Question

Ethically, it is the counselor’s responsibility to terminate a relationship with a client when this relationship is not benefiting the client. What specific guidelines would you use to make this decision? What criteria can you use to judge whether or not your client is benefiting from his or her counseling relationship with you?

Answer 1

There is a termination therapy for clients if psychologists believe that psychotherapy or other forms of therapy is not able to improve the condition of the patient. Termination is a term used when a person wants to terminate services with a counselor or a conselor psychologist feels that the treatment is no longer beneficient for the client keeping into view the condition of the client. Termination should be in accordance to the ACA code of ethics. There are various ethical decision making models available which analyze the decision to end the therapy for a client suffering from behavioural problems or mental illness and diseases. There should be good interaction and communication between client and counselor and client should inform the symptoms of disease to the counselor. There should be a plan advised by the counselor which should be followed by the client. There can be misunderstandings between client and counselor, need of different therapy or lack of improvement in the condition of the client after a therapy. In such conditions a proper discussion and diagnosis of the condition should be performed again with indepth analysis and interpretation.Clients come from a diverse culture,race and ethnic background which can be hindrance during interaction and therapy advised by the counselor. The education background of counselor should be strong with inclination and motivation to solve the problems related to mental diseases..There are ACA code of ethics from 2014 which have set rules for diagnosing the disease symptoms in patient with infrastructure and facilities for treating the client. There are rules which permit giving notices to client if counselor feels that client is not benefitting from treatment and should be referred to some other doctor with more scientific and technical equipments and infrastructure. Standard A11.c of human ethics prescribes that should end therapy of clients if they feel that they can be harmed in near future due to bad behaviour of clients. It can be stopped if the client is not giving payments on time. The criteria and factors which should be considered while analying whether the therapy is benefiting the client or not are the analysis of behaviour of client, response, type of communication, type of mutual understanding, and belief in the therapy of counselor with patience. If these factors are not followed than the therapy can be stopped immediately with ending of client-counselor relationship.