Week 11 Discussion

Case Study

The case study I choose to select was Case Study 2: A Minor Client. This case discusses a High School student named Tommy. Tommy was recently dismissed from the Baseball Team at his High School as a result of his behavior problems. During the time he was on the baseball team, he was involved in a verbal squabble with one of his teachers and than a fight occurred between him and a teammate. In additional to the recent changes in aggressive behavior, Tommy has begun to hang around with an familiar group of friends, that are labeled as trouble makers and drug users. Tommy’s parents are very concerned about his recent behavior and activities at school. Tommy’s grades are on a decline and his parents decide that counseling could help him in ways he may be struggling with (Herlihy & Corey, 2015).

Ethical Violation & Professional Misconduct

In Tommy’s case there is evidences of drug use issues, as a counselor Ben has to ask himself is this activity create situations where Tommy behaviors in ways he didn’t before? In Section E.1.a of the ACA Code of Ethics (2014) discusses the important of assessments and its primary purpose in gathering information regarding the client for many different purposes from a client’s decision making, to treatment and planning. Assessments are either qualitative and or quantitative methodologies. Ben, the counselor did not ask enough appropriate questions during his assessment with Tommy to establish the severity of the issues he may facing. Ben attached a diagnosis on his client on the bases of information from family and not from Tommy. The second violation Ben had during this session with Tommy was the fact that he violated Tommy’s right by failing to make informed consent (ACA, 2014). During the session he had with Tommy, he is obligated to inform or alert him of the fact of becoming a legal adult and issues that could followed because of the submission of his diagnosis to the insurance company.

Ben also had two instances of misconduct that were presented in the case study, the first being, Ben diagnosed Tommy with substance abuse from instances told by his parents, Ben didn’t consult with the family about a diagnosis and is afraid that let will follow him throughout his career. The ACA Code of Ethics (2014) Standard C.2.a. states that counselors practice only with the boundaries pf their competence, this is the second misconduct found in this case study. Tommy was not given the appropriate assessments that results in a found that Ben billed for.

Consequence

When counselors violate or have instances of professional misconduct, they can result to consequences like being sued or taken to court for malpractice. In Ben’s and Tommy’s case, Ben should have consulted with his supervisor or someone that is familial with issues like this. This is also considered fraud for the wrong or inappropriate diagnosis, this is when a counselor is found guilty of insurance fraud, by not being accurate and in honest.

Recommendation

As a future counselor, there are many ways to safeguard against, misconduct and ethical violations. The first is to increase my understand of the ethics, this can be done through training, and seeking additional education. As a counselor I must know that if I am not trained in assessments and diagnosis that I should refer out, and let my client know their rights each time we began a new session and end one.

Reference

American Counseling Association (ACA). (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics [White Paper]. Retrieved from http://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-   bethics.pdf?sfvrsn=4

Herlihy, B., & Corey, G. (2015). ACA ethical standards casebook (7th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American         Counseling Association. ◦“Case Study 2: A Minor (?) Client” (pp. 150-153).