Running Head: ETHICAL MINUTE PAPER 1
Ethical Minute Paper
Tychera Tate
Liberty University
ETHICAL MINUTE PAPER 2
Abstract
Confidentiality is a policy that all counselors and employees should uphold. It helps the client
and the counselor and the client to form a strong bond that involves trust and communication.
American Counseling Association Code of Ethics states many different reasons to why
confidentiality is important and the acceptable reasons to break it. This paper will examine a
scenario that could possible arise in agency between a client and an employee. The scenario will
be examined by the ACA Code of Ethics and Virginia Policies and Regulation. In the scenario
there were multiple codes that were violated, which will be discussed later in the paper.
ETHICAL MINUTE PAPER 3
A Helpful Receptionist
Identified Problem
In this scenario, a receptionist is at the front desk when a man walks in and states he is
the husband of one of the agency’s client. He proceeds to ask the receptionist the name of the
agency and for the receptionist to deliver a message to his wife, who agrees. Soon as the husband
leaves, the wife walks over to the desk and the receptionist lets her know her husband was there.
The wife became really upset because she didn’t want her husband to know that she was
receiving counseling. She becomes very concern that he will use this information to gain custody
of the children due to them going through a divorce.
According to American Counseling Association (2014), Confidentiality is one of the
focuses for building a strong relationship with clients. In the video, although the receptionist is
not a counselor, she is an employee of the agency that is providing services to the wife.
Therefore, she is expected to follow all guidelines of confidentiality. She should have not
identified the wife as a client at the agency. This violates the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) law, which states that healthcare providers can’t identify a client
without a signed consent form.
Applicable ACA codes
According to Section B.1.c Respect for Confidentiality, counselors are supposed to
protect the confidentiality of clients by not disclosing any information without appropriate
consent. Also, Section B.3.a, Information Shared with Others; states that counselors need to
make every effort to ensure privacy and confidentiality of their clients are maintained by
subordinates. This means that all clients information should be kept private by all the agency
ETHICAL MINUTE PAPER 4
employees. The receptionist violated both codes by letting the husband know that his wife was
being seen at the clinic. Doing this could have potentially put her in harm’s way.
Applicable State Codes
The state of Virginia follows the ACA codes, but they also have regulations of their own
that a counselor and employees of agencies must follow. According to Virginia policy and
regulation for counselors; Section 18VAC115-20-130. C.3 states that disclosure or release of
information can only be released to others with written consent. The receptionist violated this
regulation, which could potentially cause the agency to lose a client and it can result in a lawsuit.
ETHICAL MINUTE PAPER 5
References
A helpful receptionist [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mediaplayer.pearsoncmg.com
American Counseling Association (2014). Code of Ethics Resources Retrieved
From http://www.Counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf
Board of Counseling Laws and Regulations. (n.d.). Retrieved June 25, 2019, from
https:// www.dhp.virginia.gov/counseling/counseling_laws_regs.htm
