding the practice of counseling via the Internet, I believe
the practice is fraught with ethical and legal problems.
technology offers real promise for many clients who would not, or could not, seek out face-to-face counseling.
it is limited to dealing with simple problems because of the inability to make an adequate assessment.
I would never provide distance counseling without having some personal contact with the client.
talk to my supervisor about it.
continue to work without complaining.
seek supervision elsewhere.
valuable to have when I reach an impasse with a client.
a way for me to learn about myself and to get insights into how I work with clients.
37.Social justice counseling. Counseling from a social justice perspective involves addressing the realities of oppression, privilege, and social inequities. This means that I
need to be aware of sociopolitical forces that have influenced my clients.
need to teach my clients how to become advocates for themselves.
need to be an advocate beyond the office if I am to make a difference.
38.Advocacy competence. To become a competent client advocate, a counselor must
gain awareness of his or her own beliefs, attitudes, and biases as they relate to the impact social and political factors have on marginalized and underserved populations.
practitioners should educate the community concerning the nature of psychological services.
professionals should attempt to change patterns that need changing.
community involvement falls outside the proper scope of counseling.
practitioners should empower clients in the use of the resources available in the community.
40.Role in community. If I were working as a practitioner in the community, the major role I would expect to play would be that of
an adviser.
an educator or a consultant.
an advocate
Identify personal and professional approaches you can implement to ensure the three items you had the strongest reaction to do not affect your work with clients?