Signature Assignment – Applying an Ethical Decision-Making Module: Case Studies

You are an intern at an outpatient center where juveniles have been mandated by court to receive your services, which include psycho-education on anger and stress management to clients from diverse backgrounds and socioeconomic status.

You have employed all of the strategies that you were taught in graduate school, researched the topics, and tried to consult with your supervisor regularly. However, your supervisor always tells you that you are doing fine and supervision is not needed because you are doing such a good job. Your supervisor does not even listen to you when you have questions and does not appear to be monitoring the client’s progress.

You are not licensed as a counselor, but want to be licensed in your state, so you need the appropriate forms signed by your supervisor, which indicate that you completed your hours and required supervision. You have questions about what you are doing, especially since your clients have world views different than yourself.

Your adult client has been arrested on several occasions, which resulted in your client having a long criminal record, being on probation, and being incarcerated on a number of occasions. The client was arrested and convicted for selling controlled substances. You were asked to visit the client to complete a current mental status and provide recommendations to the court.

The client’s mental status exam did not yield any clinically significant issues. The client reported having positive thoughts about going home. The client has stated that they have learned a life lesson and will “never do anything against the law again.” The client denied having any distressing dreams, hallucinations, no manic or depressive episodes, and no problems with sleeping. The client reported no concerns about appetite and had no changes in the last few weeks. The client agreed that the medications were working well for diagnosed Bipolar I Disorder.

Upon questioning about the client’s children, the client said the children have visited about four times since this last incarceration, and the client was happy about those visits. During your evaluation, you notice that you have started to have romantic feelings toward the client because the client seems like a nice person.

You have decided that the client was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had to do what was needed to in order to survive. You have never felt this strongly about a client in the past.

You are working with a client who is from a different religion than you and has strong beliefs about religion. You know very little about the religion or the religious practices so you have some reservations working with the client due to your lack of knowledge and how your lack of knowledge could negatively affect your therapeutic relationship.

The client does not always answer your questions, is somewhat evasive, and insists on taking breaks to pray or meditate during the evaluation process. You know you are not supposed to cause harm to clients but are feeling hesitant to continue the evaluation process due to your lack of knowledge and familiarity with the client’s diverse background. You also think that the client may not open up to you due to your differences.

You want to refer the client to someone else but are not sure if that is appropriate. You are receiving supervision in the process and your supervisor thinks that you are able to handle this case competently.