Ethical Analysis of Vignette Five
Ethical Analysis of Vignette 5
In considering the potential ethical issues and related theory in Vignette 5 a number of issues have been outlined and discussed below.
Ethical Issues
In investigating potential ethical issues of Vignette 5, Carla had knowledge that Simon was divorced which may have been an act of self disclosure on Simon’s behalf. In considering whether this disclosure was in Carla’s best interest, this could potentially be identified as an area of contravention of the Australian Psychological Society’s (APS) Code of Ethics (General Principal C; Integrity). Yallom (2002) argued that self disclosure from the therapist can foster self disclosure from the client, and that this can work to create an atmosphere of trust. If however, Simon volunteered this information to serve his own interest, there may be a risk of causing harm to the client thus violating his profession responsibility by crossing the professional boundary into a more personal relationship (contravention B.3.G). Although not explicitly stated, Simon may have been struggling with his own relationship issues stemming from his recent divorce. This may have obscured his judgment to remain objective when working with Carla and her marital issues. Consequently, Simon’s emotional and mental state may have been impairing his ability to provide effective therapy and thus this may thus be in breach of competence (contravention B.1.2.E). In the first instance when Carla asked Simon out for a drink, although he declined the invitation, throughout the time after this Simon arguably demonstrated a lack of boundaries as he held a “special interest” in Carla even to the point of wearing shirts that he knew she liked. Instead of addressing this directly through self reflection or consultation with peers and supervision to discuss the implications and management of the situation, he chose not to act (contravention B.1.3 and C.3.2). Finally, there could be a potential risk of
In considering the potential ethical issues and related theory in Vignette 5 a number of issues have been outlined and discussed below.
Ethical Issues
In investigating potential ethical issues of Vignette 5, Carla had knowledge that Simon was divorced which may have been an act of self disclosure on Simon’s behalf. In considering whether this disclosure was in Carla’s best interest, this could potentially be identified as an area of contravention of the Australian Psychological Society’s (APS) Code of Ethics (General Principal C; Integrity). Yallom (2002) argued that self disclosure from the therapist can foster self disclosure from the client, and that this can work to create an atmosphere of trust. If however, Simon volunteered this information to serve his own interest, there may be a risk of causing harm to the client thus violating his profession responsibility by crossing the professional boundary into a more personal relationship (contravention B.3.G). Although not explicitly stated, Simon may have been struggling with his own relationship issues stemming from his recent divorce. This may have obscured his judgment to remain objective when working with Carla and her marital issues. Consequently, Simon’s emotional and mental state may have been impairing his ability to provide effective therapy and thus this may thus be in breach of competence (contravention B.1.2.E). In the first instance when Carla asked Simon out for a drink, although he declined the invitation, throughout the time after this Simon arguably demonstrated a lack of boundaries as he held a “special interest” in Carla even to the point of wearing shirts that he knew she liked. Instead of addressing this directly through self reflection or consultation with peers and supervision to discuss the implications and management of the situation, he chose not to act (contravention B.1.3 and C.3.2). Finally, there could be a potential risk of
References: Australian Psychological Society (2007) Code of Ethics. Melbourne. Kotter, J. (2010). Lies we tell ourselves – and others. In: On being a therapist (4th ed.). San Fransisco, United States of America: Jossey-Bass. Maroda, K.J. (1991). The power of countertransference: Innovations in analytic technique. New York, New York: John Wiley & Sons. McWilliams N. (1999) Psychoanalytic Case Formulation. New York: Guilford Press, Morrissey, S., & Reddy, P. (2006). Ethics and professional practice for psychologists. Australia: Thomson Social Science Press. Yalom, I. D. (2002). The gift of therapy: An open letter to a new generation of therapists and their patients. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers