Codes of Ethics and Synopsis of State Laws

1.Identify whether you are seeking a marriage and family therapist license or a professional counselor license. What is the process you need to follow to obtain licensure in your state? Discuss the state's limits to confidentiality

On a personal level, I am pursuing a license in Marriage and Family Therapy. The specific region from which the license is being pursued is the state of Oregon. In this state, the marriage and family therapist's role is to work with individuals, couples, and families towards client treatment. In particular, the therapist's understanding of the manner in which members of the family shape the mental health of one another requires that the marriage and family therapists in Oregon evaluate the families’ development and roles (American Counseling Association, 2014). To be considered for licensure, it is expected that marriage and family therapists have doctoral degrees or master's degrees in this field. Therefore, the therapists ought to undergo a four-year undergraduate program to earn a Bachelor's degree in counseling. This step is followed by graduate work that leads to a master's degree, culminating in doctoral (or Ph.D.) work that enables one to earn a doctorate in counseling.

Regarding the examination and experience for licensure as a family and marriage therapist in Oregon, it is expected that one chooses the intern method or the direct method. Regarding the direct ways, individuals are expected to have an experience stretching to 2000 hours, while the intern method, although demanding similar hours as the direct method, requires that at least 1000 hours are dedicated to providing therapy to couples and families (Anthony & Goss, 2009). Apart from gaining field experience, licensure requires that individuals in Oregon sit for an examination. The exam that this state administers comes in a computer-based test and is derived from the Professional Examination Service.

Regarding the state’s limit to confidentiality, it is expected that a licensee hold in confidence all the data obtained. Indeed, the information is secured during professional service provision. The safeguarding of client confidences is also expected to conform to the permission of law or rule. Hence, licensees are barred from using client confidences to the disadvantage of the latter. It is also expected that licensees and their professional associates (and even employees) do not disclose the clients’ confidential information acquired during service provision, unless the law or rule dictates so (Anthony & Goss, 2015). In situations where the law or regulation permits confidential data disclosure, it is expected that the client provide written informed consent. It is also worth noting that the licensee remains responsible for being aware of the federal and state regulations surrounding confidentiality and the need to inform client groups regarding limits of confidentiality.

2.Discuss the AAMFT Code of Ethics and the ACA Code of Ethics regarding confidentiality based on the licenses you are obtaining.

For individuals seeking licensure in marriage and family therapy (MFT), the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) states that it is the responsibility of therapists to disclose to client groups and other interested parties possible limitations of their confidentiality rights, as well as the nature of confidentiality. Indeed, the therapists are expected to engage clients in reviewing some of the situations that could prompt a request for confidential information and legalized platforms through which the confidential data is likely to be disclosed (Ben-Zeev, Davis, Kaiser, Krzos & Drake, 2012). The guidelines advocate further for written authorization or disclosure to release client information only if the law permits in such circumstances. The therapist is also barred from disclosing data that operates outside or beyond the treatment context (unless written permission is obtained). When dealing with couples or families, it is also expected that the therapist does not reveal one individual's confidence to another within the client unit, unless written permission is secured.

From the American Counseling Association's (ACA) perspective, confidential data could be disclosed if the central objective is to protect the identified others or clients from foreseeable and serious harm (Consoli, Beutler & Bongar, 2017). Also, the disclosure could be done if legal requirements demand that the data be revealed. When in doubt, the guidelines suggest counselors need to consult other professionals, especially when dealing with end-of-life issues. It is also worth noting that counselors may disclose information when clients indicate that they have a life-threatening and communicable disease. Indeed, this suggestion is informed by affirmations that the rest of the parties could be at foreseeable and serious risk of contracting the same. However, ACA guidelines caution that the counselors ought to assess the clients’ intent to disclose to third parties or the engagement in behaviors that prove harmful to the third party, upon which state laws are expected to be followed towards the disclosure of client disease statuses (Nichols, 2012).

3.How could you use the AAMFT Code of Ethics or the ACA Code of Ethics to advocate change for the profession of Marriage and Family Therapy or Licensed Professional Counselor, depending on the licenses you are seeking?

The code of ethics that could be used to advocate for change is AAMFT, and the target profession is Marriage and Family Therapy. Indeed, the code states that therapists need to secure appropriate informed consent before engaging in therapeutic procedures. However, some situations (such as those involving an identified communicable or life-threatening disease) imply that the need for a therapist's intervention cannot be overstated. However, the code’s provision that the intervention must be preceded by securing appropriate informed consent implies that if such a client declines to participate in a counseling process, the rest of the third parties might remain at risk of contracting the disease (American Counseling Association, 2014). Therefore, the proposed change is that AAMFT needs to be refined in such a way that it provides room for exceptional situations in which therapists could intervene without necessarily obtaining appropriate informed consent, especially if the primary motivation is to assure the safety of the remainder of the population.

4.Using the AAMFT Code of Ethics or the ACA Code of Ethics, evaluate how you see your value system and how it might conflict with what you are ethically bound to do as a counselor/therapist.

According to the AAMFT Code of Ethics, therapists are expected to respect clients' autonomy in relation to decision making. In particular, the guidelines state that the therapist needs to stretch beyond respecting these rights of clients and engage them in understanding the perceived consequences associated with the decisions made (Anthony & Goss, 2009). On the one hand, this section of the guidelines coincides with my value system regarding the importance of using client opinions as lead paths through which effective therapy could be provided. On the other hand, the specifications conflict with the therapist's expectation regarding the central objective of the intervention, which involves bringing about changes in the lives of clients. For instance, the motivation behind offering therapy is to advise about relationships such as visitation, custody, reconciliation, separation, divorce, marriage, and cohabitation. However, AAMFT states that the therapist needs to provide room for clients to make decisions. This specification conflicts with the central aim of intervening to bring about the perceived change. Additionally, the code of ethics poses a dilemma so that it does not specify the degree to which client autonomy in decision making should be tolerated (Anthony & Goss, 2015). Thus, the point at which the therapist needs to assume an active role and lead in the decision-making process is yet to receive an in-depth analysis.

5.Compare the ethical codes of your professional organization with your state's statutes governing the practice of marriage and family therapists or licensed professional counselors, and how is privileged communication defined?

Both the AAMFT code of ethics and the Oregon MFT Licensing Board exhibit several commonalities. For instance, in both institutions, the code of ethics division (in Oregon) states that licensees do not condone discrimination based on the client's socioeconomic status, marital status, sexual orientation, religion, or race. Similarly, the division bars therapists from client discrimination relative to gender, national origin, ethnicity, disability, culture, color, or age (Ben-Zeev, Davis, Kaiser, Krzos, & Drake, 2012). In relation to AAMFT, the code of ethics states that therapists ought to offer professional assistance without discriminating against clients based on those mentioned above. It is also worth noting that the code of ethics division in Oregon indicates that licensees ought to be aware of the influential positions they hold and avoid exploiting the dependency and trust of groups such as supervisees, employees, clients, and their students.

Additionally, the division holds that licensees ought to avoid multiple relationships with client groups, especially those that threaten to compromise or impair professional judgment (or pose the risk of attracting exploitation). The relationships include sexual, personal, or business relationships with client groups. Similar to this division, the AAMFT code of ethics states that therapists ought to avoid using their influential positions to exploit the clients' dependency and trust via practices such as sexual relationships. It is further notable that both institutions concur that privileged communication entails interactions among parties whereby the law acknowledges a protected and private relationship (Consoli, Beutler, & Bongar, 2017). In particular, the privileged communication practice implies that issues discussed or communicated between the parties are expected to remain confidential and that the law cannot force the communications' disclosure.

6.How is a duty to warn or protect defined, and what are the limitations? How are ethical complaints handled in your state?

Notably, an ethical dilemma is likely to arise if social work values come into conflict. On the one hand, the social worker's obligation is to warn third parties or clients regarding a looming crisis of the possibility of harm. On the other hand, the issue of the client's right to privacy cannot be overstated. Therefore, a dilemma arises in such a way that the two values cannot be upheld simultaneously. Other scholarly observations contend that there is a thin boundary between legal obligations and responsibilities and good clinical practice (Nichols, 2012). The eventuality is that the duty to warn tends to be prioritized at the expense of the right to privacy that the client is expected to enjoy. Hence, it can be inferred that the duty to warn or protect constitutes the therapist's responsibility to inform third parties or their authorities about a client's threat to other identifiable persons or themselves. Whereas a surface view suggests that the duty to earn could breach clients' confidentiality, the central aim is to prevent harm from escalating.

Regarding the limitations of the therapist’s duty to warn, a therapist may only engage in the duty to warn if the patient or client has communicated actual threats involving physical violence against reasonably identifiable or identified victims. The eventuality is that the duty is achieved if therapists communicate the looming crises to victims and notify relevant law enforcement authorities regarding the threat (American Counseling Association, 2014). Therefore, the therapist engages in the duty to warn only if the threat has been communicated by the client, proceeding to convey threats to target victims and relay the same information to law enforcement agencies or officers.

In relation to handling complaints in Oregon, licensees file complaints with the Board, especially if they believe that another licensee has violated the law. However, this procedure does not apply if the licensee obtains information during professional relationships with other therapists who become clients in this case. In relation to the latter, the confidentiality between clients and therapists supersedes the need to report other therapists. However, if another licensee abuses vulnerable adults or children, one of the licensees who notices this character could file a complaint with the Board (Anthony & Goss, 2009). Indeed, the main aim is to protect the public or clients. It is expected that other health professionals report bad conduct to the professional licensing agency to which they belong, with the filing expected to be done within ten days of discovering the misconduct.

7.Identify whether you are seeking a marriage and family therapist license or a professional counselor license. What is the scope of practice in your state for the license you are seeking? That is, what are the limitations of practice for a registered intern or licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed professional counselor, or licensed mental health counselor in your state?

The field being sought is a marriage and family therapist license. In the state of Oregon, marriage and family therapists may engage in the identification and treatment of behavioral, affective, and cognitive conditions. Additionally, the state permits MFTs to embrace applied psychotherapeutic techniques in the respective practices of service provision. Target populations include individuals, couples, and families (Anthony & Goss, 2015).

8.Identify ethical and culturally relevant strategies for establishing and maintaining in-person and technology-assisted relationships.

Based on the guidelines in the AAMFT Code of Ethics and Oregon's MFT licensing board, major ethical and culturally relevant strategies include specialization into niches that one has the empathy to give and exhibits a wealth of knowledge, creating an educational website that enables one to exercise authority in the field of marriage and family therapy, and prioritizing communication via voicemails, returning calls, and follow-up emails (Consoli, Beutler & Bongar, 2017). Other approaches include transparency via the explanation of the privacy policy and friendliness, being trustworthy via promptness with one’s appointments, and seeking referrals via the inclusion of the clients’ testimonials on the technology-based sites created.