BENCHMARK ETHICAL VIGNETTE PAPER 2
Abstract
As counselors work with many different clients and help manage their personal life it is
important for counselors to keep the relationships with their clients as professional as possible. In
addition counselors may work with clients that may be interested in keeping in close contact with
their counselor and forming relationships and bonds outside of the professional realm. This paper
will center around a scenario of a school counselor intern at a highschool named John. John
befriends one of his male students on social media but denies the friendship request of his female
student. Throughout the paper I will also identify the problem within the scenario as well as
outline how the ASCA Ethical Standards, state confidential laws , and federal mental health laws
can be utilized in the scenario. Overall, I will identify the significance of counselors setting
boundaries with their clients and staying ethical at all times.
Keywords:Counselors,Clients, Professional, Scenario
BENCHMARK ETHICAL VIGNETTE PAPER 3
Benchmark Ethical Vignette Paper
Introduction
Counselors frequently have to make morally right decisions in difficult circumstances.
Determining the right course of action in a complex ethical problem can be difficult for some
counselors (Forester-Miller & Davis, 2016). Examining and evaluating the events in scenario 1, I
was able to recognize the issue and challenging situation that counselling intern John was facing
right away. Numerous aspects of the scenario did not conform to the ethical requirements of the
ACA and ASCA, which were reviewed together with the ASCA code of ethics.
Indentify the Problem
Scenerio 1 involves a high school counseling intern named John. John gets a friend
request on his social media account from Ben who happens to be one of his students that he
works with at his internship. John accepts the request from Ben because he enjoys working with
him. However , John later receives another friend request from one of his female students named
Jeanne. Ben does not accept the friend request from Jeanne because he claims he does not enjoy
working with her as much. John then explains to Jeanne that the reason he denied her request
was because he does not accept friend requests from female students. Within this scenario I
observed that although John is an intern who is still learning his role as a professional school
counselor , He did not set ethical and professional boundaries with his students by befriending
them on social media. It is against the law for counsellors to interact personally virtually (via
social media or other platforms) with clients they currently provide counselling to (Stone, 2004).
BENCHMARK ETHICAL VIGNETTE PAPER 4
In the above-described circumstance, there is an ethical issue. John did not follow the
Personal Virtual Relationships with Current Clients ethical guidelines. John engaged with his
students through social media which is outside of his profession while not considering the
precautions of befriending students on social media as a school counselor intern. John displayed
some bias and judgment as he only followed back his student Ben because he enjoyed working
with him. However John did not follow his other student Jeanne back because he is not as fond
as her as he considers her to be very argumentative. John then goes on to tell Jeanne that he did
not follow her because she is a female which is another example of John displaying bias.
ACA Code of Ethics
I found two principles in the ACA code of ethics that addressed the issue in this particular
situation. Counselors consider the benefits and drawbacks of extending their counseling
relationships beyond established boundaries. Examples include attending a client's formal
occasion (such a wedding, commitment ceremony, or graduation), paying a customer's
hospitalized family member, and paying for a service or items that the client supplies (barring
unrestricted bartering). In order to ensure that no harm is done and judgment is not
compromised, counsellors widen these boundaries while exercising the required professional
safeguards, such as informed permission, consultation, supervision, and recording (A.6.b).
According to Burns, S. T. (2020) the twenty-four criteria tell counselors not to hurt clients, not to
force values on clients, not to take advantage of clients by receiving presents or engaging in
non-professional relationships, and not to harm clients.
BENCHMARK ETHICAL VIGNETTE PAPER 5
This standard applies to this scenario because it is relative to how there is a big risk to
consider when considering befriending clients on social media. As a counselor, Befriending
clients or students on social media should always be done with caution. Counselors must
formally document, prior to the interaction (if at all possible), their reasons for going beyond the
boundaries set out in A.6.a. and A.6.b., as well as any potential benefits and expected results for
the client or former client and any other individuals who are closely connected to them. (A.6.c).
This ethical standard also connects with scenario 1 because befriending clients or students on
social media is a very risky factor and could possibly be harmful to the counselor if he or she is
befriending a client who becomes violent, harmful, and begins stalking. It is very important that
counselors will be able to document these instances for legal and safety puposes.
Applicable State Laws/Regulations and Federal Mental Health Laws
The state rules and regulations of North Carolina are highly applicable in this particular
case. The American School Counsellor Association (ASCA) is followed by the North Carolina
School Counsellor Association. The American School Counsellor Association (2018) states that
before extending relationships outside of the school and its hours (e.g., by attending students' off-
campus extracurricular activities, honouring them at celebrations, visiting them in the hospital, or
attending their funerals), school counsellors weigh the potential risks and benefits. This North
Carolina regulation is also an ASCA standard that relates to the scenario because it mentions the
counselor being aware of potential risks of extending relations beyond the school building and
hours. In the scenario’s case , In the scenario’s situation , befriending students on social media is
a significant risk element because you are witnessing eachothers personal lives outside of the
counseling connection.
BENCHMARK ETHICAL VIGNETTE PAPER 6
The Nature and Dimensions of the Dilemma
The justice and nonmalefice principles, two of the six moral precepts found in the ACA,
were most applicable to scenario 1. The situation is covered by the justice principle since John
did not practice justice and act fairly or equally when he chose to friend one of his students on
the social network but not the other. He claimed that he did not accept the other student's follow
request because the student was a female. Due to the gender of his students, John demonstrated
how he was unable to fulfill his duties as a fair and just counselor. This situation falls under the
nonmalefice principle since John did not exercise abstaining from actions that would jeopardize
his students. John took the risk of befriending a student on social media as well as befriending
one student and not the other. He also specifically tells the other student that being a female is
the reason he could not befriend her on social media. I feel that this could be harmful towards the
student because if the student is in a vulnerable mental state , this situation could add some
effects on her mental and emotional well being.
The justice principle is the priority principle that applies to this scenario. Among the
most widely used social media networks are Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. With the use of
these platforms, individuals can share their life and express themselves by tweeting and like
other people's material in addition to uploading images and publishing messages. Every social
media user creates their own digital story in this way, using the platform to convey personal
ideas and sentiments as well as their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the material of others.
(Kaluzeviciute, 2020). According to Brown, T. A., & Armstrong, S. A. (2022) fFew research
studies have been done on school counselors' application of ethical decision-making models or
their training in doing so. School counselors deal with moral dilemmas all the time. Due to the
fact that social media is a place where many private and personal things can be published,
BENCHMARK ETHICAL VIGNETTE PAPER 7
following each other on social media by counselors and their students or clients can result in
various prejudices and judgments.
Potential Courses of Action
I would unfollow Ben and inform him that I would prefer to maintain our counseling
connection as professional as possible by denying each other access to our personal and social
media accounts in order to address the ethical dilemma presented by this scenario. In addition, I
would also do this so that I am being fair towards Jeane who is another student who followed me
on social media who's request I denied. It seems unfair to me that one student gets to follow me
on social media while the other does not. Irrespective of my personal feelings towards that
student, it is crucial for me as a counsellor to uphold equity and treat everyone fairly. Overall,
having eachother on social media crosses a professional boundary. It might be presumed that
counseling is an ethical profession given the nature of the field, wherein making ethical decisions
effectively is essential (Grace et al., 2020).
Conclusion
In the counselling profession, establishing limitations and upholding moral principles are
crucial. Counselors must always be knowledgeable with the ACA and ASCA requirements. I
was able to evaluate the issue in scenario 1 and learn the proper protocols and moral guidelines
to adhere to in the event that I, as a counselor, ever found myself in the predicament of a student
wanting to befriend me on social media. As a counselor, I've discovered that I have to take my
own risks and consider both the advantages and disadvantages of having students or clients on
social media. Being friends with students or clients as a counselor can be detrimental since it can
generate boundary shifting and instances where privacy is not respected.
BENCHMARK ETHICAL VIGNETTE PAPER 8
References
Brown, T. A., & Armstrong, S. A. (2022). Use of Ethical Decision-Making Models
Among School Counselors. Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory
& Research, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15566382.2022.2073176
Burns, S. T. (2020). Power’s influence on boundary-crossings between counselor
educators and counselor education students. Cogent Education, 7(1).
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2020.1795048
Grace, B., Wainwright, T., Solomons, W., Camden, J., & Ellis-Caird, H. (2020). How do
clinical psychologists make ethical decisions? A systematic review of empirical
research. Clinical Ethics, 15(4), 213–224.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1477750920927165
Kaluzeviciute, G. (2020). Social Media and its Impact on Therapeutic Relationships.
British Journal of Psychotherapy, 36(2), 303–320.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjp.12545
Stone, C. (2004, February 11). Equity of Services and Dual Relationships - American
School Counselor Association (ASCA). www.school counselor.org.
https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Magazines/May-June-2004/Equity-of-Services-
and-Dual-Relationships#:~:text=
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