- Level: University Degree
- Subject: Subjects allied to Medicine
- Word count: 2406
BACP Ethical Framework evaluate the ethical, professional and audit issues which may arise.
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Introduction
C0435 Ethical and Professional Issues (Word count 2,378) With reference to the BACP Ethical Framework evaluate the ethical, professional and audit issues which may arise in a given counselling setting. In order to evaluate the ethical professional and audit issues which may arise in a given counselling setting, I must first choose an ethical framework model. I will then use the model I choose to outline all the stages of the ethical process I have used to come to my decision on the ethical dilemma. The model I choose for my ethical decision making is by Lynne Gabriel & Roger Casemore. 1. Stop, think, identify the situation or problem. The ethical dilemma is whether or not to tell the client that her mother is suffering from a terminal illness with a prognosis of 6 months to live. I need to break the dilemma down further, to understand exactly what or who is at risk. If I tell her, I will be breaking the confidentiality of a dying woman to her doctor. How will I feel about betraying a dying woman's confidentiality even if she has not directly confided in me? This would make me uncomfortable. The doctor did not swear me to confidence? Do I take it for granted that the conversation was confidential, even though it was in passing? ...read more.
Middle
This is support available on a professional level. The doctor may also be a source of support. Emotional support without breaking confidence can come from their partner, family members and friends. 7&8 Identify courses of action and select. Initially take it to supervision, assess the legal requirements of contractual obligations. Assess my ethics, feelings, beliefs and courses of action. Take her mother on as a client; Disregarded Impact on the daughter if she knew she may be guarded towards discussing the whole situation with me. Her daughter may not know. Impact on me, I would be bound by confidentiality to my client and would no longer be in a dilemma as she is now also my client. However, the mother would then be my client and what impact would this have on my motives and outcome of the work I do with her. This would be unethical of me. Tell my client; Disregarded I would need to ensure I was not breaking any legal responsibilities I have undertaken. If so the impact on me could be loss of professional membership. I could be sued. The impact on my own ethics, feelings and beliefs would have been discussed with the supervisor. Impact on my client; she may confront her mother and tell her father breaking her relationship with her mother as she may not want her husband to worry about her. ...read more.
Conclusion
Confidentiality is very important to me. "Confidentiality - the highest levels of confidentiality possible according to the law and the setting. Responsibility means being responsible to clients, the profession and society." (Jones et al, 2000, pg 9). As a responsible counsellor should I not carry the same ethics to the well being of others and respect their confidentiality? What are my feelings and ethics with regards to this? How would I feel if a doctor had broken my confidence? If I am honest to my own beliefs then as a responsible human being I would carry the same ethics to other people not just my client. Audit To measure the ethnicity of clients in a GP practise using the counselling service, a simple record form with name, age, gender and ethnicity would be produced. This would be handed to the client in the waiting room prior to the session. The client would then be told to hand this to the counsellor on entering the session. This is enable confidentiality of the information. The counsellor will then collate the information and keep it under lock and key which they alone can access, ensuring confidentiality. The information will be available to the counsellor and practise manager on request. The counsellor will then write a report on their findings outlining not only ethnicity but also gender and age of the clients to find out what age group and gender and ethnicity area accessing the service. ...read more.
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