Question

Dr. Jeff Jones has been a counselor in private practice for over five years. His office is in a suite of offices in downtown Chicago. The other offices are occupied by other mental health professionals. Dr. Jones treats adolescents and adults in his practice and often works from early in the morning to early evening. In recent weeks, Dr. Jones has been experiencing severe marital problems, difficulty sleeping, and difficulty relaxing. He often takes a drink or two in the evening to help him relax. He is having some difficulty recently getting to his appointments on time and also becomes quite distracted at times during his counseling sessions. His colleagues have noticed that he seems distracted and worried.What are the ethical or legal issues pertinent to this scenario?What ethical issues or legal issues that must be considered by Dr. Jones' colleagues in the nearby offices?

In the case analysis, please include the following information:

Description of at least 3 ethical and/or legal issues in the vignette

Identification of relevant ethical codes

Explanation of 3 courses of action to resolve the issue

Description of the decision-making process for each course of action

Assessment of option that best upholds the ethical standards of the profession

Answer 1

One of the ethical/legal issues could be the fact that the office is operating for such long hours in the day. Maintaining a work-life balance and giving ample space for one of rejuvenate in order to function subsequently is a pre-requisite for efficient management for individual practice. Moreover, when a person is not in the bracket of emotional normalcy, practicing in the field of mental health is highly unethical. Unless own issues are relatively resolved & one feels fit enough to immerse himself in the intensive process of counselling, taking it up is an unethical choice to make. It neither benefits the client, nor leads to work satisfaction for the practitioner. Another challenge is reaching late for sessions. This is breach of contract in itself since each minute of the session is paid for by the client. Not doing justice to it by reducing the minutes of the session being distracted during the process is highly unjustified. It can be questioned by the legal authorities as well as by the professionals in the nearby offices.

The ethical codes here would be the fact that the practitioner needs to be completely involved in the process, provide his complete attention & cater to the case with complete diligence. Immersion in the process of counselling & being a good listener is one of the most crucial pre-requisites. The professional responsibility here is being compromised which is the thumb rule in counselling practice. Moreover, the therapeutic relationship on which the entire process is based gets compromised as well, once the client gets a feeling that the therapist is not out there for her/him.

The courses of actions to resolve the issue could include giving up on work for some time & providing the necessary break to oneself for recovering. Once the personal recovery is accomplished & the therapist feels emotionally fit enough to resume practice & take up the emotional concerns of others, the same can be resumed. Another alternative could be maintaining a work life balance by closing the practice on time, creating time for self & recreation so that the professional productivity doesn’t suffer due to the possible burnout that the therapist seems to be experiencing.

The decision making process for this would comprise of making the relevant choice to make a change. It is usually seen that just as for clients, for therapists too, making a change is a hard process. This is so because it can be emotionally draining to engage in something that was not conditioned before. This holds true especially in prolonged unproductive habits that have now become a comfort zone of sorts. Although this is a hard choice to make, giving in to the temptation of continued damage will be devastating for the career of the therapist as well as for the well-being of the clients. Turning up for sessions on time & providing one’s complete effort during the process of counselling can be adhered to only once the therapist recovers from his personal miseries. The personal life, if not sorted out tends to damage one’s emotional well-being further challenging the performance at work. The best option in terms of aligning to the ethical codes of conduct for a practitioner would be to make the decision of quitting work for the time being. Giving himself the required time to gain hold on one’s own life & choices, making peace with them is a pre-requisite to this therapist’s emotional well-being. The same must be re-gained in order to resume work with the same rigour.