Ethical Scenarios

Case Study and Ethical Code For the discussion assignment, I selected “Case Study 16: A Suicidal Teenager” presented by Herlihy & Corey (2015). In the case presentation, the counselor is engaging in the initial individual therapy session with a minor client, Frank, who was referred to services for observed behavior changes. Specifically, the client was giving away belongings to others and expressed feelings of anger and hopelessness in response to stressors such as a recent breakup with his girlfriend. During the initial session, Frank openly verbalized using drugs to cope with his emotions and expressed vague suicidal ideations with previous self-injurious behaviors. Frank was able to contract for safety with the counselor as well as was

The ethical code that I chose to apply to the identified case was the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics (2014). When evaluating the case presentation in relation to the ACA’s ethical code, multiple potential ethical challenges were presented; however, for this discussion, one major potential ethical dilemma is discussed as it is something that most counselors will encounter in practice. The major potential ethical dilemma concerns the client’s report of suicidal ideations with a plan as well as previous self-injurious behaviors and breaking the client’s confidentiality to protect the client from harm. The ethical challenge relates to the counselor’s ability to assess and evaluate the reports of the client to determine if the client is truly at risk of self-harm and whether breaking the client’s confidentiality to protect the client from self-harm would be ethical. In accordance with the ACA Code of Ethics (2014), standard “B.2.a.

According to the ACA Code of Ethics (2014), standard “B.1.d. Explanation of Limits” addresses the importance of discussing the limits to confidentiality with clients at the start of services as well as throughout the counseling process and “identifying situations in which confidentiality must be breached” (p. 7). I believe that it is imperative to discuss with the client the limits to confidentiality using real-life scenarios so that they can fully understand what types of situations would require the counselor to ethically breaking confidentiality to protect the client and anyone else from harm. Another way to prevent the potential ethical challenge would be for the counselor to seek supervision or consultation to ensure that the assessment of risk for self-harm is accurate and valid. Standard “C.2.e. Consultations on Ethical Obligations” of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) highlights the importance of consulting with other counseling professionals concerning “ethical obligations or professional practice” to aid in ensuring sound ethical decisions are made in the best interest of the client (p.