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You have made some wonderful points throughout your post. I especially like that you started
of with recognition of God's grace and his holy presence in the counseling room to overcome
and heal any mistakes we make when counseling clients. I will try to always keep this in mind,
especially when I am questioning my abilities. I agree with your assessment that the counselor
failed to set boundaries and imposed her worldview and Christian beliefs on to her teenage
client. This is clearly a general rule to follow in all of the various counseling ethical standards but
especially the American Counseling Association A.4.b on Personal Values.
Hi Claire
I agree with your statement “Working with clients of various backgrounds
requires empathy as well as additional knowledge of cultural backgrounds.
The scenario that most disturbed me was the counselor’s lack of respect for the family as a
whole. The American Counseling Association A.1.d clearly points out that support networks,
such as other family members should be enlisted to gain a better understanding of a situation
since their involvement can help clarify and bring greater understanding to all those involved.
The counselors lack of treating the family as a whole can also be seen as a violation in the
American Association of Christian Counselors- 1-320-a Consent
from Parent, Legal Guardian or Client Representative and International Association of Marriage
and Family Counselors- Section A.
Family counselors are supposed to advocate for the family system as a whole system while
considering the uniqueness of each family member. The counselor chose one family member to
focus all of the attention and made this person the identified patient, rather than looking at the
family as an entire supra system with each person playing a subsystem role.
I also wanted to add I had not initially considered in my own post that The American Association
of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT, 2015), section 1.7 recognizes that therapists can be
viewed as authority figures and as such are not to abuse that power. This is extremely important
to point out. Abuse of power can take many forms and it can also be done accidentally without
knowing. The counselor may not have thought about her recommendations to the client as
being an abuse of power but her presence as an authority figure can be very intimidating for a
client, especially a teen who may be easily influenced. It can be very confusing when the
counselor instructs the teen to develop more independence. This can set up more hostility and
discomfort within the entire family system.
Another point you made in your discussion that I noticed too was about the particular scripture
verses that the counselor picked out. If the counselor had received permission to share scripture
from a Christian counseling perspective, these scripture verses were still inappropriate. Mark
10:6 speaks to a man leaving his family to be with his wife and Luke 14:26 speaks more about a
willingness to follow and stand up for beliefs.
I loved that you pointed out how Matthew 10:6-9 and Exodus 20:12 is a much better
verse to use when counseling a teen and how these speak to parents on loving and
raising children. If a counselor is going to use scripture to relay a point, the scripture should
be relevant. Another relevant scripture would have been Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any
unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up
according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. In other words, the family can
stop complaining about one another and work to fully understand each other and build each
other up.
References
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). (2015) AAMFT code of
ethics. Retrieved from https://www.aamft.org/Legal_Ethics/Code_of_Ethics.aspx
American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author
Goldenberg, H., Goldenberg, I., & Stanton, M. (2017). Family therapy: An overview.
Cengage learning.
The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1983). Hodder and Stoughton.
(Original work published 1978)
