Abstract
There are various ethical issues that a counselor can encounter when conducting a group counseling session. Some of the issues are similar to those in the individual counseling, but there are others which are unique. There is an ethical issue of confidentiality where the therapist should not disclose any information about the group members. However, there are definite limits to confidentiality where the counselor can disclose the information. The counselor should uphold his/her professionalism in the session. They must have sufficient knowledge and information on the issues that the members are presenting. All the group members should have enough information about what they expect in the session, the advantages and disadvantages and the potential risks that they are likely to encounter. The counselor should have a specific way of selecting the member to the group. They should inform everybody that respect is a very crucial aspect. Therapists prefer group therapy because members can grow by learning new perspectives from other group members. The counselor also acquires new skills and techniques that are vital in the life of every counselor.
Keywords: Group therapy, individual therapy, session, ethical issue, confidentiality, informed consent, group member, counselor, therapist
Group therapy is a type of counseling which encompasses small groups of people who come together with one trained therapist willing to help them. Just like individual counseling, group therapy has a potent influence on the member’s growth and change. It helps every member gain support from the other members and it also increases their self-awareness (Northen, 2009). Ethics play a vital role in different professions. Group counselors can encounter various ethical issues in their line of work. This paper will address the issue of ethics in groups, various ethical issues that are unique to the group therapy and how they compare to the issues in individual counseling. It will also discuss why a therapist will prefer to have a group therapy over the individual sessions.
The group counseling leaders should conduct themselves in a manner that is ethically appropriate so as to create an ethical group counseling environment. The American Psychological Association a body which dictates the set of guidelines that counselors should follow points out that all counselors should behave in an ethical fashion. The APA guidelines consist of ten standards which should help in stopping unethical actions among clients and counselors (American Psychological Association, 2010).A therapist must appropriately apply different counseling skills so as to yield positive outcomes for the clients. Clients should have adequate information on the group expectations so that it can be easy to avoid any unethical issues.
The group counseling sessions are getting more attention than the individual sessions because they are seen to help many members at one time. Through the rapid rise of group therapies, there are ethical concerns that are also arising within those groups. Corey (2014) describes the ethical issues that are likely to come up in the group therapies. The issues include; confidentiality issues, qualities of an ethically appropriate leader, the values that should exist in each group, the techniques the leader should use in each session, ethical issues in the group membership, referral, consultation, termination, and follow-up.
Before the beginning of the group counseling session, there should be the selection of the group leader. The leaders should have training and have the necessary skills so that they can manage to lead the group sessions. Each person can qualify to be a leader because one does not need to fit a particular mode so that they qualify to lead the group sessions. Every member has the potential of running the team, but there are certain characteristics one needs to possess to lead it efficiently and also the group to yield positive outcomes. Without those qualities, the team is likely to encounter various ethical issues (Mangione, Forti, & Iacuzzi, 2007).
Different researchers have come up with the qualities of an effective leader in the group counseling sessions. According to Kaminer (2005), the most important attributes of an ethical leader are conscientiousness and agreeableness. According to Jacobs, Harvill, & Masson (2012), stronger group counseling leaders should possess planning and organizing skills so that they can manage to keep structure and order in the group. On the other hand, the therapist who at times can lead the team should have precise knowledge about the topic and should be able to answer any difficult question that may arise. In the individual session, there is no need for identifying the group leader because the needs guide the session that the client is presenting.
Without preliminary planning, the counselor is likely to encounter various ethical issues. Counselors require proper training so that they can be highly effective in their counseling sessions. They can overcome various ethical challenges through personal therapy because they can experience being a client and being a counselor. Through this, one can see the other side of the coin and get new perspectives and understanding. Screening the clients before they join the group is an important area but it can raise an ethical issue. The counselor may find difficulties in eliminating a member not to accede to the group. The moral dilemma is that every person to have an equal opportunity of being a member of the counseling group (Corey, 2014).
Informed consent is another critical issue that is present in group counseling. The clients need to be aware on what to encounter immediately they begin the counseling sessions (Northen, 2009). The purpose of disclosing the information to all the group members is to let them know the pros and cons of joining the group. They also need to be aware of the possible risks that they may encounter while they are participating in the group therapy session. Members may experience pressure to participate, they surrender their privacy, scapegoating and guarantee that every member will respect their privacy. The informed consent should be presented in an oral and written manner so that they do not experience surprises later.
The therapist should set group therapy boundaries which are clear as this will enable him/her to maintain his/her professionalism. Patients who over-step the set boundaries can pose a great challenge to the therapist. Therefore, it is advisable that every counselor must have specific techniques which can help them deal with those clients. Some of the preventative methods can be referring the particular member to individual therapy. Unlike the individual therapy, it can be very challenging for a counselor to be successful in a malpractice suit that is against the group. Hence, it is essential for the group counselors to maintain their professionalism (Rochman, 2010). In every situation, the therapist should be aware of the applicable laws and the proper reporting requirements.
Confidentiality is an essential ethical issue that every member should observe. Every therapist has a moral duty of practicing confidentiality concerning the details of every client (Kaminer, 2005).The right to privacy or confidentiality is every citizens’ constitutional right. Therefore, the patients’ records to be confidential to only the client and the practitioner. Confidentiality is a major challenging issue in group therapy because there are many people involved. To overcome this challenge, the therapist should inform the members that confidentiality is not only an ethical issue but it is also a necessary legal requirement. The counselor should review the importance of confidentiality during the group’s first meeting and every time that a new member joins them.
Unlike the group session, it is easier to maintain confidentiality in individual counseling because the information is between two people, that is, the counselor and the client (Wood, González, & Martin, 2005).The leader has an ethical responsibility of reminding all the group members that they should respect each other, and they should be specific when they are handling facts that they discover during the sessions. A counselor should always uphold the group members’ confidentiality. Without the assurance of confidentiality, they members can shy away from sharing certain happenings in their lives. There are limits to confidentiality, and they include; if the client has a plan of harming himself, harming another person or destroying the property of someone else (Corey, 2014).
Unlike in the individual therapy, the group members are prone to experience mistreatment from others. The maltreatment can be in the areas of money and sex among others. In individual therapy, the client will receive the conditions of empathy and unconditional positive regard which will establish rapport and not mistreatment. The greatest challenge is that there is no legal protection for the members getting the harassment from the other group members. The only measure of this difficulty is for the counselor to apply the principle of genuine care and exercise clinical judgment and due diligence when handling each member.
The group therapists should endeavor to come up with alternative ways of solving this ethical challenge of members getting cruel treatment from others. There should be set rules which should guide the functioning of the group. Every member should know their limits of interacting with the other group members. A patient can get a transfer to the group therapy if they are not willing to end their abusive behavior (Markus, & Abernethy, 2001). The group therapist, unlike the individual counselor, has a great challenge of consulting widely with the ethical committees, legal advisors, and colleagues so as to overcome many ethical challenges.
The group therapist can encounter another ethical issue of safeguarding the needs of every group member. Despite the fact that all members receive the same therapy, it can be possible that not all the presented cases are identical. In this case, the therapist has a role of effectively guiding the group so as to address all the issues that may arise and also encourage all the members of the group to open up (Dwyer, 2007).The therapist has a role of explaining the advantages of group therapy so that the participants can know what they will gain at the end. The issue is rarely present in individual counseling because the client together with the counselor sets the counseling goals. The goals serve as a guide, and the member is aware of what they want to achieve thus they will be willing to work towards the achievement of the set goals.
The issue of conflict is another ethical concern a therapist can experience in group therapy. The issue of conflict is usually inevitable in a group because there can be participants with different perspectives and clashing personalities. Some of the challenges that may arise include; having a member who is domineering, overwhelming chronic talker, negative member/members, crying, a member attempting to outwit the leader and requesting one to leave. The issue of conflict does only happen in the group setting, but they can also be present in the individual counseling session. A counselor has an obligation of ethically dealing with various conflicts which may arise. The counselor being the expert has a role of reading more about those conflicts or asking his/her colleagues about how they solve the issues (Corey, 2014).
A counselor has to think about whether to develop closed or open counseling sessions. Members have a right to leave freely in an open group but in the closed group members must attend all the sessions. An ethical issue which may arise from the closed group therapy sessions is the client’s ability to leave at any point that they feel like leaving. Corey (2014) says that if a member feels like leaving the group therapy session, they have an obligation of informing the counselor and the group their reasons for exit. Informing others is necessary so as not to affect the team’s homeostatic environment. Leaving without any notice can negatively impact the whole group and also it can disrupt the members’ growth process.
Various reasons can make a therapist prefer group counseling over the individual therapy. The first reason for choosing group counseling is because the counselor has an opportunity of reaching out to many people. Instead of focusing the attention on one person for a longer period, the counselor can help many individuals who need that assistance. Group counseling can benefit both the counselor and many other lives (Corey 2014). The clients in that group can identify new perspectives on how to handle issues and they can learn from one another. Group therapy is one way of trying to build the community.
Secondly, a counselor can opt for the group sessions because there are various leadership skills that one can develop throughout the years. By encountering different problems and making mistakes, the counselor becomes a stronger and an effective leader as the counseling session progresses (Dwyer, 2007). Strong leadership skills is an important feature that any counselor should possess. There is no development in the leadership skills when the counselor is always dealing with one client. By interacting with different group members, the counselor can learn on how to handle people who present varying personalities.
Thirdly, the counselor can sharpen their skills on how to address various challenges. The group members can present numerous challenges where the counselor has to help them when the members cannot give the assistance (Corey, 2014). The counselor acquires new knowledge from every participant. There are many challenges in handling a group than when dealing with an individual; thus, the therapist will be continuously experimenting, learning and striving to create a difference in the client’s life. A therapist can prefer the group therapy because it enhances the support that is available for each member towards achieving their goals. Members can learn from their experience and mistakes through sharing (Rochman, 2010). It enhances an individual’s ability to interact well with the society and conform to the societal norms. It is different from individual counseling where the clients lack a peer to share his/her experiences.
Counselors believe that clients have precise modules or categories to learn and debate. The intention is to provide individual information about access to data to help them in handling future challenges that they may experience. Group therapy can also be essential in supplementing individual therapy. Group therapy supplies clients with an opportunity to share their personal thoughts because it is part of their journey of healing. Counselors have an idea that clients who attend the group sessions gain a great sense belonging from the experience because they can realize that they are not alone in that journey. There are many people with similar experiences, and there are others who are willing to walk with them and support them throughout the healing process (Dwyer, 2007).
Therapists prefer the group therapies where there are relationship issues because it is impossible to explain the complexities of the relationships in the individual sessions. Counselors prefer that all the parties should be present so that they can ascertain their argument from different perspectives. Group therapy is necessary for this scenario so as to avoid any misconception which is likely to arise if it is only one member who is present (Wood, González, & Martin, 2005).
Group therapy is necessary because the clients can mirror image in themselves in another person. By doing this, they can strive to make a change in their behavior. The client may not fully understand their problem until they see other individuals with a similar problem. They can explore their personality from another person’s perspective. Group counseling helps the members to boost the confidence and self-esteem through sharing and helping others resolve their challenges. Participants who shy away from sharing their issue will gain the courage to share once they see others openly speaking out their encounters (Kaminer, 2005).
In conclusion, group therapy has different ethical issues that are unique to itself. The issues touch on professionalism, confidentiality, informed consent, person to leave the group, selecting a member to the group and maintaining respect among the members. Therapists can prefer to adopt group therapies because they offer a quick remedy to many clients at the same time. The counselor can tap new skills and knowledge from the sessions. The group can address many social problems thus enhancing community cohesion. Members are also able to grow from the session, and they can acquire new perspectives on how to handle various issues.
References
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