Introduction

As a counselor, it is vitally important to be aware of the ethical and legal issues pertaining to
counseling practice. Lack of knowledge could result in lawsuits and legal actions. Counseling is
not a value-free or neutral activity. (Westefeld, 2009). All goals in counseling, "whether they are
goals for symptom relief or goals to modify a lifestyle, are subtended by value systems”
(Wastefeld, 2009). Counselors who are not clear about their values, ethics and legal
responsibilities, and those of their clients, can cause harm despite their best intentions. (Ladany
& Inman, 2008) . `Ethics promote well-being and professionalism in counseling both directly
and indirectly. In some conditions, ethics and laws overlap. However, the operate through
different premises. Ethics are guidelines that are based on the basic principles of the counsellor
in the code of ethics. A moral philosophy of what is right and wrong and which bring the greatest
benefit for most people. Ethics is defined as making decisions of a moral nature about people and
their interaction in the society.

This assignment will discuss the ethical and legal issues in counselling. And these are;
confidentiality, credentialing, duty to warn; multiculturalism in counseling; the ethics and law of
informed consent; the use of technologies in counseling; and therapeutic relationship.

Main body

Ethics and legal issues in counselling

First of all, credentiallity is one of the ethical issues in counselling. Licensure is issued by the
state to protect the public from unqualified and untrained practitioners. Passage of a state
licensure law restricts or prohibits the practice of counseling by individuals not meeting state-
determined qualification standards. To practice as a private practice counselor a license is
required. All states require the counselors practicing within the state be licensed.

Confidentiality is one of the fundamental ethical principles of counseling. As an ethical

principle, confidentiality also has far-reaching legal implications for counselors. Maintaining
confidentiality is commonly considered as vital to effective therapeutic relationships (Whiston &
Rahardja, 2008). Confidentiality in counseling is morally and legally justifiable, as it serves the
client’s interests and facilitates high-quality care provision. Confidentiality is a serious moral
obligation and a professional action, which is intrinsically right (Whiston & Rahardja, 2008) .
Confidentiality is the client's ethical duty to protect private client communication. Confidentiality
is a complicated concept because of its exceptions and because it effects both legal and ethical
situations. (Betz, 2008) In most situations, the counselor is expected to maintain confidentiality.
Counselors should always try to maintain confidentiality because it will affect the relationship
the client has with the counselor. The counselor should let the client know prior to beginning
therapy when confidentiality has to be broken and that this will not happen unless absolutely
necessary. The counselor should always get this consent from the client in writing. The
counselor should breach confidentiality in cases where the client is a threat of danger to
themselves or others, property, or suspected child abuse. In cases where the counselor is not
covered by privileged communication, as in school counseling, the counselor may have to testify
in court and produce records. Counselors need approval from clients in cases where interns are
being supervised or where a counselor is consulting with another counselor. An intern should not
use a client name and should protect the client anonymity in any way they can. The client can
share confidential information at any time. Breaching confidentiality in the absence of an
exception could result in ethical and legal sanctions, including loss of license, certifications, and
a possible malpractice suit.

A licensed counselor has many legal issues to consider. Breaching confidentiality becomes
necessary when the counselor has a duty to warn or an ethical duty to protect the client and
others from harm (Hill, 2014). The counselor must take measures to protect the client or anyone
they may put in danger. This breach of confidentiality is allowed, in order to inform family
members, persons threatened, or the authorities when a person puts themselves or others in
danger. It also may be necessary to have the person hospitalized or involuntarily committed
when they may harm themselves. It is important that the counselor evaluate the situation
accurately. Counselors are responsible for notifying potential victims of violence to others or
their property. Over reacting may do damage to the client, and at the least cause damage to the
relationship between counselor and client. The counselor could face a malpractice suit for
breaching confidentiality if it was not necessary for people's safety. Failure to report when the
counselor should may also result in lawsuits and legal consequences.

In addition to duty to warn, (William, 2014) says, counselors have a mandated responsibility to
report cases of suspected abuse or neglect to a government agency. Confidentiality is overridden
by the need to protect the child. Although all states have statutes regarding the duty to report, the
statutes may differ, so it is the responsibility of the counselor to find out what their state requires.
Mandatory abuse reporting laws have protective clauses that protect counselors who report
suspected abuse in good faith, or who believes it occurred. The laws also vary by state regarding
the duty to report past abuses that are no longer happening.

Multiculturalism is an ethical issue, as it relates to the ethical principles of equity, fairness,

respect, and even social justice. Multiculturalism also has profound legal implications, as it
directly and indirectly related to the themes of discrimination based on clients’ individual
characteristics, namely, the culture of origin. Increased attention to multiculturalism in
counseling reflects the growing public recognition that the society is becoming more diverse. It
comes as no surprise that, at times, multiculturalism is referred to as the psychology and
counseling’s “fourth force”. The growing popularity of the multiculturalism theme is justified by
the need to reduce counselors’ vulnerability to various sorts of legal and ethical risks. Counselors
who are aware of the growing population diversity and pursue multiculturalism values have
greater chances to act in the client’s interests and avoid the risks of legal actions. (William,
2020).

Informed Consent is another issue. Regardless of the theoretical framework which counselors
follow in their practice, informed consent is a universally accepted legal and ethical requirement
and the basic ingredient of effective therapeutic relationship/process (Corey, 2012). Informed
consent means that counselors must inform their clients about the nature and intent of the
proposed therapy, and provide any other information to enable the client to make autonomous
decisions related to therapy (Corey, 2012). Like multiculturalism and confidentiality, informed
consent is primarily an ethical norm which, nevertheless, can easily transform into a legal action,
if violated. One of the emerging themes in professional literature is the way counselors should
use informed consent to publish clients’ clinical materials (Whiston & Rahardja, 2008).
Counselors who wish to use their clients’ clinical materials in their professional work confront a
serious conflict of their obligations as counselors, their clients’ interests and needs, and their
professional strivings. Most probably, the future will witness the growing concern over the way
counselors try to balance their clients’ needs and their own professional ambitions.
Maintaining Boundaries is another issue according to William, (2020). The most common ethical
issue faced by counselors is maintaining boundaries. At times it can be difficult to ensure that
you are not developing a personal relationship with a client. Sometimes clients may blur or
attempt to blur the lines because of how the therapist-client relationship develops. For example, a
client might form a strong attachment to their therapist who appears to be more than
professional. It is important for the therapist to maintain and re-establish boundaries as needed.

According to William, (2020) counselors also should not counsel someone who they know
personally or are personally connected to, even if the connection is removed, such as the parent
of one of their child's friends. It is outside of the ethical boundaries of the field to counsel a
family member, a friend, or even a neighbor. Every client deserves an unbiased, objective
therapist and the same level of confidentiality as all other clients.

Another ethical and legal issue is professional ability. Counsellors are generally best trained in
certain areas of therapy. A specific counsellor may be skilled in working with children, helping
people with marriage problems, or using specific types of treatment such as cognitive-behavioral
therapy. It is essential that a counsellor only provide the therapy that they have been trained to
provide. If a client needs a different type of therapy, it is the counsellor's ethical responsibility to
help the client find someone else, or at least let the client know that they need to find someone
else (Hill, 2014)

According to Hill, (2014). Counsellors are responsible for maintaining a standard of

professionalism. They must keep their personal and professional lives as separate as possible.
This can be difficult in some instances, and mental health professionals are only human. This
means that things will happen in their lives that may affect their ability to be an effective
counselor for their clients. When these things happen, the counsellours must find a way to work
through the issue at hand.

If a counselour can separate their personal problems from their professional life and carry on
with their work, they can do so ethically. If they are unable to do so, then they must take a leave
or otherwise remove themselves from situations where they are responsible for counseling
others. A counsellor in the middle of a contentious divorce, who has recently lost a loved one, or
who is experiencing addiction should seek out professional help for themselves. They should
take a break from counseling clients if their ability to counsel effectively is impaired (Hill,
2014).

And lastly but not the least, one issue that is fairly common is sexual attraction from patient to
counselor, counselor to patient, or even in both directions. Even though an attraction may exist,
this does not necessarily mean that these instincts will be followed in any inappropriate way. In
fact, attraction is a natural part of life and is impossible to avoid. However, any fulfillment of
these desires is an unethical act that could not only be in violation of the code of ethics that a
counselor is bound by, but it could also subject the counselor and their organization to litigation
and legal action. It is important for a counselor to first recognize the sexual attraction and be
aware of these feelings. It is often the case that a counselor will ignore these feelings or dismiss
them given the rather taboo nature of the counselor viewing their patient as sexually attractive
(William, 2020). The lack of acknowledgement of these feelings or urges can increase the risk
that they could manifest. Identifying them is the first step in ensuring that appropriate responses
can be developed that will allow the counselor to maintain their ethical integrity. Once the
attraction is brought into the open there are many ways in which it can be handled. However, if
the attraction is not identified then this puts both the client and counselor at an increased risk for
damages to one or both parties.

Inconclusion

Counseling is a field that differs greatly from all other professional fields, and professional
counselors develop an ethical intuition that helps them govern the dynamic therapeutic
relationship. Simultaneously, there is no single professional left where law has not become the
dominant decision-making force. Counseling has already fell victim to the growing
pervasiveness of legal norms, and many counselors are simply scared by the legal omnipotence
which their clients tend to exercise. In order to carry out their job correctly counselors must
follow certain ethics in counselling.
References

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