Marriage and family therapists claim degrees for their clinical services only if those degrees demonstrate training and education in marriage and family therapy or related fields. 9.6 Employee or Supervisee Qualifications. Marriage and family therapists make certain that the qualifications of their employees and supervisees are represented in a manner that is true, accurate, and in accordance with applicable law. 9.7 Specialization. ASCA Standards: Unethical Representations A. Responsibility to Students A. 5. Sustaining Healthy Relationships and Managing Boundaries School counselors: j. Strive to avoid a conflict of interest through self- promotion that would benefit the school counselor personally and/or financially (e.g., advertising their products and/or services). A. 6. Appropriate Collaboration, Advocacy and Referrals for Counseling g. Provide internal and external service providers with accurate and meaningful data necessary to adequately assess, counsel and assist students. Discussion This topic obviously is important to AAMFT because it appears in five of the nine standards in their Code of Ethics document and is found throughout the ACA and ASCA codes as well. The issues of misrepresentation and misleading, deceptive, and fraudulent statements are part every common ethical mistake to some degree because they violate all the core values and principles that establish the framework of counseling and therapy. The principles in the ACA Code of Ethics, for example, illustrate the importance of truthful, accurate, honest communication as the foundation of ethical practice (ACA, 2014). Examples of the effects of unethical representations are given to illustrate how they undermine these ethical principles. 1. Autonomy, or fostering the right to control the direction of one’s life. How can a client acquire strategies for control, develop self-esteem, or change the direction of their life if they do not have honest communication to build trust with the counselor? 2. Nonmaleficence, or avoiding actions that cause harm. Fraud, misrepresentation, and deception are the definition of harm to the client. 3. Beneficence, or working for the good of the individual and society by promoting mental health and well-being. Case Study Four: Unethical Statements Sue and Bob went to a counselor for marriage counseling, hoping to learn some skills for better communication and conflict resolution. The counselor assured them that they would see improvement in eight sessions if they implement the strategies she would “teach” in those areas. Bob and Sue agreed to pay $75.00 dollars per session, which would be covered by a managed care plan they both could assess. The counselor was called “Doc” around the office, so Bob and Sue assumed he had a PhD in some field of mental health counseling or therapy. They were given a blanket form for consent that contained a minimal explanation of HIPAA and release of information for insurance billing purposes.
Marriage and family therapists represent themselves as providing specialized services only after taking reasonable steps to ensure the competence of their work and to protect clients, supervisees, and others from harm. 9.8 Correction of Misinformation. Marriage and family therapists correct, wherever possible, false, misleading, or inaccurate information and representations made by others concerning the therapist’s qualifications, services, or products. h. Ensure there is not a conflict of interest in providing referral resources. School counselors do not refer or accept a referral to counsel students from their school if they also work in a private counseling practice. B. Responsibilities to Parents/Guardians, School, and Self B. 3. Responsibilities to Self l. Have an awareness of and make clear distinctions between actions and statements (verbal or written) made as a private individual versus those made as a representative of the school counseling profession and of the school district/ school entity. Respect the intellectual property of others and adhere to copyright laws and correctly cite others’ work when using it. Misrepresentation, fraud, and deception in practice and business can have devastating effects on the mental health and well-being of the client and community members. 4. Justice, or treating individuals equitably and fostering fairness and equality. Justice, fairness, and equality are based on honest communication and practice to address client needs and desired outcomes. Deception, fraud, and misrepresentation are the root causes of inequality and injustice counselors are committed to fight against. 5. Fidelity, or honoring commitments and keeping promises, including fulfilling one’s responsibilities of trust in professional relationships. Fraud, misrepresentation, and deception not only destroy trust and dishonor the profession, they may cause irreparable damage to clients. 6. Veracity, or dealing truthfully with individuals with whom counselors come into professional contact. Professional contact may occur face-to-face, through technology, word of mouth, advertising, advocacy, community memberships and affiliations, or any contact with clients, community, and the society at large. The counselor has the responsibility to interact truthfully as a representative of the profession in all areas of contact. relaxation/breathing exercises, and mindfulness, not communication or conflict resolution strategies. This continued into the fourth week and Sue and Bob, not wanting to complain, did not object. They did ask when they would “learn” the strategies they hope to accomplish. Doc answered by saying the skills they were developing were very beneficial, and in time they would move to communication and conflict resolution skills. Doc, Sue, and Bob developed a friendly working relationship, but the strategies were focused on meditation, By the eighth week, they had not worked on the preferred goals, and Bob and Sue were feeling disillusioned and somewhat betrayed. The counselor wanted them to continue, with a small increase in fee; they declined, and
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Book Code: PCTX1325
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