Carol Vanderheyden's Analysis

One of my favorite American writers, Alex Haley is quoted in Carol Vanderheyden’s book, A Touch of Class, saying “Anytime you see a turtle up on top of a fence post, you know he had some help” (Vanderheyden, p. 60). Not only does this quote strike my funny bone and fill my head with colorful imagery of a turtle mounted on top of a white picket fence post on the Haley farm in Tennessee, it strikes me as applicable to the ethical dilemmas that face those of us who embark upon careers in helping professions such as Marriage and Family Therapy. The imagery of the turtle on the post raises some interesting questions. Why did someone put the turtle there in the first place given that turtles aren’t traditionally climbers? Did some helpful Samaritan intervene on the turtle’s behalf because the conditions on the ground put its life in jeopardy? Whatever the reason for the turtles placement on the post, it would appear that the creature was helped out of one difficulty and placed in an equally; or perhaps, an even more perilous predicament with no way down. Ethical decision making in any psychotherapy practice is like that. While attempting to help clients, a therapist must be careful not to cause additional harm; and even though there are codes

Yet, even though the code of ethics that guides the Marriage and Family Therapy profession is clearly defined, it is a binary code that paints ethical issues in black and white, not fully taking into account the unique circumstances of each client or the contexts in which they are situated. In my own work as a marriage and family therapist, I will endeavor to keep the spirit of the profession’s code of ethics in balance with the needs of each