Maintaining Ethical Standards
Shannon Williams
BSHS/335
November 24, 2014
Jennifer Brennan
Ludwig is a counselor who is trained and educated exclusively in individual counseling as opposed to family counseling. After working with Ella for some time, Ludwig realizes that Ella would benefit from family counseling sessions. Ludwig would like to refer Ella to someone who is capable of doing family counseling, but is worried that Ella might feel as though he is abandoning her. Therefore he decides not to refer her and continues just to help her on an individual basis.
As a caseworker, there are multiple ethical issues that could arise within this case. The first ethical issue that I face is not referring Ella to the person who will be able to give her the proper care. It is my job as the caseworker to help my client to understand the issues involved within their individual life. If there is something that I cannot do, then it is my duty to explain to the client what needs to happen and by transferring them to a family counselor will be a better benefit for them.
The second ethical problem that I could be faced with is not being able to adequately accommodate the client’s need due to missing information that could be brought up within family counseling. Most of Ella’s issues are influenced by her family, and I would not be able to make accurate decisions because I do not have everyone’s side. If I directly referred Ella, then the appropriate caseworker would be able to understand all perspectives and help formulate a plan to correct the issues.
The third ethical problem that could arise would be my relationship with the client. Because I have become attached to the client, I am unable to do my job effectively. This attachment could
potentially grow stronger and lead to a relationship forming outside of the professional relationship; I would be hindering the chances of the client getting...