PYC4809 Summary

PYC4809 - Summary


CHAPTER 3: ETHICAL ISSUES
INTRODUCTION

 Balancing client’s needs against your own
 Making sound ethical decisions
 Educating clients about their rights
 Confidentiality
 Counselling diverse client populations
 Diagnosis
 Dealing with dual relationships

Need to re-examine ethical issues periodically through professional life.

CLIENT’S NEEDS BEFORE YOUR OWN

 “Whose needs are being met in this relationship? Client’s or my own?”
 Not unethical to meet our own needs – keep in perspective
 Avoid EXPLOITING client

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING

Roles of ETHICS CODES as a catalyst for improving practice
Result in legalistic dimensions – fulfilling minimum legal requirements rather than what
is right for client
Being an ethical practitioner involves more – clients’ welfare as a central concern

Steps in making ethical decisions

1. Identify problem or dilemma – decide if ethical, moral, legal, professional or
clinical
2. Identify potential issues – rights, responsibilities, welfare of those involved
3. Consider applicable laws/regulations
4. Seek consultation – professional maturity implies you are open to questioning
and discussing with colleagues
5. Brainstorm
6. Enumerate consequences
7. Decide on best course of action




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, PYC4809 - Summary


THE RIGHT OF INFORMED CONSENT

 Empower clients and built trusting relationship through educating them about their
rights.
 Balance between too little and too much info
 Have basic info about therapy in document as well as discussing with them - they can
take home and consider


CONFIDENTIALITY

 Central to developing trusting relationship
 Both ethical and legal issue
 Ethical to discuss confidentiality and limitations early in process
 Mention discussing with colleague or supervisor
 Confidentiality can be broken if client may do serious harm to themselves or others


Legal requirements
Client under age 16 is victim of rape, child abuse, or other crime
Client is in need of hospitalisation
When information is an issue in a court action
When client request their records be released



MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Assumptions

With traditional theories, assumptions made about mental health, development, or
nature of pathology and effective treatment may have little relevance in multicultural
setting

Culture-bound

 Euro-American culture and core set of values
 Emphasis on individualism, separate existence of self, individuation
 Other cultures are COLLECTIVIST – primary consideration given to what is
good for the group




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, PYC4809 - Summary


Individual & Environmental factors

 Need to view individuals in the context of family and culture
 Interventions need to be tailored toward social action aimed at changing the
factors that are creating the client’s problem rather than blaming the client for
his/her condition
 Person-in-the-environment perspective acknowledges the interactive reality


ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Diagnosis

 Is not a final category but a working hypothesis that guides
 Feminist & postmodern approaches say that diagnoses ignore societal contexts


Ethnic & Cultural factors

 Ethnic & cultural patterns could influence diagnosis
 Behaviours & patterns that are not characteristic of the dominant culture


Assessment & Diagnosis

 Consider as a continuous process aiming to understand the client
 Collaborative approach involving the client actively
 Diagnosis for insurance/medical aid purposes – arbitrarily assigning a
diagnostic classification
 Legal and ethical obligation to screen client for bipolar, schizophrenia and
suicidal intent
 Essential to asses WHOLE person – mind, body, spirit


DUAL/MULTIPLE RELATIONSHIPS IN COUNCELING PRACTICE

 Dual/multiple relationships, either sexual or nonsexual occur when counsellors
assume two or more roles simultaneously or sequentially with a client –
providing therapy to a friend/employee/relative or being teacher & therapist

 Emotional or sexual involvement with a current client is unethical and
unprofessional and with former clients – unwise and unethical




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, PYC4809 - Summary


 Not considered unethical if multiple relationship would not reasonably be
expected to cause impairment or risk. APA does not prohibit all forms of
multiple relationships in all circumstances – rarely a clear-cut matter

Remain alert to possibility of damaging exploitation and harm to clients
- Set healthy boundaries
- Consult fellow professionals
- When there is risk work under supervision, document nature of supervision
- Self-monitoring is critical



CHAPTER 6: EXISTENTIAL THERAPY
Introduction

Key Figures

 Victor Frankl,
 Rollo May, &
 Irvin Yalom


Theory

 Philosophical approach
 Reacting against the tendency to view therapy as a system of well-defined
techniques
 Emphasise our freedom to choose what to make of our circumstances.


Focus

 Focus is on the quality of the person-to-person therapeutic relationship
 Get clients to reflect on life, to recognise their range of alternatives
 Start on the path of consciously shaping their own lives


Category

EXPERIENTIAL/RELATIONSHIP-ORIENTED: Stresses a concern for what it
means to be fully human – suggesting themes that are part of the human
condition, such as freedom and responsibility, anxiety, guilt, awareness of being
finite, creating meaning in the world, making active choices.

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