The answer :Length: 3-4 double-spaced pages, APA style Here is what is required:

Question

The answer :Length: 3-4 double-spaced pages, APA style

Here is what is required: Consider both sides of the argument to develop a rationale for or against bartering by Henry, the counsellor in the fictitious situation. You may use an ethical decision-making model to help in reasoning out your response to the ethical dilemma contained in the scenario. Be sure to make reference to relevant ethical codes and standards and fundamental moral principles in your response.

Instructions:

The following is a fictitious case which illustrates the ethical issues associated with bartering of mental health/psychological services in a small, tightly knit community.

Henry is a counsellor and operates an outpatient substance abuse counselling program located in a small, isolated but tightly-knit community in Canada. Most of the clients in the program do not have health insurance for counselling. Mr. P has recently been referred to the program for his crack cocaine addiction problem. During the intake session, Henry ascertains that although Mr. P will benefit from the program, he is unable to pay for it. Mr. P. offers to provide general maintenance and office duties such as clearing snow in the driveway, filing and so on, in exchange for counselling services by Henry.

Explanation / Answer

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) In this scenario, the counsellor Henry seems to exhibit philanthropic behaviour. Considering that he already offers his counselling services for people without health insurance coverage for such psychological counselling. (Although, this is Canada so it’s factually unlikely that his patients don’t have this service covered.) For the sake of the case, let us assume that these former or struggling addicts that Henry offers his services to are people who are at the brink of losing their jobs and stable social lives because of their addiction.

If Henry is provisional towards such individuals by offering his services despite them being able to afford it because of their healthcare, he is already living by a certain code of conduct. The NASW code of conduct (National Association of Social Workers) outlines certain core values in their preamble. The primary of these core values is the duty to enhance human well-being and help provide basic human needs.

A healthy physical and mental state is essential for the well-being of human lives. Therefore, Henry would have to extend his attitude of benevolence towards Mr. P by offering him a free service or even a rebate if possible.

On the other hand, Mr. P would have to live up to an ethical standard in order to be a well-functioning member of society. If ethical behaviour would entail doing the right thing to save the patient, then the patient should also be responsible for expressing their gratitude through integrity. If Mr. P feels that his physical well-being would benefit from offering his services to the facility that Henry runs, he should be able to offer his services.

However, he also gets to express his gratitude through his services and would be able to make monetary amends for the services he avails at the sessions.

Another pivotal consideration in this case-study is the code of ethics to be followed in psychotherapy. Although the type of counselling is not mentioned in the description, let us assume it is a form of “psychotherapy”, in doing so, we can apply the code of ethics for psychotherapists.

“Striving for the fair and adequate provision of counselling and psychotherapy services.” This is one of the codes for a psychotherapist to adopt when dealing with their patients. If this code were to be applied in this case, Henry should allow for Mr. P to contribute his services not because he would owe Henry payment for his services but because his physical and emotional well-being would adequately be alleviated by being productive with a job at the counselling office. In such a situation, it is essential to outline the reason or motive for certain actions rather than focusing on the actions themselves.

Furthermore, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice are also the three principals that a psychotherapist must adopt, according to the ‘Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy’.

Therefore, several ethical perspectives point out to the fact that Mr P offering his services would be beneficial for himself, Henry, the facility and would live up to ethical standards.

Reference:

Read the Code of Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2018.

Ethics Codes Collection. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2018.

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