This post will review ethical concerns introduced in the scenario that are
required of our profession from the American Counseling Association [ACA],
the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors [IAMFC], a
supplement to the ACA code, and the American Association for Marriage and
Family Therapy [AAMFT].
The given scenario is one of counseling a family of Korean descent with
members struggling with generalized anxiety disorder [GAD]. Ethics code
ACA A.8 (2017) states in regards to counseling multiple clients (i.e. a family),
the counselor must clarify at the outset who the client is. IAMFC (2017)
“advocates for the family as a whole system” while considering each
individual. Goldberg et al. expand here stating, “rather than viewing the child
as the identified patient with intrapsychic problems or the parents as the
source of the child’s difficulties, today’s outlook focuses on pathology among
all the family participants” (2017, pg 119). Here, the counselor is
encouraging the teen daughter to step out and separate herself from her
parents. While the counselor is drawing on past experiences from GAD client
sessions, he must remember the family is the client whom he is called to
systematically respect and promote (A.1.a, ACA, 2017). Instructing an
individual within a family system to exercise independence and seek self-
actualization at the parent’s expense is in clear violation of IAMFC Section A
(2017) which states counselors are not to make decisions for family or
individual members but instead, when appropriate, “share clinical
impressions and recommendations” that benefit the family system.
Knowing about the family system’s Korean cultural beliefs and
acculturation level to America is another ethical must in this scenario.
According to the ACA (2017), counselors are to learn and remain sensitive to
multicultural differences regarding informed consent (A.2.a) and
