In the course of counseling, marriage and family counselors may experience the dilemma of deciding between the necessity of keeping confidential what clients have shared versus the counselor’s duty to report and protect individuals and society in general. In this article, the author presents a case study followed by discussion addressing the issue of confidentiality and the duty to report.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ahia, C. E.
, & Martin, D. (1993). The danger-to-self-or-others exception to confidentiality. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
2.
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
. (1991). AAMFT code of ethics. Washington, DC: Author.
3.
American Counseling Association. (ACA)
. (1995). Code of ethics and standards of practice. Alexandria, VA: Author.
4.
Anderson, B. S.
(1996). The counselor and the law (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
5.
Arthur, G. L.
, & Swanson, C. D. (1993). Confidentiality and privilege communication. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
6.
Corey, G.
, Corey, M. S., & Callanan, P. (1998). Issues and ethics in the helping professions (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
7.
Crawford, R. L.
(1993). Avoiding counselor malpractice. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
8.
Dickson, D. T.
(1995). Law in the health and human services. New York: Free Press.
9.
Herlihy, B.
, & Corey, G. (1996). Confidentiality. In B. Herlihy & G. Corey (Eds.), ACA ethical standards casebook (5th ed., pp. 205-209). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
10.
Huber, C. H.
(1994). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in the practice of marriage and family therapy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
11.
International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. (IAMFC)
. (1993). Ethical code for the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors. Alexandria, VA: Author.
12.
Swenson, L. C.
(1997). Psychology and law for the helping professions. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.