Balancing Ethical Issues in Group Counseling While ethical guidelines are established within most counseling associations, these codes do not provide rigid procedures in the event that an ethical dilemma should occur. In their research on competing values within the area of ethics in counseling, Samuel Knapp and Leon Vandencreek (2007) observe that situations occur in which neither laws nor ethical guidelines provide a clear-cut solution to these dilemmas. For example, a recent stroke victim exhibits severe anxiety and agitation at an initial meeting, which causes providing the client with detailed information about treatment and gaining consent difficult due to lack of rationality. At the same time, this person has not been legally ruled in need of guardianship. The therapist would need to determine at this point whether working directly with the anxiety and agitation would provide the best welfare (beneficence) for the patient and possibly provide a level of rationality in order for informed consent (respect of autonomy) to be obtained.
While codes of ethics provide good guidelines for caregivers, no one ethical guideline should be considered stronger than another. As could be seen in the previous scenario, beneficence might need to take precedence over the respect of autonomy in that particular case; however, at other times, therapists might find it wiser to hold their tongue during a conflict within a group than protecting an individual client from possible pain. At first glance, this decision might go against the guideline of beneficence in that the therapists duty is to protect a client from harm, but the wisdom of this decision may lead to a breakthrough for the client, which comes from learning to resolve conflict within the protected confines of a group session, Brabender (2006) refers to this process as balancing in that therapists determine “the relative strength of the ethical principles as they relate to this particular circumstance, and finding the means to accommodate them, albeit at varying levels” (p. 403). Therapists can receive assistance in finding clarity through having a basic decision-making plan in place. According to Brabender (2006), one of the first signs that an ethical dilemma might be occurring is a therapist’s subjective sense of “disquiet” (p. 403). This uncomfortable feeling can be based on an uneasiness that one or more of these guidelines is becoming murky. In order to gain clarity, therapists should gather information in order to define the problem. After the problem is recognized, a decision-making plan should be put into place, where stakeholders are identified and specific ethical guidelines are considered. Based on this information, therapists can determine next steps. If ethical guidelines are relevant, a balancing should take place in order to determine, which guideline would take precedence in an effort to provide the greatest benefit to the client (Brabender, 2006; Knapp & Vandecreek, 2007). Comparing Ethical Differences between Group and Individual Counseling Since the approaches of group and individual therapies are altered, the ethical guidelines that pertain to each method must be applied in different ways. At the same time, these same ethical guidelines are at the heart of both approaches. In the classic movie Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan and the sequel Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock, one of the major plot themes displays an excellent demonstration of the ethical differences between group and individual counseling (Bennett, 1982; Bennett, 1984). Within individual counseling, therapists easily identify the client; however, in group counseling, individual clients make up the group. Based on this major difference, group therapists must wrestle with the ethical questions that Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and Dr. Spock debate, which is do the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many or do the needs of the many …show more content…
According to Michelle Tucker and Tian Oei (2007), groups have the advantages of more cost effective treatment and the ability to work with a greater amount of people. Group work benefits clients through offering group support, experiencing group cohesion, and providing opportunities of usefulness, as members can participate as co-therapists to each other. With its cost-effectiveness and noted effectiveness in treatment outcomes for many sources of psychological needs, group counseling is can be an optimal choice for
While codes of ethics provide good guidelines for caregivers, no one ethical guideline should be considered stronger than another. As could be seen in the previous scenario, beneficence might need to take precedence over the respect of autonomy in that particular case; however, at other times, therapists might find it wiser to hold their tongue during a conflict within a group than protecting an individual client from possible pain. At first glance, this decision might go against the guideline of beneficence in that the therapists duty is to protect a client from harm, but the wisdom of this decision may lead to a breakthrough for the client, which comes from learning to resolve conflict within the protected confines of a group session, Brabender (2006) refers to this process as balancing in that therapists determine “the relative strength of the ethical principles as they relate to this particular circumstance, and finding the means to accommodate them, albeit at varying levels” (p. 403). Therapists can receive assistance in finding clarity through having a basic decision-making plan in place. According to Brabender (2006), one of the first signs that an ethical dilemma might be occurring is a therapist’s subjective sense of “disquiet” (p. 403). This uncomfortable feeling can be based on an uneasiness that one or more of these guidelines is becoming murky. In order to gain clarity, therapists should gather information in order to define the problem. After the problem is recognized, a decision-making plan should be put into place, where stakeholders are identified and specific ethical guidelines are considered. Based on this information, therapists can determine next steps. If ethical guidelines are relevant, a balancing should take place in order to determine, which guideline would take precedence in an effort to provide the greatest benefit to the client (Brabender, 2006; Knapp & Vandecreek, 2007). Comparing Ethical Differences between Group and Individual Counseling Since the approaches of group and individual therapies are altered, the ethical guidelines that pertain to each method must be applied in different ways. At the same time, these same ethical guidelines are at the heart of both approaches. In the classic movie Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan and the sequel Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock, one of the major plot themes displays an excellent demonstration of the ethical differences between group and individual counseling (Bennett, 1982; Bennett, 1984). Within individual counseling, therapists easily identify the client; however, in group counseling, individual clients make up the group. Based on this major difference, group therapists must wrestle with the ethical questions that Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and Dr. Spock debate, which is do the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many or do the needs of the many …show more content…
According to Michelle Tucker and Tian Oei (2007), groups have the advantages of more cost effective treatment and the ability to work with a greater amount of people. Group work benefits clients through offering group support, experiencing group cohesion, and providing opportunities of usefulness, as members can participate as co-therapists to each other. With its cost-effectiveness and noted effectiveness in treatment outcomes for many sources of psychological needs, group counseling is can be an optimal choice for