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Q: What do you think clients must be told either before therapy begins or during the first few sessions? How can therapists provide informed consent without overwhelming clients? Discuss a way in which you can prepare clients for issues pertaining to confidentiality. What could you do to educate clients about the purposes of confidentiality and the legal restrictions on it?
A: During initial counseling sessions, clients should be informed of the multiple boundaries and components of therapy. It is important for clients to be educated about treatment so they can give informed consent to receive treatment. Informed consent is “the right of clients to be informed about their therapy and to make autonomous decisions pertaining to it”. Additionally, “informed consent is a shared decision-making process in which a practitioner provides adequate information so that a potential client can make an informed decision about participating in the professional relationship” (Corey et al., pg. 176, 2024). Therapists can accomplish providing informed consent without overwhelming their clients by simplifying the explanation process. This can be accomplished by defining what informed consent is and why it is important, using plain and appropriate language, and address any outstanding client questions or concerns.
Confidentiality “is a right granted to all clients of mental health counseling services. From the onset of the counseling relationship, mental health counselors inform clients of these rights, including legal limitations and exceptions” (Corey et al., pg. 190, 2024). Therapists can prepare clients for issues pertaining to confidentiality by informing clients that confidentiality is not always guaranteed. There are specific legal and ethical guidelines that can void the limitations of confidentiality to include threats of self-harm, threats of harm against another person, or plans to commit/ disclosures of child abuse to name a few examples. To educate clients about the purposes of confidentiality and its legal restrictions, therapist can provide clients with written material that specifically outlines confidentiality policies and legal exceptions and use real life examples or scenarios to illustrate the purposes and legal restrictions of confidentiality.
Reference:
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., & Corey, C. (2024). Issues & Ethics in the helping professions (11th ed.). Cengage.
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