Describe diverse ways in which a collaborative practice with clients and professional colleagues is central to ethical decision-making

Learning Objectives
Apply ethical decision-making strategies to resolve ethical dilemmas
Assess the concept of counselling competence in the light of ethical and practice standards
Acquire knowledge of the Code of Ethics, standards of practice and Canadian Law relating to the profession of counselling
Describe diverse ways in which a collaborative practice with clients and professional colleagues is central to ethical decision-making
Become familiar with research findings on the ethical behaviour of mental health professionals.
Purpose
You (as a counsellor) will use an ethical decision-making model to help in reasoning out your responses to the ethical dilemma contained in the scenario.

Instructions
Consider the following case for analysis:

Kim, who works for a small nonprofit counselling agency, is counselling Mark, an 18-year-old college student who is worried about his recent binge drinking behaviours. Because Mark uses his smartphone for everything, Kim agrees to use texting to set up appointments. One morning upon checking her text messages, Kim finds a message sent by Mark at 2:00 am simply stating that life has no meaning and that he will now end everything. Kim sends off a frantic message to Mark, indicating her concern and requesting he contact her immediately. Kim does not know Marks address, and the phone number provided is no longer in service.

Adopted by Dr. Simon Nuttgens, Associate Dean, Behavioural Sciences

Answer the following questions:

Here are provided questions based on the presented case. Make references to relevant ethical codes and standards and fundamental moral principles in your responses. A minimum of 3-5 references (required material – extra) included.

* Final Paper Outline – Students that apply for registration with Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) or other colleges (i.e. CRPO, BCACC) as counsellors, therapists, mental health service providers are required to follow this model. Members of these colleges (in addition to the CCPA Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics) may also analyze the case in terms of the principles of CRPO Code of Ethics or BCACC Code of Ethical Conduct and Standards of Clinical Practice:
CCPA Ethical Decision-Making Model

This model is a principle-based decision-making model that incorporates the use of emotional decision-making. For your information, this model below is outlined in the Code of Ethics (pg. 3) and on pages 16 to 18 of the casebook. (with the description in Appendix A, on page 539).
Step One:

A. What are the key ethical issues in this situation?

Counsellors determine the type of problem or ethical dilemma. They then collect information about the problem, identify primary concerns/conflicts, and consider potential responsibilities.

In the casebook, authors have suggested that the students describe parameters, define potential issues, or determine the type of ethical dilemma.

Step Two:

A. What ethical articles from the CCPA Code of Ethics are relevant to this situation?

B. Are there policies, case law, statutes, regulations, bylaws or other related articles that are relevant to this situation?

Provide related articles from CCPA (Code of Ethics) in relation to the presented case scenario.

Review the CCPA Code of Ethics to see if ethical articles (e.g., confidentiality or record keeping) are appropriate for your particular situation. For this step, focus on using the Standards of Practice.

Step Three:

A. Which of the six ethical principles are of major importance in this situation?

This step also involves securing additional information and examining the probable outcomes of various courses of action. Examine moral and ethical principles that are relevant and important to the situation. These principles are:

a) autonomy – allowing clients the freedom to make informed decisions and to plan their own action

b) nonmaleficence – doing no harm

c) beneficence – doing good

d) justice – acting fairly

e) fidelity – upholding the clients trust

Step Four:

A. How can the relevant ethical articles be applied in this circumstance?

B. How might any conflict between ethical principles be resolved?

C. What are the potential risks and benefits of this application and resolution?

Choose the most important principles and relevant ethical articles and start implementing some possible actions by:

a) Generating alternatives and examining the risks and benefits of each,

b) Securing additional information, and

c) Examining probable results of various courses of action.

Step Five:

A. What do my feelings and intuitions tell me to do in this situation? (See also Virtue-Based Ethical Decision-Making)

Up to this point, decision making was mainly cognitive and rational. In this step, the task is to use emotional decision-making techniques. At this stage, counsellors can add some elements of virtue ethics, especially considering all the options below that can best help and show respect for the client. Consider the emotional response to the dilemma and answer these questions:

1. What emotions and intuition am I aware of as I consider this ethical dilemma, and what are they telling me to do?

2. How can my values best show caring for the client in this situation?

3. How will my decision affect other relevant individuals in this ethical dilemma?

4. What decision would I feel best about publicizing?

5. What decision would best define who I am as a person?

Step Six:

A. What plan of action will be most helpful in this situation?

B. Follow up to evaluate the appropriateness, adequacy, and effectiveness of the course of action taken. Identify any adjustments necessary to optimize the outcome.

Counsellors should consider the breadth and depth of possibilities. What are all the different ways that the situation might be handled? How feasible is each possibility?

Identify and follow the specific action plan, evaluate it, and provide the rationale for how to adjust any negative or neutral consequences that may occur as a result of your actions.

The Structure of the Paper Format:
CCPA Ethical Decision-Making Model (for students with registration as counsellors)

APA Headings Level 1: Six steps (ex. Step One, Step Two, Step Three)

APA Headings Level 2: Questions (ex. A. What are the key ethical issues in this situation?)

(ex. C. What are the potential risks and benefits of this application and resolution?)

or

CPA Ethical Decision-Making Model (for Alberta students with CAP registration as psychologists)

APA Headings Level 1: 10 Steps (ex. 1. Identification of the individuals and groups potentially affected by the decision)

(ex. 2. Identification of ethically relevant issues and practices, including the interests…)

Please use the Assignment Template for Final Paper.

Specific Requirements for All Students
Maximum Length: 7-9 pages, double-spaced (excluding the cover page, and the reference list), written in a word document and in essay format. You can write in the first person or third-person perspective.
References: 3-5 references (required material – extra), peer-reviewed sources included with the assignment.
When you save your assignments on your computer, you should save as using the following formula: First Name Last Name -Course Number-Assignment Number (JohnDoe-PSYC6203-3).
All written assignments should have a title page. The title page includes the following elements: Page number, Paper title, Author, Author Affiliation, Course, Instructor, and Due Date. The paper should be double-spaced throughout (without leaving an extra-space between paragraphs or references).
This program uses 7th edition APA style. This is a guide for all professional communication. At the same time, please know that we have program expectations for assignments. These expectations include 12pt text size, Times New Roman font and no running head. The reference list should only include sources that were used for in-text citations in the paper itself. Please, format your assignment in Word (files with extension .doc or .docx).
No abstract, introduction or conclusion sections will be needed for the assignment. Do not type the case scenario into your assignment.

Important: When analyzing cases in the ethical course, do not focus on any specific clinical treatment and intervention options (i.e., evaluate the effectiveness of treatment interventions). You only focus on the ethical justification behind the hypothetical counsellor’s actions/decisions.

Reminder: As a graduate-level course, student work should be based on critical thinking, not merely on summarizing or paraphrasing material. Follow APA guidelines (current edition) for general writing styles.

Resources
The required textbooks and articles from the course syllabus; however, students are encouraged to include external resources as perceptions of the quality of work and contribution to the academic community.

Any sources used to support your written narrative should be cited using the correct APA format. Although Wikipedia can be a useful starting place to gather very general information no Wikipedia references will be accepted as scholarly citations.

Use the Yorkville University Library and the EBSCO tool for academic search. It is important to select credible sources for assignments. This resource will assist students in determining which sources are credible: https://my.yorkvilleu.ca/ask/credible-source-guide/

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