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Ethical Self-Reflection COUN 533 Hallis

Ethical Self-Reflection Part 2

Brittany Hallis

Chadron State College

COUN 533: Counseling Ethics and Professional Identity

Dr. Branislava Knezevic

Fall 2022
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Ethical Self-Reflection COUN 533 Hallis
Table of Contents

The Picnic ………………………………..………………………………………..3

Competence ………………………………………….……………………………4

Supervision ………………………………………….…………………………….5

Diagnosis …………………………………………………………………………6

Ethics in Group Work …………………………………………………………….7

Advocacy …………………………………………………………………………8

Good Will Hunting Movie Critique ………………………………………………9

Potential Issues and Broken Codes or Standards …………………………9

Reaction to the Therapist ………………………………………………...11

Discussion to the Actions ……………………………………………….12

Consequences on the Therapy …………………………………………..12

Discussion and Projection of Same and Different Actions ……………..12

Discussion with the Therapist from a Colleague ……………………….13

Shifts in Thoughts about Ethics …………………………………………………14

References ……………………………………………………………………….15
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Ethical Self-Reflection COUN 533 Hallis
The Picnic

For this example: The client, Lucia, would like to meet with her counselor John, at a park

down the street for their counseling session and make it a picnic. Lucia states meeting at the park

would really help her and help her get to know John better and feel closer to him. John is

concerned about this request.

Counselors are expected to improve the welfare of clients, refrain from harming clients

and society, treat clients fairly, respect the autonomy of clients, and honor obligations to clients

(Knapp & Vandecreek, 2006). To ensure counselors are acting within the clients’ best interests

there are types of boundary violations, which range from sexual/romantic misconduct to

nonsexual dual relationships with a client or client’s family member (Burns, 2019). However,

boundary crossings are problematic because counselors are in a position of power and misuse of

power can reduce client autonomy, resulting in harm to clients (Vasquez, 1992).

As the counselor in the scenario, I would not feel comfortable moving counseling

sessions to the park for a picnic session. I would want to discuss with Lucia that the counseling

sessions would need to stay in the office to maintain the professional relationship. I don’t want to

minimize Lucia or make her feel uncomfortable, but I would want to reinforce counseling

sessions are meant to improve her welfare and refrain from undue harm.

I would also want to question Lucia on what aspect of meeting at the park would seem

the most beneficial. There could be an underlying reason for the request that needs attention and

can be drawn out with open-ended questions. Even though John is concerned about creating an

environment that could help Lucia, having a counseling session over a picnic lunch is not the

best way to improve her welfare.

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Competence

A definition of competence is the quality of having sufficient knowledge, judgement,

skill, or strength. However, I feel competency should not stop at “sufficient”. Being a competent

professional is a lifelong endeavor. School counselors should continue to develop, maintain, and

enhance their competency. Competency is not a one and done event, professionals should be

proactive in continuing their knowledge and skills.

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) has developed school counselor

professional standards and competencies, which are split between mindsets and behaviors. The

mindset standards include beliefs school counselors hold about student achievement and success

(ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards & Competencies). The Behavior standards

include essential behaviors school counselors demonstrate through the implementation of a

school counseling program including professional foundation, direct and indirect services,

planning, and assessment.

It is important for competent counselors to have self-awareness, knowledge, skills, and

abilities to provide effective services. To assess competence, I would perform self-evaluations

and recommend my supervisor perform evaluations and review them with me.

In ASCA’s Code of Ethics, section B.3. Responsibilities to Self, school counselors

maintain membership in school counselor professional organizations to stay up to date on current

research and to maintain professional competence in current school counseling issues and topics

(ASCA Ethical standards for school counselors, 2022). To maintain competency, I would review

ASCA journals, confer with colleagues, and attend workshops or seminars.

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Ethical Self-Reflection COUN 533 Hallis
Supervision

With the school counseling profession, students are required to meet a minimum

requirement of hours gained through practicum and internship. Practicum and internship are

supervised clinical experiences in which trainees have developmental learning experiences that

support school counselors in training and integrate the academic course knowledge with the daily

responsibilities of a school counselor (DePue & Lambie, 2014).

Supervisors provide effective clinical supervision, while being responsible, both ethically

and legally, for the actions of their trainees. Site supervisors also serve as mentors and

gatekeepers to ensure that school counselors entering the field are well trained and competent

(Bernard & Goodyear, 2014). However, there are ethical issues I would need to consider when

supervising counseling students.

First, informed consent changes from client-therapist to trainee-client-supervisor. The

supervisor would need to make sure the trainee incorporates a clear informed consent both

verbally and in writing with their client. Second, supervisors must provide timely feedback,

monitor actions and decisions, and guide personal development towards their clinical

competence. Third, supervisors must have the competence necessary to carry out their role as

supervisor, which entails making sure licensure is up to date and practicing ethically, legally, and

within their scope of practice. Lastly, supervisors should have an in-depth knowledge of the area

they are providing supervision in.

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All these areas could lead to ethical issues if the school counseling supervisor is not

aware. If I were the school counseling supervisor, I would ensure I understood my limits and be

able to communicate clearly with my school counseling trainee.

Diagnosis

A popular discussion topic among counselors with differing opinions, is in the realm of

diagnosis. Personally, I have a mutual respect for diagnosis, but I dislike the premise of needing

a diagnosis within the first few counseling sessions. A diagnosis comes across as a label to some

individuals and as soon as a client knows, they start to “own” their diagnosis and it becomes a

part of who they are subconsciously. For example, if a patient is diagnosed with an anxiety

disorder, they may feel their anxiety is increasing or they don’t have control over it and feel like

they must live with their anxiety from now on. It is possible that an inappropriate label could

follow a person throughout life, affecting family, social, educational, and occupational status

(Hohenshil, 1996).

I understand and appreciate the need for diagnosing, but oftentimes clinic rules and

regulations require a diagnosis between the first few visits of a client to report it to insurance.

Insurance relies on the diagnosis to know what and why they are paying for services. However, I

feel it is difficult to fully understand who a person is within three sessions. In this case, it does

not feel like diagnosing is for the benefit of the client, it is more for the ability of being paid from

insurance.

Overall, I feel it can be dangerous to rush into a diagnosis and label individuals, however

you don’t want to make clients pay for out-of-pocket services. Clients would most likely want
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insurance to cover the costs, therefore a diagnosis needs to be made. I think there are some easier

diagnoses to use to justify why the client is being seen, but are they reliable or valid? This is

something I would need take into consideration when deciding on a diagnosis for a client.

Ethics in Group Work

Working as a school counselor there will be times a group counseling session may be

needed to reach several people at one time. Group counseling can be beneficial and represent an

important intervention for addressing psychological needs. When setting up a group counseling

session there are ethical concerns in forming and facilitating a group to consider, such as:

consent, confidentiality, breaching confidentiality, group membership, or parental disclosure for

a group of minors.

Consent for treatment and release of information is important no matter which type of

counseling services an individual participates in. When an individual chooses to participate in a

group session, they must be aware the session is a group session with other individuals.

Confidentiality is probably one of the biggest ethical concerns among counselors and

participants. Individuals would need to know confidentiality is a legal obligation and not disclose

information being said in the group session. Participants should also be given examples of what a

breach of confidentiality looks like and how to implement safeguards.

Within the first group session, I feel it is important to have group members discuss the

steps they should take if a breach of confidentiality is made. Having the members collaborate can

build trust among each other along with a feeling of control on how things work in this area.

Another ethical concern would be group membership. Would the group allow new members to
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join whenever or should it remain a closed group. How would participants be chosen? Will the

process be equitable for all?

Lastly, if the group session is one containing minors, how should the counselor proceed if

a parent requests details from the counseling session. According to the American School

Counselor Association (ASCA) ethical standards, school counselors are to balance keeping

information students share confidential while also recognizing and honoring the important role

parents play in their children’s lives (Lepkowski, 2018).

Advocacy

Whichever setting the school counselor chooses to work in, whether it is in a big city or

rural community, to practice ethically and be effective we need to be aware of the context of

student problems. Being a social justice advocate, school counselors are well positioned to

address the needs of all students. The current call for school counselors is to expand their role

beyond counseling, consultation, and coordination to include serving as social justice advocates

and systemic change agents (Grimes, Haskins, & Paisley, 2013).

Social justice advocacy is needed even more so in rural communities as many of these

rural communities suffer economically, which can contribute to decreased student achievement

and limit exposure to the depth and breadth of career development opportunities available in

other settings (Griffin et al,, 2011). There are some practical and ethical issues when working as

a mental health professional in the rural community.

If the school counselor is wanting to bring change within their rural community, it is

important to determine how willing you are to get involved. There are different facets of the
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school community such as sporting events or school sponsored events and working within the

school district, chances are you will be recognized outside of the school setting. I feel it is

important to be involved within the community I am placed and advocate for change when

necessary. It will be important to define my role and understand my passions prior to working

within the community and advocating for change.

By knowing my role, what I am passionate about, and defining expectations for

interacting with individuals outside my school counseling role, I can help limit ethical issues I

may encounter. My goal is to advocate for my students to the best of my ability and maintain

their confidentiality if I need to advocate outside of the school setting.

Good Will Hunting Movie Critique

In the movie “Good Will Hunting” Will is known to have a genius level IQ but chooses

to work as a janitor at MIT. Will is a young man who was not given the advantages to reach his

potential and has been arrested in the movie. One of the professors’ notices Will solving a

graduate level math problem and states he will help Will if he pursues therapy with Sean.

Potential Issues and Broken Codes or Standards

The very first therapist Will saw started off stating all the things Will should not be doing

anymore. Will was not given any time to respond to the therapists’ questions which would make

it difficult to build rapport. Prior to starting counseling, Will had a negative attitude about the

stipulation of needing therapy. Because of this, Will does not put forth any cooperation with the

counselor and is sarcastic throughout his session.

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When Will sees the second therapist the professor and teacher assistant joined for his

therapy session. This is an ethical and legal violation because the counseling session should only

have Will and the therapist. When the therapist, Sean, is being introduced in the movie he is

teaching a Psychology class discussing trust. He goes on to tell his class an inappropriate motto

along the lines of, “If you can’t get someone to trust you, how will you get them to sleep with

you.” This statement is unethical and unbecoming of a professor and should not be said in a class

of potential counselors.

During Will’s first meeting with Sean, informed consent or confidentiality was not

discussed with Will. According to ACA Code of Ethics (2014), Counselors have an obligation to

review in writing and verbally with clients the rights and responsibilities of both counselors and

clients. Not reviewing this information is unethical because the patient should be informed of

their rights prior to participating in counseling. During this first meeting, Sean loses his

composure, grabs Will by the throat and states he will end him because Will made a comment

about Sean’s wife who died years ago. This encounter is an ethical and legal violation as the

counselor should act in a way to avoid harming their clients. From this encounter it is clearly

seen how Sean has unresolved issues in his own life and may not be ready to counsel someone

else.

While Sean is trying to promote a therapeutic relationship with Will, he ends up sharing

personal stories and experiences. Within the therapeutic relationship, self-disclosure can be used

if it is to the benefit of the client and promoting the client’s welfare. However, in this situation

there were several self-disclosures, and they had no benefit to Will’s welfare or progression in

therapy. It is also noticeable how Sean is confrontational in his demeanor and conversation with
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Will, trying to get Will to be vulnerable and stir up emotions. However, I feel there are better

ways to have Will reflect and bring out vulnerability.

In one of the counseling sessions, Sean tells Will, “I teach Psychology, but I didn’t say I

knew how to do it.” This feels like an ethical and legal concern because counselors are to

practice only within the boundaries of the competence, based on their education, training,

supervised experience, state and national professional credentials, and appropriate professional

experience (ACA, 2014).

In the movie, there are a few instances where the professor meets with Sean to discuss

Will’s progress in counseling. Counselors should protect the confidential information of

prospective and current clients and disclose information only with appropriate consent or with

sound legal or ethical justification (ACA, 2014). There was no record or mention of Will giving

Sean the right to discuss information with the professor, nor was there legal or ethical

justification. Throughout the counseling sessions, boundaries on the therapeutic relationship

were not placed. Will was also not aware of any boundaries or what the therapeutic relationship

should look like. In one counseling session, Will yells at Sean stating he thought Sean was his

friend. It is ethical to state, manage, and maintain therapeutic relationship boundaries throughout

the counseling sessions.

When it is time for Will’s last counseling session, Will asks Sean if they can keep in

touch and continue a personal relationship. In extending these boundaries, counselors take

appropriate professional precautions such as informed consent, consultation, supervision, and

documentation to ensure that judgement is not impaired, and no harm occurs (ACA, 2014). In the

relationship of Will and Sean, I feel they would not be able to keep professional precautions to

maintain their outside relationship.

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Ethical Self-Reflection COUN 533 Hallis
Reaction to the Therapist

I feel there were a lot of instances throughout the counseling sessions where Sean shared

more personal experiences of his, rather than give Will the time and ability to share his story and

reflect on where he was at. It is noticeable in the movie that Sean has a lot of unresolved issues

as well in his own personal life and it shows in his counseling sessions. There were a lot of

potential issues, broken ethical and legal issues as well, that I felt uncomfortable watching during

the movie because I know it was not beneficial to Will’s welfare.

Discussion to the Actions

Will was not the most forthcoming client with his negative attitude and sarcastic verbal

comments. This would make it difficult to bring out information from this type of client and I

feel Sean felt his actions would break through Will’s tough exterior and get him to be vulnerable.

However, I know there are other ways to go about interacting with a difficult client and Sean’s

actions and interactions should have been different towards Will.

Consequences on the Therapy

Boundaries were crossed in the client-therapist relationship between Will and Sean. Will

was not given any time to reflect on his past, what he wanted, or where he wanted to be. The

amount of times Sean used self-disclosure felt like the therapy sessions were for Sean and not

Will. This also can translate that Will most likely does not have healthy boundaries in his own

life and is unaware of healthy coping mechanisms or removing himself out of environments that

are triggering for him.

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Ethical Self-Reflection COUN 533 Hallis
Discussion and Projection of Same and Different Actions

I think I would want to follow the ethical guidelines to start out with letting Will know

about informed consent and confidentiality. Because of Will’s resisting attitude, it could be

beneficial to call him out on it in a gentle but stern way. Will comes into counseling sessions as

guarded and mistrustful. He will be reluctant to share his personal experiences right away. It is

known that Will is a bright kid, I think I would try to lean into that and ask him various questions

about things he knows and how he came to know those things. It keeps the discussion in a

comfortable arena for Will and lets him still feel in control.

With this being a hypothetical scenario, I am hopeful for Will to discuss his past

experiences openly, reflect on them, reflect on what he wants out of life, and how can he change

his situation to achieve those goals. Will would also learn healthy boundaries for his life and

coping mechanisms for future struggles he may encounter.

Discussion with the Therapist from a Colleague

If I were Sean’s colleague or supervisor, I would want to address how Sean interacts with

Will such as physical behavior towards Will, crass comments, and limit self-disclosure. It would

be important to address Sean’s competency as a therapist. Several times Sean does not maintain

composure, hold himself to a standard with ethical or moral values, and he transforms the client-

therapist relationship more into a father-son relationship. I would also want to discuss the topic

of confidentiality with Sean. There is no need to discuss Will’s progress with the professor,

unless Will was present, and Will gave verbal agreement.

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Ethical Self-Reflection COUN 533 Hallis
Shifts in Your Thinking about Ethics

After completing the 40-item Self Inventory: An inventory of Your Attitudes and Beliefs

about Professional and Ethical Issues, I feel there were minimal shifts between a few of the

answers I originally chose. One shift was regarding the question “A therapist should terminate

therapy with a client when the client decides to do so.” Depending on how this question is

interpreted, I would agree with this statement, and I would disagree with the statement. A client

has the right to terminate therapy at any time, however I feel it would be important to discuss the

situation first. On the other hand, I feel some clients may try to continue with as many sessions

as possible because they are nervous of ending the therapeutic relationship. In this case, it is

important from the beginning to discuss how many sessions may be allowed revisit as necessary

to help the clients plan, prepare, and process.

I think through the duration of this course, I have learned to challenge some thoughts I

had regarding different situations and how my first inclination is to always ensure the welfare of

the student is taken into consideration. I have also seen how important communication is in each

of these chapters. I don’t think my thinking about ethics has changed drastically, because I

appreciate and value the ethical rules and guidelines.

I would say I was invested in this course throughout the semester. I enjoyed challenging

myself throughout the lessons and reading through the different standpoints on the forums. I felt

the forums provided a lot of perspectives that were different from my own or something I didn’t

consider. I would say I was an active participant in this class and enjoyed the different

assignments we were given. I would give myself grade of 95% for participation this semester.
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References

American School Counselor Association (2019). ASCA School Counselor Professional

Standards & Competencies. Alexandria, VA: Author.

American School Counselor Association. (2022). Ethical standards for school counselors. The

school counselor, 84-88.

Burns, S. T. (2019). Students' ethical decision‐making when considering boundary crossings

with counselor educators. Counseling and Values, 64(1), 53-71.

DePue, M. K., & Lambie, G. W. (2014). Impact of a university-based practicum experience on

counseling students’ levels of empathy and counseling competency during practicum.

Counseling Out- comes Research and Evaluation, 5(2), 89–101.

https://doi.org/10.1177/2150137814548509

Griffin, D., Hutchins, B. C., & Meece, J. L. (2011). Where do rural high school students go to

find information about their futures? Journal of Counseling & Development, 89, 172-181.

Grimes, L. E., Haskins, N., & Paisley, P. O. (2013). “So I went out there”: A phenomenological

study on the experiences of rural school counselor social justice advocates. Professional

School Counseling, 17(1), 2156759X0001700107.

Hohenshil, T. H. (1996). Role of assessment and diagnosis in counseling. Journal of Counseling

and Development: JCD, 75(1), 64.

Lepkowski, B. (2018, March). Legal and ethical issues in working with parents. Legal and

Ethical Issues in Working with Parents - American School Counselor Association (ASCA).

Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/newsletters/april-

2018/legal-and-ethical-issues-in-working-with-parents
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Knapp, S. J., & VandeCreek, L. D. (2006). Multiple relationships and professional boundaries.

Practical ethics for psychologists: A positive approach (pp. 75 – 97). Washington, DC :

American Psychological Association.

Vasquez, M. J. (1992). Psychologist as clinical supervisor: Promoting ethical practice.

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 23, 196 – 202.