DB Week 2 COUC 601
The ACA Code of Ethics reads A.1. “The counselor's primary responsibility of the counselor is
to respect the dignity and promote the welfare of the clients” (American Counseling Association |
a Professional Home for Counselors, n.d.). The first mistake the counselor makes is ignoring
Stephan’s autonomy with prayer and the loss of his parents. She also ignored how angry Stephan
becomes when his wife prays with their son Ray. This is the family’s first session and the
counselor does not know the extent of the arguments that Stephan and Delia are having. This is a
violation of A.4.a Avoiding harm “Counselors act to avoid harming their clients, trainees, and
research participants and to minimize or to remedy unavoidable or unanticipated harm” (p. 4).
The counselor told the parents they needed to pray together although Stephan is grieving the loss
of his parents and has shared he lost his faith is causing this family harm. We know that the child
is having adjustment issues moving from one country to another and having to learn a new and
different culture, we do not know if what is going on at home is affecting this child’s behavior
also.
The counselor imposed her own beliefs and values onto this family by telling them to bow their
heads so she could pray this is a violation of A.4.b. “Counselors are aware of and avoid imposing
their values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors” (p. 5). The counselor violated all of the attributes
of this ethical code. The counselor also violated B.1.a “respecting the clients' rights through
multicultural diversity considerations. The counselors maintain awareness and sensitivity
regarding cultural means of confidentiality and privacy. Counselors respect differing views
toward disclosure of information. Counselors hold ongoing discussions with clients as to how,
when, and with whom information is to be shared” (p. 6). The counselor’s ethnicity is unknown
therefore it is hard to determine if there were any cultural biases. Her statement “ where I come
from would indicate some bias with the culture. B.4.b was also violated “In couples and family
counseling, counselors clearly define who is considered the client and discuss expectations and
limitations of confidentiality” (p. 7). The counselor also violated professional competence C.2.a.
Boundaries of competence. When the counselor told them how to parent their child this was out
of their scope of practice. She is not this child’s parent, her culture is different from this family’s
and her environmental upbringing is more than likely unrelatable. Counselors are to help clients
reach and obtain their desired goals. This is done through developing rapport, collaboration,
developing a treatment plan with goals to be reached. This family Delia was able to share her
concerns but was not allowed to share with the counselor what the family is hoping to achieve.
References
American Counseling Association | A professional home for counselors. (n.d.).
https://counseling.org/
