Question

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Consider the following scenario: A 40-year old therapist becomes attracted to a 38-year-old client and soon realizes that the feelings are mutual. They discuss the situation and mutually agree to terminate therapy and to begin dating. They eventually get married. In applying the professional code of ethics and practice standards for counsellors to this case, is the therapist’s decision unethical? Please discuss. What is the rationale behind prohibiting or severely limiting dual relationships?

you should be familiar with all relevant ethical codes and standards according to CCPA,2015 . Attached the link 2. Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association. (2015). Standards of practice. (5th ed.). Ottawa, ON: Author. Retrieved from http://www.ccpa-accp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/StandardsOfPractice_en_June2015.pdf

You are to explain all three elements. How would you explain confidentiality to a client. What is the role of confidentiality? When can it be broken? What do the codes say about confidentiality? Record keeping discuss how do you keep records protected? Discuss the ethics of the protection of records? When discussing children what can be kept confidential or can anything be confidential? Use the codes to support your answer which includes an abstract and a conclusion.

Answer 1

Counselling relationship is a highly professional relationship and as such is based on an elaborate set of ethics and principles. It demands a great deal of skill and control on part of the counsellor as the counsellor takes the responsibility to work in the best interests of his/her clients in his/her professional capacity. The peculiar transaction of emotional language make sure the counselling process a challenging one and there is a risk of jeopardising the pursuit of counselling goals if the counsellor does not have an insight into how his/her own emotions and motives and begins to give them a priority over his/her client’s emotional life. Thus, in the given instance, the counsellor demonstrates breach of the CCPA code of ethics wherein any intimate relationship outside of the counselling process is concerned as unprofessional. This clause is not a moral claim of policing the emotions of the counsellor, rather it is framed in the interest of the client. Thus, even though the counsellor and the client have decided to terminate their counselling contract and pursue each other as love prospects, the complexity of their past interactions and the fact that the first encounter took place within the protected space of the counselling process, makes it an unethical decision on part of the counsellor.

Such dual relationships becomes problematic because the counsellors would have to keep shifting between their different roles nd responsibilities with the same client. Judgement about the roles can thus interfere with their whole interaction with the client both as a counsellor and as an emotional partner. The CCPA guidelines prescribe that counsellors at best avoid entering any social, sexual or financial relationship with the client so as to prevent any conflict of interests between the two parties as well as to protect the client from any plausible instance of exploitation.

( the question on confidentiality is not related to the topic of dual relationships. Please upload it as a separate question. Hope the above description helps you to understand the nature of ethics regarding dual relationships in counselling )