Complete the assigned case studies and utilize the LPC or LMFT Board Rules and textbooks to answer the questions. Synthesize your answers into coherent paragraphs. In other words, do not use a question/answer format. Make sure to cite specific board rules. This assignment will follow APA format and style and include a title page and reference page. Grammar and mechanics will also be graded. You should write a minimum of one page per case study. No late work permitted.
Case Study #1
Tara has worked as a therapist for the past two years in a local community mental health center that primarily treats middle-aged adults who suffer from depression. Tara was offered this position after successfully completing both her practicum and internship at the center. While Tara is regarded as an excellent counselor by her clients and colleagues, she realizes that her skills are limited by the lack of variety in her training and experience. One afternoon Tara’s supervisor approached her and asked her if she would be interested in facilitating a group therapy session once a week at one of the center’s other branches. The group is for newly diagnosed schizophrenic clients and is meant to help them cope specifically with their auditory or visual hallucinations. Tara was excited about the possibility of doing something new and accepted the invitation to facilitate the group. She remembered back to her psychopathology class in graduate school and felt comfortable running the group based on the knowledge of schizophrenia that she acquired from the class.
(Case study from The Ethical and Professional Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy by Len Sperry)
Answer the following:
· Discuss why Tara’s response is either ethical or not ethical. Provide specific codes of ethics from the state licensure board (LPC or LMFT) to support your answer.
· Use Corey’s Steps to Making Ethical Decisions (page 20 of Corey’s textbook) to answer this section: Discuss each step as it relates to the above scenario and how these steps are beneficial in making ethical decisions. State how you plan to utilize this model as a future counselor or even in your day-to-day interactions.
· If you were Tara, what moral principles (from Corey’s textbook) would you use to guide your decision to lead or not lead the group?
Case Study #2
Talib, an immigrant from the Middle East, is a graduate counseling student. During several course discussions, his views on gender roles become clear, yet he expresses his beliefs in a respectful and non-dogmatic fashion. His attitudes and beliefs about gender roles are that the man should be the provider and head of the household, and the woman is in charge of nurturing the children. Talib also voices concern that some of his female peers might be neglecting their family obligations to pursue their degrees. Talib also bases his views by citing experts in this country who support his position that the absence of women in the home has been a major contributing factor to the breakdown of the family. Talib and his classmates have many lively conversations about this topic with many holding different attitudes regarding gender roles.
About halfway through the semester, his professor, Dr. Berny, meets with Talib to discuss her concerns about him pursuing a degree in counseling in this country. She cited his belief systems towards gender roles and encourages him to pursue another degree if he is unable to change his “biased convictions” about women. She states concerns that if he does not open his mind to contemporary viewpoints about women and gender roles he will eventually encounter serious problems with clients and fellow professionals.
Answer the following:
· If you were Talib’s classmate, what would you to say to him and why?
· What assumptions underlie Dr. Berny’s advice to Talib? State why you consider her advice to be ethical or not.
· How would you approach a client whose views seem very different from your own? How would you respond if Talib was your client?