INTRODUCTION
This unit explores the complexities and potential outcomes of establishing and maintaining professional boundaries. It reviews the idea that boundary crossings may at times be beneficial to the therapeutic relationship and addresses ethical decision making and cultural factors as factors that need to be considered in this area. Counselors who work in small towns or isolated areas may face some challenges when trying to avoid multiple relationships. In this unit, you will review the most common boundary violations, with special attention to sexual dual relationships.
OBJECTIVES
To successfully complete this learning unit, you will be expected to:
Design strategies to establish boundaries in the counseling relationship.
Evaluate the roles and functions of human services professionals in resolving legal and ethical issues in diverse counseling settings.
Develop and implement effective collaboration and communication strategies to resolve legal and ethical issues within diverse counseling settings.
Communicate effectively through the consistent use of APA guidelines for grammar, punctuation, and mechanics expected of a counseling professional
Complete the following for the scenario you selected:
Describe how and with whom each of the professionals might collaborate to respond to legal or ethical issues described in the scenario. How does the quality of the interaction impact the service provided to the clients or students?
Describe the role and function each professional would serve in terms of assessing or responding to any of the legal or ethical issues that may arise when working with this client or student.
Imagine that you are the counselor working with this student or client, and you will be serving as the lead person to coordinate efforts among the team of professionals at this setting.
What are some ways in which you might initiate collaboration efforts to resolve the legal and ethical issues?
What methods will you use to communicate?
How will you know if these strategies are effective?
Include in your response references to at least two specific state laws and two specific codes from the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics and/or the 2010 ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors that relate to your case.
Develop an effective communication to one of the professionals assisting your client:
For the student in the school counselor scenario: Compose a letter that you would send, with the student’s and his or her parents’ permission, to the school psychologist who will be seeing the student for an evaluation. In the letter, describe the reason for your referral, the relevant information you would like the psychologist to have about the student, and the information you would like to receive after the evaluation is completed. (You may need to make up some of the details about the student and your work with him.)
For the client in the mental health counselor scenario: You and the client agree she would meet with a new psychiatrist for an evaluation. Compose a letter that you would send, with the client’s permission, to the psychiatrist. In the letter, describe the reason for your referral, the relevant information you would like the psychiatrist to have about the client, and the information you would like to receive after the evaluation is completed. (You may need to make up some of the details about the client and your work with her.)
Submission Requirements
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
Written communication: Develop accurate written communication and thoughts that convey the overall goals of the assignment and do not detract from the overall message. Your paper should demonstrate graduate-level writing skills.
References: Your reference list must include at least two sources from current peer-reviewed journals. You must use APA sixth edition style to list your references. Refer to the iGuide page APA Style and Format for more information.
The number of pages: The length of your paper should be 3–5 double-spaced pages. Note: Page count does not include cover page or references.
Formatting: Use APA sixth edition formatting, including correct in-text citations, proper punctuation, double-spacing throughout, proper headings and subheadings, no skipped lines before headings and subheadings, proper paragraph and block indentation, no bolding, and no bullets. Refer to the iGuide page APA Style and Format for more information.
You are required to submit your final version of this paper to Turnitin to generate a final report prior to submitting the assignment for grading. From the Turnitin tool, first, submit to the draft link to check your work for any necessary edits. Once the paper is finalized and all edits have been made, submit your final paper to the Final report option for the assignment. Please be advised it can take up to a day to obtain the percentage from Turnitin. When your paper is downloaded and viewable in Turnitin, save the originality report. Refer to the Turnitin tutorial: Viewing Originality Reports (linked in the Resources) for guidance.
Submit your assignment using the following file naming format:
Your Name_AssignmentNumber_Assignment Title (example: Ima_Learner_u03a1_ClientDescription).
In the comment section, provide the percentage from the final Turnitin report (example: Final Turnitin percentage = 4%). Please be prepared to provide your faculty member with a copy of the Turnitin report should this be requested by you.
Be sure to read the Collaborating With Human Services Professionals Scoring Guide.
The scenario
Provide a brief case vignette from your area of specialization that describes a dual relationship. The relationship could be either harmful or beneficial. Include the age of the student or client and the setting in which you are working. Describe the steps you will take to ensure that the relationships you develop with your students or clients and the decisions you make about boundaries in these relationships will be ethical, legal, and beneficial. Support your ideas with reference to the professional literature and the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics and/or the 2010 ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.
Follow APA sixth edition style and formatting guidelines in your post.