In his counseling of Jill process, Joe has violated a number of ethical and professional requirements. He responded with a shock to Jill’s disclosure that she might be experiencing attraction to other women. He told her that his Catholic faith forbade homosexuality and that she needed to pray for forgiveness. He could not relate to Jill's Asian American culture, instead of explaining that he was only familiar with Eastern European Culture and that for that reason he could not relate to her culture and issues. He got into a relationship with Jill during the counseling process, despite being aware that it is unethical. They even started a sexual relationship, during which he promised to provide her a referral but never saw it through. He stopped the relationship out of guilt and stopped contacting her, in effect terminating the counseling relationship. He contacted Jill’s employer later, who told him that she was in the hospital for severe depression. Rather than contact her to see if she needed help from him, he decided to stop general counseling and specialize in marriage counseling.
Joe violated the ACA Code of Ethics number A.4.b., which addresses personal values. The Code requires counselors to be aware of and avoid imposing their own personal beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors (ACA, 2014). Joe openly expressed his disapproval when Jill disclosed that she has felt attraction to other women, telling her to ask for forgiveness as is required by his Christian religion. In such cases where the beliefs and values of a counselor conflict with those of a client, counselors should show respect. This ACA Code is similar to the APA Code of Ethical Standards number 3.01, which addresses unfair discrimination. The APA code forbids psychologists engaging in discrimination on the basis sexual orientation, as well as race, gender, religion, culture, and ethnicity, among others (APA, 2017). It follows that Joes violated both the ACA Code of Ethics and the APA Ethical Standards.
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The ACA Code of Ethics number E.5.b addresses cultural sensitivity. It requires counselors to recognize that culture affects the manner in which the problems of a client are experienced and defined (ACA, 2014). Joe could not relate to Jill's Asian American culture, instead of explaining that he was only familiar with Eastern European Culture and that for that reason he could not relate to her culture and issues. The APA Code of Ethical Standards number 2.01 requires that psychologists have or obtain the necessary training, supervision, consultation, or experience to ensure competence in their provision of service (APA, 2017). Joe only apologized that he could not relate to his client’s culture and her issues.
Joe engaged in a romantic relationship with Jill. The relationship escalated into one of the sexual notions. This behavior contravened the ACA Code of Ethics number A.5.a. The code prohibits romantic and/or sexual relationships or interactions between a counselor and with current a client, the client’s partner, or family members (ACA, 2014). Joe had Sexual relations with Jill for a month. Similarly to the ACA code, the APA Code of Ethical Standards number 10.05 addresses sexual intimacies with current clients. It prohibits psychologists from engaging in sexual intimacy with current therapy patients/clients (APA, 2017). In this regard, Joe violated both the ACA and APA codes.
By his decision to consider referring Jill to another counselor, Joes contravened the ACA Code of Ethics number A.11.b which concerns values within referral and termination. The code requires that a counselor refrains from referring his/her current client because of the personal behavior, belief, or attitude of the counselor (ACA, 2014). Joe considered giving Jill a referral because of his behavior. He felt that the romantic relationship he got into with her could compromise her counseling. However, his consideration was in line with the APA Code of Ethical Standards number 1.05. The code requires that if there is an apparent ethical violation that may harm a person, the psychologist should take such actions as referrals (APA, 2017). He had violated the ACA code of ethics, and it was right of him to consider the referral. However, he did not see it through, in which case he violated both the ACA and APA codes.
Joe’s termination of his counseling relationship with Jill contravened ACA Code of Ethics number A.11.c. The code requires counselors to only terminate a counseling relationship when it is reasonably clear that the client does not need assistance any longer, is unlikely to benefit, or the continuation of counseling is harming him/her (ACA, 2014). In contravention, Joe terminated the counseling even when it was clear that Jill still needed counseling. The ACA Code is exactly similar to the APA Code of Ethical Standards number 10.10.a. (APA, 2017). It follows that Joe violated the APA code as well. Joe’s termination of the counseling also violated the APA code of ethical standards number 10.10.c. The code requires that with the exception of preclusion by the actions of patients/clients, before termination, psychologists are required to provide pre-termination counseling and suggest alternative service providers appropriately (APA, 2017). Joe did not do either. He violated both APA and ACA codes pertaining to termination of counseling.
Ethical Decision-Making Model
Forester-Miller and Davis (2016) outline a seven-step ethical decision-making model that may have been applicable to Joe’s counseling case.
The first step is to identify the problem. One of the problems in Joe's case is that related to culture. He is not familiar with the Asian American culture, which makes it difficult for him to relate to the issues Jill is struggling with. Joe should have identified it as a problem worth resolving rather than disregarding it and carrying on with the counseling.
The second step is to apply the ACA Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics addresses several ethical issues. As discussed earlier in the paper, culture is one of them. The code would provide Joe with the right ethical guidelines. If the code does not resolve the problem entirely, then it is a case of a complex ethical dilemma (Forester-Miller, & Davis, 2016). In Joe’s case, he was not trained in Asian American culture.
In that case, the third step would have been Joe determining the dilemma’s nature and dimensions. The counselor should examine the implications of the dilemma on the foundational principle of justice, autonomy, fidelity, nonmaleficence, and beneficence; review relevant professional literature for current professional thinking; or, consult experienced professional supervisors and/or counselors who adhere to the ACA code of ethics (Forester-Miller, & Davis, 2016).
The fourth step Joe should have taken is to generate a possible course of action. The counselor should generate as many of them as possible, being creative and listing all the options that come to mind. He/she should also consult colleagues who subscribe to ACA Code of Ethics for help or ideas.
The fifth step is to take into consideration the possible consequences of all options and to determine the best course of action or approach. Options that would not be helpful to Joe should be eliminated, and those left reviewed to determine the best combination applicable in terms of usefulness.
The sixth step is to evaluate the chosen course of action, mainly to see if it raises new ethical considerations. If it raises new ethical issues, then a reevaluation is necessary. Otherwise, the counselor may move to the last step which is implementation. The steps would have helped Joe solve his lack of understanding of Jill’s culture.
Bibliography
ACA. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics . Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf
APA. (2017, January 1). Ethical Principles Of Psychologists And Code Of Conduct. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/ethics-code-2017.pdf
Forester-Miller, H., & Davies, T. E. (2016). Practitioner’s Guide to Ethical Decision Making. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/ethics/practioner’s-guide-toethical-decision-making.pdf
