Reference no: EM133508559

Assignment:

Case Study

Tara has worked as a therapist for the past two years in a local community mental health center that primarily treats middle-aged adults who suffer from depression. Tara was offered this position after successfully completing both her practicum and internship at the center. While Tara is regarded as an excellent counselor by her clients and colleagues, she realizes that her skills are limited by the lack of variety in her training and experience. One afternoon Tara's supervisor approached her and asked her if she would be interested in facilitating a group therapy session once a week at one of the center's other branches. The group is for newly diagnosed schizophrenic clients and is meant to help them cope specifically with their auditory or visual hallucinations. Tara was excited about the possibility of doing something new and accepted the invitation to facilitate the group. She remembered back to her psychopathology class in graduate school and felt comfortable running the group based on the knowledge of schizophrenia that she acquired from the class.

(Case study from The Ethical and Professional Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy by Len Sperry)

Answer the following:

• Discuss why Tara's response is either ethical or not ethical. Provide specific codes of ethics from the state licensure board (LPC or LMFT) to support your answer.
• Use Corey's Steps to Making Ethical Decisions (page 20 of Corey's textbook) to answer this section: Discuss each step as it relates to the above scenario and how these steps are beneficial in making ethical decisions. State how you plan to utilize this model as a future counselor or even in your day-to-day interactions.
• If you were Tara, what moral principles (from Corey's textbook) would you use to guide your decision to lead or not lead the group?