The document describes several case studies involving ethical and legal issues that counselors may face, including school counseling, marriage and family counseling, mental health counseling, career counseling, and addictions counseling. It provides details of each case study situation and the issues presented. The document instructs the reader to choose one case study to analyze using an ethical decision-making model, discussing how they would apply the model to respond effectively to the legal and ethical concerns. It also prompts the reader to reflect on how their personal values and beliefs may influence their understanding and choices when handling such situations.
Unit-IV; Professional Sales Representative (PSR).pptx
PAGE Running head ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES 1Responding t.docx
1. PAGE
Running head: ETHICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES
1
Responding to Ethical and Legal Issues
Learner Name
Capella University
Responding to Ethical and
Legal Issues
Briefly list the case study in which you are choosing to focus on
in this paper as well as the ethical decision making model which
you will be using to analyze this case. The total length of your
paper should be 8-10 double-spaced pages. Please use 12pt
Times New Roman font and include references to five peer-
reviewed journal articles and/or textbooks in your paper.
Case Study
Summarize the key legal and ethical issues presented in the
case.
Ethical Response to Case
If you were the counselor working with this case, discuss how
you would apply each step of the ethical decision-making model
you have selected in order to respond effectively to these legal
and ethical issues.
A. Include specific examples to illustrate the actions you would
take at each step.
B. Include the specific ethical standards and state laws that you
would consult when determining your response to the situation.
How would these laws and standards influence the choices you
might make in responding to the situation?
2. C. Describe how you would demonstrate developmental and
cultural sensitivity when addressing the legal and ethical issues
presented. Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.
Self-Awareness
How do your personal values and beliefs impact your
understanding of the situation and the choices you might make
when deciding how to respond to the legal and ethical issues
that may arise in working with this client?
A. Include at least two examples of specific values and beliefs
you hold that may influence your reactions to this case and the
actions you may take.
B. Present at least two specific strategies that you will develop
to address the influence that your personal values and beliefs
may have on ethical decision making with clients.
References
Albert, D. (2002). Cognition in students: An analysis of
information processing. In M.R.
Zelder (Ed.), Advances in school counseling (pp. 100-107).
New York, NY: Fielders.
John, D. (2011). Effects of advocacy on the professional school
counseling field: A literature
review. Journal of School Systems, 9(5), 101-111. doi:
10.011125/jjj.123
Peterson, L. (2009). An exploration of social justice. New York,
NY: Thompson-Hire.
Responding to Ethical and Legal Issues - Case Study
School Counseling
Marty is a 10-year-old boy whose family moved to the United
States from South America two years ago. Marty's father was
3. promoted to a new job, so Marty needed to transfer to a
different school in the middle of the year. Marty is having a
difficult time making this transition. He is small for his age and
has a speech impairment that can make it challenging for others
to understand him. Marty is not confident in social situations
and has not had an easy time developing relationships with
others in his class. He usually spends his time alone during
recess and lunch and he's reluctant to join in class projects or
discussions.
Over the past few weeks Marty has become more withdrawn. He
does not respond to his teacher's encouragement to participate
in class and has not been completing his school assignments. On
one occasion, the teacher found that Marty had been drawing
graphic pictures of people being injured throughout his
notebook. Yesterday, Marty was seen sitting alone on the
playground scratching his skin with a safety pin. His marks
were superficial, but the behavior was concerning enough to ask
the school counselor to meet with Marty.
During the counseling session, Marty discloses that he is being
bullied by several boys at the school. They have taken his lunch
money, ripped up his notebooks, and punched him in the back
and stomach. The boys have warned Marty if he tells anyone,
they will break into his house and hurt his little sister, so he
refuses to identify them.
Marty also reveals that he had a similar problem at his previous
school where an older boy bullied him repeatedly for several
months and, on two occasions, appears to have sexually
molested him. Marty has never told anyone about this and is
terrified that his parents, teachers and other students will find
out. He breaks into tears and begs his counselor to keep
everything he's said a secret.
Marriage and Family Counseling/Therapy
Armand and Latisha have been referred for couples and family
counseling by Child Protective Services (CPS) following a
recent allegation of neglect. They have two children ages 8 and
11. Last month, following a basketball game, the children were
4. observed walking home alone in the very late afternoon in the
middle of a cold winter. They were picked up by the parents of
another student at their school, who later reported the incident
to CPS. The children explained that they often walked home
from events after school because their parents both worked and
only had one car between them. They live approximately three
miles from the school.
The parents of the children immigrated to the United States four
years ago and have limited understanding of English. They keep
to themselves and have not been involved in any of the
activities offered by the school. They are shocked to be
contacted by CPS and do not view their actions as wrong. They
feel angry they are perceived as mistreating their children, but
they agree to attend 10 sessions of couple-and-family therapy
that will be paid for by the CPS office.
A marriage and family therapist (MFT) from a local community
counseling agency is asked to meet with the parents, the
children, and the entire family to discuss the situation that
occurred and to provide support, education and counseling
services. During the first session, the parents seem confused
about the CPS referral and do not understand several of the
forms they've been given to fill out. The therapist learns that
they are extremely worried about their immigration status and
do not want anything negative placed in their records.
They tell the counselor they will have difficulty attending the
appointments regularly. Both parents have two jobs and
frequently do not get home until after 8:00 p.m.; the children
are expected to fix their own dinner and do their homework
until their parents arrive. When asked who watches the children
in the evening, the parents explain that a neighbor down the
street calls a few times to check in on them.
Mental Health Counseling
At 18, Simone is a new mother who became pregnant while on a
Spring Break vacation; she does not know who the father of her
child is. Simone has few friends and dropped out of high school
to care for her baby; she receives government assistance and has
5. no immediate plans to return to school or look for a job. Her
social worker has arranged for her to receive a grant for some
short-term counseling in order to help her adjust to being a
parent and to set some goals for the future.
Simone is estranged from her family and describes her early
childhood as chaotic and abusive. Her mother was diagnosed
with bipolar disorder and her father was alcoholic; they were
barely able to hold jobs and the family was on welfare and
frequently homeless. Simone says she was labeled with learning
disabilities throughout school but does not remember receiving
any help for them; she has a clear memory of overhearing a
teacher describing her as having a low I.Q.
The counseling sessions focus mainly on Simone telling stories
about her week; she is reluctant to explore her feelings and
doesn't understand why she would need to do any "counseling
homework" between appointments. She says she has no real
interests besides watching TV and listening to music and she
has no idea about what she'd like to do in terms of a job or
career. When pressed to talk about goals, Simone becomes
irritable and changes the subject.
During one visit, Simone acknowledges that she sometimes
smokes marijuana to help her cope with her anxiety and her
inability to sleep. She indicates that she only smokes after her
baby has been fed and is down for the night. She also admits
that she has been selling marijuana to a neighbor in order to
help pay for what she's been using. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be
able to afford it myself, and I need to be able to relax so I can
take good care of my baby!" Simone says her use of marijuana
is temporary, and promises not to smoke more than two or three
times a week. When asked if she'd like to use the next
counseling sessions to learn some other ways to relax, Simone
says that she's not ready to do this.
The social worker has requested a brief summary of the progress
Simone has made during her first 12 sessions in order to request
additional counseling appointments. Simone gives permission
for the report to be written, saying she doesn't know what would
6. happen to her or her baby if she couldn't attend counseling
sessions.
Career Counseling
You are the career counselor in a multi-purpose, non-profit
agency. This agency has a contract with the city to provide low
cost counseling services to its employees. The contract specifies
that your agency will inform the city's HR department of any
systemic problems it may uncover in its work with city
employees.
A female firefighter has come to you, wanting help finding a
new career. Initially, she cites job stress and the long hours as
reasons for wanting to leave the department. As you continue to
explore with her, however, you discover that she is being
sexually harassed by her male colleagues. Specifically, she tells
you that they made fun of her when she was injured at a fire,
suggest that she should do all the cooking for the crew, and call
her a dyke. She had been able to handle these situations with a
combination of humor and confrontation. However, last month,
she was left without backup in a fire and would have been
injured except for her captain's intervention. The captain wrote
up the firefighters who were involved in the incident, but she
has lost confidence in their willingness to protect her.
She knows that this is a city-approved agency and she implores
you not to report any of this to the city. She is afraid that if her
co-workers know she has talked about it outside of the
workplace that the harassment will worsen. You assure her you
can keep this confidential.
The following day, during a staffing meeting at your agency,
you discuss this client. Other counselors report that they are
seeing female firefighters for personal and marital counseling as
a result of the harassment they are receiving at work. Your
agency director makes a decision that the city needs to know
about this.
Addictions Counseling
Bobby is a 41-year-old man who has been seeing you for
counseling to address issues with alcohol and marijuana abuse.
7. Bobby's mother is Native American and he spent his childhood
living on a reservation in Arizona. Both he and his mother were
physically abused by his father; at the age of 12 they left the
reservation and relocated to live with relatives in a large city in
another state. His mother passed away last year.
Bobby is HIV-positive due to use of intravenous (IV) drugs in
his early 20s. He has not used IV drugs for over 15 years and
has been working closely with a physician to maintain his
health and monitor any symptoms that emerge. He has not
disclosed his HIV status to anyone except you.
Bobby works as an overnight residential counselor for
adolescent boys five evenings a week; he is also in school to
complete his degree in counseling and hopes to become a
licensed therapist some day. He tells you that he attends
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings
several times a week.
Two weeks ago Bobby comes to one of his counseling sessions
with alcohol on his breath. He admits to having a relapse and
reveals he's been drinking and smoking marijuana for the past
month. He was afraid to tell you because he didn't want you to
be disappointed in him. Bobby further discloses that he's been
drinking "just a little" in the evenings at work after the boys are
asleep. He says that some of his own abuse issues from
childhood have been emerging and he's having a hard time
dealing with the horrible memories.
Bobby also admits that some of his anxiety is being triggered by
meeting a woman in his NA group to whom he's very attracted.
He finally got up the nerve to ask her out and they have been on
three dates. He believes they will be sexually intimate soon but
he's not ready to tell her about his HIV-positive status. He
assures you that he's extremely careful to practice safe sex, and
that he'll tell her "when the time is right."
Credits
Subject Matter Expert:
Debra White, Susan L. Perry
Interactive Design:
9. discuss how you would apply each step of the ethical decision-
making model you have selected to respond effectively to these
legal and ethical issues. ◾Include specific examples to illustrate
the actions you would take at each step.
◾Include the specific ethical standards and state laws that you
would consult when determining your response to the situation.
How would these laws and standards influence the choices you
might make in responding to the situation?
◾Describe how you would demonstrate developmental and
cultural sensitivity when addressing the legal and ethical issues
presented. Use specific examples to illustrate your ideas.
•Explain how your personal values and beliefs impact your
understanding of the situation and the choices you might make
when deciding how to respond to the legal and ethical issues
that may arise in working with this client or student. ◾Include
at least two examples of specific values and beliefs you hold
that may influence your reactions to this case and the actions
you may take.
◾Present at least two specific strategies that you will develop to
address the influence that your personal values and beliefs may
have on ethical decision making with clients or students.
Other Requirements
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
•Written communication: Develop accurate written
communication and thoughts that convey the overall goals of
the assignment and do not detract from the overall message.
Your paper should demonstrate graduate-level writing skills.
•References: Your reference list must include at least six
sources. You must use APA sixth edition style to list your
references. Refer to the iGuide page APA Style and Format for
more information.
•Number of pages: The length of your paper should be 8–10
10. double-spaced pages. Note: Page count does not include cover
page or references.
•Formatting: Use APA sixth edition formatting, including
correct in-text citations, proper punctuation, double-spacing
throughout, proper headings and subheadings, no skipped lines
before headings and subheadings, proper paragraph and block
indentation, no bolding, and no bullets. Refer to the iGuide page
APA Style and Format for more information.
