ETHICAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF COUNSELING

Ethical and Legal Aspects of Counseling

Abstract

The process of counselling plays a vital role in research, education, career development and other fields. To analyze the functions of this subject and assess it with respect to its related aspects, this research paper will embark upon elaborating on the legal and ethical issues related to counselling. In this study, we shall try to explore the concept of counselling in various contexts of ethical and legal dimensions. All the features including employment setting, cultural and client variables, along with the theories of counselling will be discussed in the paper. The main focus of the research is on concentrating on the legal and ethical issues involved in counselling and their relation with the ethical decision making and legislative matters. The study will also analyze many aspects of standards drawn and regulations formulated in order to undertake the counselling process. Moreover, the research will also attempt to gauge the impact of the application of laws and ethics on the working process of counselling. The significance of the topic will be discussed and explained through different real life examples. The study will further include the applicative illustrations of the concept of counselling in real life and the affects of its implications along with considering the benefits and drawbacks of counselling. The concluding outline of the research will highlight upon the major guidelines of performing research according to the laws and standards prescribed by the regulations.

Introduction

School counselors, in the process of helping students, make decisions each day that require an understanding of professional ethics and state statutes. Applying ethical codes and state laws to the numerous situations that arise is challenging because it involves values, knowledge, and professional judgment. The application of ethical standards and state statutes can be confusing at times, because what the law requires and what the codes stipulate may be in conflict. This is particularly true in cases involving confidentiality. A growing national trend is that state legislatures are limiting the boundaries of confidentiality through the passage of mandatory reporting laws. In addition, because the majority of students with whom counselors work are minors, school counselors face an additional burden. Parents' right to know can often conflict with a fundamental tenet of counseling: the opportunity for clients to have a confidential relationship. The net result is that school counselors are making decisions based on legal and ethical standards that are not always clear and precise in pointing to the correct decision. (American Association for Counseling and Development, 2004, 13)

Body

Because codes and laws are not always precise and ethical codes tend to reflect what most professionals can agree on rather than ideal counseling practices, counselors need to learn to engage in ethical decision making. A further complicating factor is that in some situations no one behavior seems entirely ethical. (American School Counselor Association. (2006), 21)

Several recent studies have systematically investigated the application of ethics to counseling situations. None of these studies, however, focused specifically on the ethical concerns of school ...