Confronting the unethical vocational counselor in forensic practice

Abstract

In the scope of performing forensic work, rehabilitation counselors may discover serious weaknesses in breath of knowledge, adherence to acceptable practices, or general ethics in the work of other vocational counselors. In the field of rehabilitation counseling, ethical code standards mandate confronting a counselor directly prior to making a formal complaint. This mandatory action may be omitted or ignored because of awkwardness, fear of retaliation, or simple ignorance of this requirement. Case-in-point examples of unethical behaviors requiring confrontation are presented. Multiple legal precedence illustrations demonstrate potential need for rehabilitation counselors to be involved in the ethical resolution process. In this article, sample templates of letters are provided to aid the rehabilitation counselor to confront via written format the counselor performing unethically.