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Confidentiality In Counseling

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There are many ethical issues a counselor must confront during their work; dual relationships and confidentiality being two of them and are going to be discussed here. Both are important to both the client and the profession, as they set the expectations for how counselors are to act professionally (Miller, 2015). Ethical principles “direct the moral and value-based decisions that affect the counseling process” (p. 557). Without them, the profession lacks these moral and value-based directives and the ship that is “addiction counseling” has no rudder. It is directionless and adrift. Professional Issue # 1 Dual Relationships are dangerous to the client/counselor relationship because it blurs boundaries that must be clear to have …show more content…

There are two relationships present; one is a counselor/client and the other is familial. Being a family member of a client is problematic because there’s a bond based on family, emotion and love, which are all things that a counselor/client relationship cannot have. You’ve created an overlap in relationships, which can be confusing to the client (Miller, …show more content…

With some exceptions in 42 FCR page 2, (Miller, 2015), the client has the sole say in who can know if they are in treatment, and what details that involves. The entire agency has the responsibility to abide by professional, ethical and legal requirements to protect the client (Miller, 2015). Confidentiality allows the client to explore treatment without stigma and without invasion into their treatment by those that they do not want involved. Confidentiality allows the client the freedom to fully explore their treatment without barriers that could restrain their progress. Example #2 An example of a confidentiality issue is boyfriend and girlfriend, together for over a decade, both in treatment long-term at the same out-patient treatment facility. The staff might all know that these two are in a long-term relationship, but written permission must still be given for any agency employee to share information with the other. This written permission must be clear, purposeful and informed. No information about one or the other can be exchanged to the other without clear, informed consent. Application

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