Ethical Dilemmas in Counselling: A Case Study Analysis (Psychology)

This assignment presents a case study examining an ethical dilemma faced by a licensed clinician, Julie R. The scenario involves a conflict of interest arising from Julie's knowledge of fraudulent activities by one client's boyfriend, and another client's potential purchase in the same development. The essay explores whether Julie is ethically obligated to warn her second client, considering principles like client confidentiality, dual relationships, and the potential for harm. The analysis delves into relevant ethical codes, professional boundaries, and the balance between a counselor's duty to their clients and the broader societal context. The essay will require at least eight peer-reviewed sources to support arguments and recommendations, discussing the importance of ethical decision-making in counseling practice and the implications of actions taken in complex situations. The essay emphasizes the importance of maintaining professional integrity and upholding the trust placed in counselors by their clients, while also considering the legal and ethical implications of breaching client confidentiality and the potential for harm. The case study demands a comprehensive understanding of ethical principles and the ability to apply them to resolve complex professional challenges.

Running Head: ETHICS IN COUNSELLING
Ethics in Counselling
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1ETHICS IN COUNSELLING
The set of moral principles and the rules of conduct that support an individual’s moral
conduct rules can be referred to as the set of ethics guiding principles. In the context of the
professional base, the counsellors should act according to the interests of the clients that suits
them the best. The best interests refer to the promotion of the different goals of the clients; an
effort to maximize the good and effort stop minimize the harm caused by the nature of their
profession. The expectation however broadens because of the cohesive power and the
different relationship that exists between a client and his counsellor. The ethics also includes
the concept of the different ethical codes and the varied principles that focus at the balancing
of the power structure and works to ensure that the counselor should operate to contribute in
the good for the clients and not for their own self. In the initial stage, the counselor’s duty
was just to provide the care to their clients. In the course of making the different ethical
choices, the counselors must also consider just for themselves, but also for the associated
agencies or the organization involved for their choice of the profession or for the community
in the broader terms. However, the counselling cannot take place in absolute vacuum; rather
the counsellors should give effort to acknowledge the different facets related to their practice
in the both internal and external environments (Finlay,2019). The counselors should be
considered from the point of view of an overall holistic perspective that includes the body of
the different environment structures, the diverse systems that exist , the different form of
policies , the different laws and the set of regulations, the moral codes and the different forms
of the societal norms that exist. A complete awareness mechanism of the set of ethics of a
situational structure can only take place when all the factors are taken into proper
consideration.
The concept of ethic also relates to the concept of the moral consideration measures.
However, the challenge lies in the fact whether the facts under consideration are moral or are
ethical in nature. In this situation, each counsellor comes to their individual professional roles

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within the domain of their own set of moral values and standards (Ghazali,2017).The
different set of individual principles, the process, and the purpose of their application of those
principles to interpret the nature of dilemmas that are universally different in structure.
Therefore, the set of code of ethics structure sets out the general standards framework that are
meant for the counsellors to adhere in order to apply them along with the different set of legal
standards in order to provide for the ethical practice mechanism working through the
different forms of ethical dilemmas, which becomes an urgent necessity. The code of ethical
conduct however offers all the counsellors a rough framework of the facts that should be kept
between the two domains of being acceptable or being not acceptable in their types of
behavior. In those places where the form of counselling is not regulated under any form of
licensing, at those situations the ethical codes may adopt similar type of principles in the
midst of covering the different forms of behavior, which are often area specific to the core
areas of counselling. Numerous commercial associations have developed their own form of
code of conduct and the ethics mechanism. The codes may adopt other such similar principles
if they talk about the covering of behaviors, which are mainly area specific in nature. The
professional counselling patterns provide specific code of conduct and ethics mechanism to
the different members in order to check their inability to stick to the codes that may result in
the removal of their traditional form of membership patterns. A professional may also belong
to many organizations and thus may have access to the other additional codes of ethics. In a
situation of acute ethical dilemma, a counsellor needs to consider all the available and the
easily applicable codes of conduct or the different ethics codes. It is the responsibility of
every counsellor to familiarize with themselves through the context of the proper relevant
codes and the other regulations that governs their specific area of practice.
All the members who are engaged in their professional association are likely to
subscribe to their profession’s main code of ethics in order to protect the public in general.

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The extent to which the level of protection occurs are mainly based on four basic factors that
are inclusive of the awareness among the clients and the knowledge regarding the different
structure of code of ethics that are involved in the procedure of registering the different forms
of complaints. It also depends on the degree upon which the client feels that there is a
possibility that he should discuss whether there are any forms of violations for the counsellor.
It also depends on the degree of the fairness of the codes. The ability of the client to manage
the code or the assistance that is required in the negotiation process. Finally, the ethics are
helpful in determining the different choices and the underpinning actions. The counsellors by
their nature and in the context of the duty of their profession are to act accordingly in an
ethical manner. The best form of ethical conduct is grounded on the fact of the understanding
of the different forms of awareness regarding the different code of ethics, where the
counselors have a long desire to do the appropriate action and based on the smooth
functioning of the moral principles. There is a concept of individualism that will be tempered
against the basic legal and the ethical codes of conduct, as well as the different expectations
that are based on the different cultural norms and the societal framework.
The counsellors selected for the guidance principles work with the different clients,
whether they are individuals or work in the different groups to whom they will deliver the
different form of professional services that concerns about the different educational, the
vocational forms and in the domain of the different forms of personal or social development.
The guidance counsellors share a specific form of special type of relationship of the trust that
is shared. That type of particular trust is always promoted by forming the setup and by
formulating the appropriate boundaries that exist in the relationship and results in the action
that explicitly aligns to the client and the other relevant persons who are engaged in this
process. The primary concern in the framework of the ethical guidelines is the relationship
that is set up with the clients. However, the relationship that is set up with the clients cannot

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exist in the system of an exact social vacuum perspective. It is for this reason that the
counsellors who are appointed for guiding the social principles, the community norms and the
law along with the professional challenges and efforts made to resolve the challenges. The
alleged form of the breaches that can occur with the ethical code of conduct are referred to as
an institute’s Professional form of conduct committee that is established will help to
investigate the situation and to determine the probability of taking appropriate actions. While
the codes are designed in such a manner to regulate the extent of the high level of
professional actions that are taken by the guidance counselors is not always meant to monitor
and control the activity of the different contexts or embrace other wider levels of the rising
social concerns. The domain of personal behavior becomes a rising concern of mainly the
institutes only in those situations where a doubt rises on the ability of the practitioners, which
is required to conduct himself or herself as a professional; and in the complete ethical manner
or if in any situation, it undermines the level of public trust in the professional level.
Similarly, the people who are not members of the institute are not obliged to follow the code
of ethics or the institute’s procedures related to the laws and regulations. However, like all
the other citizens, both the members and the nonmembers of the institution must take the
responsibility of the law and order situation that is ultimately subject to the framework of the
legal sanction.
The code consists of 4 basic parameters that are subject to a number of specific legal
standards. They are: First, one should respect the rights and the dignity of all the clients. The
counsellors for guiding the honor and promote the fundamental form of rights , the values and
the culture and dignity that is worth of the clients present. They respect the rights of the
clients and their rights to privacy measures , their level of confidentiality and the measures of
self-determination and the degree of autonomy which show a wide degree of consistency
with the existing law. The client should understand the consent before any professional action

5ETHICS IN COUNSELLING
is taken. The level of competence among the guidance counsellors shall be maintained well in
order to update their level of professional skills. They are entrusted with the responsibility
that sets the limits of the expertise level or their engagement in the self-care domain in order
to seek support and to ensure supervision to maintain high standards in the professional field.
They offer only those particular services for only which they are properly qualified with
standard education , proper training and relevant levels of expertise. The guidance
counsellors are well aware of their latest professional responsibility that will be applicable in
a quite accountable manner that will be approachable for the clients , their colleagues and the
community in which they work to live with higher standards (Bond,2015). In this situation
they try to avoid the extent of harm , and take the responsibility for their professional actions
to adopt a systematic approach in resolving the different types of conflicts. The guidance
counsellors are always swell aware of their professional act of responsibility to act in a
specific trustworthy manner for creating an accountable approach towards their clients. The
guidance counsellors mainly avoids doing harm and try to take up the responsibility for their
different professional actions and try to adopt a systematic approach in resolving the various
types of the ethical dilemmas. The guidance counselors should also seek initiatives to
promote the integrity approach in their practice. They represent themselves as accurately
adopting the process of treating the others and the other members of the community in which
they live. The counsellors also deal with the active form of process which deals with the
different issues of the conflict of interests and tries to avoid doing any form of harm and try
to take the responsibility of the professional actions that they take and try to adopt a
systematic approach in resolving the context of the ethical dilemmas.
In the case of the case study, where Julie R is a licensed clinician, she has been
dealing with her client Gloria for counselling her for more than a year. In this context, Julie
comes to know about the fact that her client Gloria’s boyfriend is a fraud and has been

6ETHICS IN COUNSELLING
convicted of committing an unscrupulous act in the respect of a particular department where
his boyfriend is engaged. Now the clinician Julie deals with another client, with whom after
Julie dealing came to know that she is trying to purchase from the development where
Gloria’s boyfriend has committed a fraud. Now, the question that arises is as a clinician Julie
knows completely about the fraud. So will it be ethical for her to warn her second client.
There are two perceptions regarding this . If we consider that Julie should warn her second
client then there is a question of her professional etiquettes that should restrict her from
revealing the personal information of one client to the other client. This can cause a breach of
the privacy right of any individual in the respect of revealing their personal information. The
second perception is the human consciousness and the ethics related in preventing an
individual from committing a deliberate and a huge mistake (Julie as a clinician must prevent
Gloria from conducting the purchase from a fraud enterprise to prevent the escalation of the
mishappenings further. If Julie is not warning Gloria then she is indirectly supporting a
wrong action for the sake of her professional ethics and in the course letting someone fall in a
huge and dangerous trap ahead (Bakshi & Goss,2019). If Julie will follow the second
perception and let her second client know about the unscrupulous truth, then she is probably
eliminating the gap between the professional and the personal standards. Julie as a clinician
in the context of her professional standards she should keep the contexts confined to her
professional standards sonly and not let it mix with anyone’s personal life or emotions Julie
should work in only that context where her professional ethics will permit her to do so. As a
clinician she should not bring any such activities in the forefront that highlight any form of
personal or emotional attachment with the client and should just maintain her professional
ethics.

7ETHICS IN COUNSELLING
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