No Formal System of Ethics for Human Services - Paper Example

Introduction

According to Pope (2019), there is no formal or comprehensive system of ethics for any profession dealing with human services. Referring to the same statement by Pope, it could also be concluded that there is no specific code that every business should follow and similarly, there is a particular mechanism for enforcement. The American Psychological Association guidelines should not be forced onto any external tangential field. I believe every agency be it law-enforcement or research or medical has developed its standards of ethics and professional conduct that those working within the field should adhere to.

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According to the American Psychological Association (1992), the ethics code in the document should apply to psychologists only and work related to the practice. The APA code and beliefs should be made known to other areas but not forced to other areas because different industries have distinct ways in which they deal with ethical conflict. As of yet, no formal comprehension system of ethics could be involved in all areas of human services. In this particular paper, there is a need to identify and discuss the critical legal and ethical issues present in both cases 1 and case 2.

Case #1

Every client has protected by the APA principles and codes of ethics regardless of age, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Just like in case 1, even though Sarah is a child aged 14 and is still under the full guidance of her parents, she has the right to Consent for the Treatment as a minor. Jamie as a therapist may have bridged the code of ethics by not making the session as confidential as she had earlier promised her Sarah as her client.by exposing her to Veronica definitely made her client to lose the trust she had built with her therapist. Nonetheless, in a situation whereby, the conditioned seems to be worsening and no improvement, she may be needed to involve the parents tactfully. For instance, in the case study 1, Sarah's sexual relationship seems to be only getting more profound with her college boyfriend, and she seems obsessed, the therapist had to blow it earlier but with the consultation of the minor and even assuring her that everything is going to be fine. Due to the fact that Jamie involved the parent after a long delay is very unethical, having in mind that the sex partner of Sarah is an older person while Sarah is a mere minor. Legally this is child abuse, and perhaps Sarah may just have been lured by her college boyfriend. Sarah ought to have been treated as a child and legal system to be involved in putting the older boyfriend into books and facing the law for a sexual offence with a minor.

Child advocacy is coming up with specific laws which are used to protect children from any form of harm or neglect by adults. The law ensures children are raised in a friendly environment which is safe for a child to be raised in. Since a child depends on older people as they grow, there is a need for all people to provide love, guidance, and support to all children. Sometimes adults make mistakes that harm children, creating the child's environment to be of anger, neglect or fear. Neglects and child abuse harms the children such as depression, shyness, learning difficulties and physical injuries, which may affect a child's behaviour in the future. Therefore, all adults must play a significant role in helping children to grow up in loving and caring surroundings (Dingwall, Eekelaar and Murray, 2014). For instance, when Sarah started the session with Jemie, she felt so attached with an adult person for the first time; this is clear evidence that Veronica may have assumed her responsibilities as a parent to share the emotional attachment with her daughter.

Many bodies have come up with the child advocacy centers to help advocate for the children, for instance, the implementation and development of the Children's Advocacy Center model that has entirely integrated within the MDT strategy to child abuse. The MTD model has provided a more child-friendly environment to interview the children. More and more building of the National Children's Advocacy Center took root (NCAC).

Moreover, Jemie, as a therapist, seems to have violated the code of e this regarding the maintenance of appropriate boundaries with Sarah, who is the patient in this particular case.As the session proceeded, Jemie as a therapist seems to be getting into deeper relationship and attachment with her client; however, this is entirely wrong based on the set standards. As a therapist, Jemie had to empathize with the client but not to get so emotionally attached to the case at hand. In a circumstance that we do understand ourselves that we get emotionally attached and may be driven by emotional attachment with our client, it would be fair to reassign the task or hold on until the treatment is complete. In the situation, Jemie had a fondness of Sarah and really wanted to assist her in every way possible, and Sarah also gets involved in the emotional attachment and excessively trusts Jemie which tends to lead into a very close relationship. This is clear evidence of ethical conflict; and is in abridging of the code of ethics as per APA guidelines.

Engaging in such a relationship with a participant is described as having more than a therapeutic relationship with a client or trainee. Such a form of relationship can compromise the outcome of the comprehensive treatment. The boundary of relationship has always been violated as a result of the technology, for instance, the psychologist would keep contacting the participant or client via social media platform and perhaps starts talking various issues that are irrelevant as the research or therapy requirements. For example, Jamie, noticing they both used iPhones also offered Sarah the option of having sessions using Face Time in between the sessions her mom brings her to if she really needed. They exchanged cell phone numbers so they could be in contact this way.

Dealing with moral conflict may need balancing the interests of the parties involved. In this case, the psychologist Jemie and Veronica. The psychologist has to apply a standardized procedure to settle the moral conflict by an ethical aspect to the ultimate conclusion. The psychologist, however, has to consider asking the question: which is the most effective strategy to settle moral conflict during the research is to avoid it from occurring. This means to have a standardized core set of values; ethical standards; active adherence function; and moral leadership (Pope and KeithSpiegel, 2008). In the case of the occurrence of ethical conflicts, the process assists in resolving it effectively. In this particular case study 1, the mother was furious both at the therapist and her daughter. She threatened Jamie that she would report her negligence to the board and of course discontinued therapy.

There seems to an interpersonal conflict between Veronica and Jemie since the mother of Sarah feels that Jemie had neglected her responsibility as a therapist to inform the concerned agencies and her herself even though her child is undergoing sexual abuse. This happens in a situation whereby the real or perceived goals and values that are incompatible are colliding. Interpersonal conflict tends to go beyond communication. The interpersonal relations may also be a significant factor that causes of ethical conflict among individuals.

According to the set standards by the APA, every therapist needs to follow and comply with the set code of ethics. It should be noted that the ability to manage conflict is likely to make individual to have a better life than making the situation worse or escalating it. While the ethical disputes concerning intimate relationship and research in the field seem to be a regular trend, we will emphasize on the various approaches that could be applied to address the issue as stated in the scenario. The situation between Veronica, Sarah and Jamie could use a compromising approach. Compromising is more of an embracing kind of attitude that indicates relatively mild care for self and low investment in the conflict and the relationship. Compromising may never be necessarily a win situation since a partner may later feel that they probably gave too much, thus resulting in a future conflict.

Case# 2: Couples Therapy

We all know that the romantic relationship may be faced with several challenges such as financial misunderstanding, physical abuse and emotional abuse, among other changes. In this particular situation, it was unethical to disclose any of the relationships with the ongoing patient; and the potential patient that will be regarded as a conflict of interest in the long run; it is unethical not to assist the client to understand the fundamentals of attempting to create an honest and open relationship with a therapist before the treatment commences; the therapist needs to be frank to the couples; and again, the therapist has to cooperate with other departments such as the health department, criminal justice system and other agencies to assist in formulating an accurate therapeutic operations.

Ethical considerations are critical since they assist in distinguishing the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour as far as the practice norms are concerned (McCambridge and Hawkins, 2013). First, ethical standards help to avoid falsifying of data. Moreover, a better strategy by the therapist would assist the couples in enhancing a collaborative work because it promotes an environment of trust, accountability, and mutual respect among the patients' families and the decision makers. This is especially essential while regarding issues associated with confidentiality. The strategies used the therapist has to be appealing to even the public based on several factors such as on matters of human rights, and compliance with the medical practices. For instance, Debbie hitting her mother is against human right, and it is illegal, on the other hand, Bill had no right to hit his wife irrespective of the ongoing misunderstanding. Debbie hitting her old mother and even not giving her a full three meals a day is against human right and is considered an abuse of the elderly.

Jack may also apply specific alternative therapies (Churchill et al., 2000). And again, he should negotiate a treatment plan that encompasses only the demanded therapies that are considered safe. For instance, the couples may be offered support services such as social work or chaplaincy. Self-disclosure is a high-level concept in interpersonal communication because it helps foster trust and brings people closer together (Steinberg 2007, pp. 1). Focus and attention are essential skills to me because they help affirm my ability to give to others. Focus and attention are also important to me because these skills display my interest in ideas and perceptions of those people around me. Jack, as a therapist, had to adhere with the initial terms and conditions that he had settled with the clients and it unethical to conduct private discussion individually with either of the clients as he did with Bill.

Psychologists have used the theories of stages to explain the evolution of relationships. Relationships begin with a normal encounter and progress in stages as stipulated in the APA principles. In the progression of relationships, associations move to the experimental stage where people exchange topics from various disciplines to determine whether there is a common ground in which the connection can be sustained. If this stage is passed successfully, then the association between two people regardless of whether they forms a durable bond. Assertive skill is an excellent tool in managing both your association with others and with you...