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ETHICAL DECISIONS: CASE STUDY ADVISING SHANNON

Ethical Decisions: Case Study Advising Shannon

Veronica L. Becerra

Department of Counseling School Psychology, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

COUN 707: Ethical and Legal Issues in Counseling

Dr. Everett Painter

July 31, 2021

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ETHICAL DECISIONS: CASE STUDY ADVISING SHANNON
Ethical Decisions: Case Study Advising Shannon

Within the mental health field, practitioners are faced with difficult ethical decisions

every day. Practitioners are expected to utilize their professional judgments and critical thinking

skills in order to determine ethically sound decisions that are within the client’s best interest. As

emerging professionals in the field, counseling students at Edinboro University are required to

engage in two full semesters of internship. During this time, students learn firsthand from

experienced counselors how to apply their skills to clinical settings and navigate difficult ethical

decisions. The internship is a crucial part of a student’s development and ultimately initiates

them into becoming more independent within a counseling environment. Upon graduation,

students will utilize all the skills that they have obtained from their classes and internships to

begin their careers and eventually work towards state licensure. 

Dilemma: Lack of Hours

After evaluating the prompt there are a few different ethical dilemmas that Shannon is

facing within this situation. As part of Edinboro University’s graduation requirements, Shannon

must spend 40 hours a week at the internship site for a total of 600 hours. Out of these 600 hours,

a minimum of 240 hours must involve direct service to clients. Out of the 240 hours, at least 60

hours of the direct service hours must involve group work (unless this experience is not available

at the site). In addition, Shannon must attend weekly internship classes on campus or online. A

minimum of 1 hour and 30 minutes of synchronous internship group supervision is required each

week. Shannon is also required to engage in 1 hour a week of on-site supervision. If Shannon

does not think that she can reach this number at her current site, she should contact her advisor

immediately. Occasionally Edinboro University offers additional online group counseling or art

therapy sessions that are run by students who are in the process of completing their hours. The
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ETHICAL DECISIONS: CASE STUDY ADVISING SHANNON
advisor may be able to provide Shannon with the opportunity to hold a few sessions s that she

can get a couple of extra hours to fulfill her requirement. Ultimately the school advisor will be

able to provide her with some alternatives to obtain her hours and guide her on additional options

about potentially postponing her graduation date.

Dilemma: Confidentiality

Another issue that I discovered was that Shannon is not abiding by ethical practices

pertaining to online confidentiality. Shannon needs to recognize that her environment is not

conducive to the therapeutic relationship. By using her computer speaker, others within the

apartment are able to hear her counseling sessions. The client’s personal thoughts, secrets,

challenges, and intimate conversations are being broadcasted to everyone in the apartment. I

would encourage Shannon to reread over section B.1.c (respect for confidentiality) and B.3.e

(transmitting confidential information). Within these sections, it is noted that ethically practicing

counselors make every attempt to protect the client’s identity and all transmitted information that

is shared in-person and online.  Keeping conversations confidential is extremely important. I

would recommend that Shannon buy a pair of noise canceling earphones or a sturdy headset to

ensure that the client’s identity and conversations are confidential. Shannon should also consider

providing services from her car or within a quiet secluded room (closet, basement, locked

secluded space) so that no one can hear the conversations between client and counselor. 

Dilemma: Technology

The public atmosphere of her apartment can be detrimental to the formation of trust

between a counselor and a client. I would encourage Shannon to reread Section H (Distance

counseling technology and social media). Within this section, Shannon will realize that her

spotty internet connection not only makes it difficult for the client to receive services, but it
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ETHICAL DECISIONS: CASE STUDY ADVISING SHANNON
impacts her effectiveness as a counselor. She should consider alternative solutions such as

obtaining a new internet provider, using the counseling app through her cellphone instead, using

a local library’s internet connection, or utilizing the university’s internet connection.  Her

counseling site may also be providing hot spots for their counselors as a way to provide internet

services to their counselors during the pandemic. 

Dilemma: Adapting to Online Environments

 As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the way that we interact with others has greatly

changed. Not everyone is comfortable with conversing or communicating with others through

telehealth or other online platforms. If Shannon is uncomfortable with providing online services,

I would encourage her to take some time to learn how to utilize the counseling apps and sites. I

would also encourage her to address the other issues related to her online services such as the

inconsistent internet connection. Shannon may not like online counseling because she doesn’t

have the right environment that is conducive for it. The many challenges that she has faced could

have discouraged her and made her frustrated. I would give her some YouTube video links on

how to adapt to providing counseling services online. I would also encourage her to reach out to

some of the professors at Edinboro University to gain some additional advice on how to navigate

the online environment.  If Shannon does not want to do any online services anymore, I would

encourage her to talk to her advisor and her site supervisor about alternate solutions. Maybe

Shannon can wait until in-person services are reinstated to obtain the rest of her required hours.

Either way that is a personal decision for Shannon to make on her own and as her friend I would

want her to consider all options. Her advisor will be able to better guide her on all other options

so I would strongly encourage her to reach out to them.

Dilemma: Supervisors Challenges

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ETHICAL DECISIONS: CASE STUDY ADVISING SHANNON
Finally, after reading the prompt it sounds like Shannon’s supervisor is not providing her

with the support that she needs to develop within her internship program. Due to the online

switch, her supervisor may be struggling to make the transition as well. However, they too have

a responsibility to Shannon and have entered into an agreement with the university. Shannon’s

supervisors should be offering Shannon online supervision (reference section F.2.c Online

Supervision) and ensuring her client’s welfare (reference section F.1a client welfare). The

supervisor needs to hold themselves accountable for any potential impairment that could impact

their ability to effectively assist in their client’s supervision (f.5.b Impairment). I would

encourage Shannon to reach out to her supervisor to voice her concerns and convey her needs.

Shannon needs to advocate for herself and make sure that she is getting the experience she needs.

Shannon should also reach out to her advisor to inform them of the situation. If Shannon’s best

efforts go unacknowledged, she should reach out to her organization’s director to inform them of

the situation and ask for another supervisor. If that does not work, and her university advisor is

not able to persuade or contact them either, Shannon should immediately contact the ACA ethics

board and committee to inform them of her situation. All in all, the supervisor has a

responsibility and commitment to Shannon that needs to be honored to make sure that she is

trained appropriately. 

Conclusion

In life, sometimes situations do not go as planned. But it is important to know that

although life is unpredictable, there are others who can help along the way. To be a competent

counselor, interning students need to be aware of how to professionally navigate through these

tricky situations and come to an ethical resolution. As emerging professionals, we have a duty to

ourselves and to our clients. We must ensure that we are effectively trained so that we can offer
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our best services to the client. We should also monitor ourselves to make sure that we are

practicing ethically and abiding by both the organization’s regulations and state laws. I would

encourage Shannon to view this situation as a steppingstone to her professional development of

learning to make ethical decisions independently. By changing her perspective of the situation,

she can be more focused on learning from the situation instead of letting it bring her down.