Social media's popularity has grown exponentially in recent years, with almost every business imaginable beckoning the public to follow it on Twitter or to "like" it on Facebook. For counselors, technology can ease accessibility, especially in nontraditional settings; however, counselors should make sure they understand ethical pitfalls and challenges in using technologies. The following case study will help you better understand ethical pitfalls and learn how counselors can work to avoid encountering these in their daily work. Case Study: Jonah is a contract counselor who provides in-home counseling services to lower-income individuals. He is rarely in the office and often uses his cell phone as his primary point of contact with his clients. Titus, a 20-year-old African American male, is Jonah's in-home counseling client. Titus has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has a history of suicide attempts, self-mutilation, and psychiatric hospitalization. Titus's home life and natural support system is very unstable and his mother, with whom he lives, is verbally abusive. Due to the instability of Titus's home life and Jonah's inability to be reached at the office, he has given Titus his cell phone number to verify appointment times and meeting locations. Also, because of Titus's tendency for suicidal ideation and self-harm, Jonah encouraged Titus to make phone contact (both during and outside of office hours) whenever he felt overwhelmed and had a desire to hurt himself. This was Jonah's way to conduct a risk assessment outside of their meetings. Over the course of time, Titus had a tendency to text Jonah instead of calling. Jonah typically called Titus, instead of texting back, when the client texted, but Titus stated to Jonah he was more comfortable with texting. Therefore, Jonah decided it was in the best interest of the client to communicate through Titus's preferred means of communication, especially given Jonah's unique situation of not being available at his office phone during business hours. As an in-home counselor, Jonah knew if he asked his clients to contact him via his office, it would not result in him being able to respond to crisis situations in a timely manner. One day, Titus contacted Jonah via text to tell him he would not be available for their meeting the next day because he had been kicked out of his house. He stated he wanted to jump off a bridge and was currently on his way to do so. Jonah called Titus and tried to assess the situation over the phone and find out Titus's location (in case he needed to contact authorities), but Titus became overwhelmed and hung up the phone stating, "I just want to end it all. I can't handle any of this anymore." Jonah attempted to make contact again, but Titus would not answer the phone. When he texted him, Titus did respond but Jonah felt very uncomfortable making an assessment via text and left several voicemails for Titus, explaining why he needed to talk with him over the phone. .

1. Social media's popularity has grown exponentially in recent
years, with almost every business imaginable beckoning the
public to follow it on Twitter or to "like" it on Facebook. For
counselors, technology can ease accessibility, especially in
nontraditional settings; however, counselors should make sure
they understand ethical pitfalls and challenges in using
technologies. The following case study will help you better
understand ethical pitfalls and learn how counselors can work to
avoid encountering these in their daily work.
Case Study:
Jonah is a contract counselor who provides in-home counseling
services to lower-income individuals. He is rarely in the office
and often uses his cell phone as his primary point of contact
with his clients. Titus, a 20-year-old African American male, is
Jonah's in-home counseling client. Titus has been diagnosed
with bipolar disorder and has a history of suicide attempts, self-
mutilation, and psychiatric hospitalization. Titus's home life
and natural support system is very unstable and his mother, with
whom he lives, is verbally abusive. Due to the instability of
Titus's home life and Jonah's inability to be reached at the
office, he has given Titus his cell phone number to verify
appointment times and meeting locations. Also, because of
Titus's tendency for suicidal ideation and self-harm, Jonah
encouraged Titus to make phone contact (both during and
outside of office hours) whenever he felt overwhelmed and had
a desire to hurt himself. This was Jonah's way to conduct a risk
assessment outside of their meetings.
Over the course of time, Titus had a tendency to text Jonah
instead of calling. Jonah typically called Titus, instead of
texting back, when the client texted, but Titus stated to Jonah
he was more comfortable with texting. Therefore, Jonah decided
it was in the best interest of the client to communicate through
Titus's preferred means of communication, especially given
Jonah's unique situation of not being available at his office
phone during business hours. As an in-home counselor, Jonah

2. knew if he asked his clients to contact him via his office, it
would not result in him being able to respond to crisis situations
in a timely manner.
One day, Titus contacted Jonah via text to tell him he would not
be available for their meeting the next day because he had been
kicked out of his house. He stated he wanted to jump off a
bridge and was currently on his way to do so. Jonah called Titus
and tried to assess the situation over the phone and find out
Titus's location (in case he needed to contact authorities), but
Titus became overwhelmed and hung up the phone stating, "I
just want to end it all. I can't handle any of this anymore."
Jonah attempted to make contact again, but Titus would not
answer the phone. When he texted him, Titus did respond but
Jonah felt very uncomfortable making an assessment via text
and left several voicemails for Titus, explaining why he needed
to talk with him over the phone. Titus still refused to answer the
phone. Jonah contacted Titus's mother to notify her of the
situation, and she hung up on him stating she did not care.
Jonah contacted his supervisor, also an in-home counselor, and
left a message. Feeling frustrated and desperate, Jonah waited
for his supervisor to call him back.
Tasks:
Identify and discuss the ethical issues that come to your mind as
you read this case.
Comment on how Jonah might address these ethical issues.
Discuss what you would have done differently with Titus to
avoid some of the ethical issues in this case.
Identify at least two specific standards from the
ACA Code of Ethics
that relate to the positions you include in your post.