PCN 162 Topic 6 Short Answer Questions (Obj. 6.1-6.4)

Short Answer Questions

PCN-162

Grand Canyon University

Addiction group counseling

The NAADAC Code of Ethics

            One of the standards that safeguard people participating in substance use disorder and addiction counseling is preventing harm.  Substance abuse counselors should avoid the use of methods that can be perceived to be threatening, negative labeling of participants, humiliating or shaming clients. The addiction professional should not take any action or make a decision that can cause physical, financial or psychological harm to the participants. Another ethical standard is the protection of client welfare (NAADAC, 2019). The addicts need to be supported to improve the quality of their lives. Addiction professionals should, by all means, safeguard the welfare and interest of the clients taking part in addiction group counseling. They should act for the good of the addicts and exercise respect and sensitivity towards them. The ethical standard of Client self-determination protects the autonomy of the people participating in group drug counseling. It requires addiction professionals to provide the participants with all the relevant information regarding their treatment and services needed so that they make their own decision (NAADAC, 2019). This prevents the professionals from imposing decisions on all the clients in the addiction group counseling. Group standards protect the confidentiality of the participants and ensure quality services for each of the individuals in group counseling. Addiction professions are required to provide the services required while ensuring the physical, psychological, spiritual, health and safety of the individual clients in group settings. The 5thstandard that protects the interest of individuals in the addiction group counseling is the scope of competency (NAADAC, 2019). Addiction professionals are required to only use the assessment and diagnosis tools which they proper and adequate training on. This ethical standard safeguards clients from incompetence act of addiction professionals.

The importance of obtaining informed consentand discussing the group process

            One of the ethical standards which should be observed by addiction professionals working in a group setting is informed consent. Individuals participating in the addiction group counseling have the rights to be informed about the treatment (NAADAC, 2019). Obtaining informed consent is not only for the purpose of meeting the professional ethical standards but also for the benefits of the clients. Obtaining informed consent is an indication that an individual is willing to engage in the group counseling and is committed to change his or her unhealthy behavior(Katz, Webb & Committee on Bioethics, 2016). It is likely that a person may give up a bad behavior such as substance abuse if they feel the need to do so and commits to a treatment program. For a substance addict to change, he must be willing and issue an informed consent to participate in addiction group counseling. Therefore, obtaining an informed consent enables the addiction professionals to know whether an individual is self-motivated and is willing to accept any treatment offer(Katz, Webb & Committee on Bioethics, 2016). Informed consent enables individuals to get the most from the time spent in group therapy since it’s an indication that they are willing fully utilize the available resources to improve the quality of their lives. Obtaining informed consent also helps to build trust between addiction professions and clients. It is important to discuss the group process from the beginning to the end of the group because it enables individuals to work together.  It also makes learning process to be simple by streamlining processes (Harpine, 2015). In addition, it also focuses the attention to the group contribution to improve the accountability of an individual. In addition, discussing group process helps to eliminate factors that affect cohesion and ability of the group to learn.

The roles of national and local ethical and legal standards when facilitating groups

            The national and local ethics and legal standards ensure that professional counselors uphold the public trust. Legal standards play an important role in guiding professional counselors working with individuals in a group setting.  The federal and state laws and regulations ensure that group facilitation is done lawfully. The confidentiality laws should be observed by professional counselors when facilitating groups.There are several federal laws that protect privacy and confidentiality in several contexts such as medical care. One of the most relevant health information privacy laws to group counseling is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act(Hofman& Rose, 2014). This act prevents the disclosure of the protected health information without the consent of the patient or client. National ethical standards are set national organizations to guide counseling professionals when facilitating groups. Even though most of the ethical standards lacks legal backings they are considered good practice. American Counseling Association has set national ethical standards which help to ensure that each individual in a group counseling session is treated fairly and with dignity. The Ethical standards also ensure that the confidentiality and autonomy of individuals are upheld and that professional counselors act in the best interest of the individual clients while facilitating groups (American Counseling Association, 2017). A group is made up of individuals from diverse economic, social and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, national and local ethical standards guide professional counselors on how to work with a diverse group. It provides guidelines on how professionals should approach cultural diversity in a way that it does not affect their duties.

Client welfare means and confidentiality as it relates to a group setting

            The main responsibility of a professional counselor is to promote the welfare of the clients. Client welfare refers to the interest, physical and mental health, happiness and spiritual well being of clients. It also entails comfort and things that enhance the quality of lives of theclients. Apart from promoting the welfare of clients, professional counselors should protect the confidentiality of the individuals. Confidentiality in a group setting refersto safeguarding the individual’s data and information from access by third parties. It also refers to the recognition of the ability of individuals to decide what they disclose and to whom (NAADAC, 2019). Once a counselor has possessed personal information of individuals, the ethical standards apply. Counselors should not disclose personal information of participants in group therapy to each other. However, before any confidential information is released, the consent of the affected individual should be obtained through writing (NAADAC, 2019).Obtaining consent prior to the disclosure of confidential information does not amount to the breach of confidentiality. Confidentiality is important in group therapy and it is the foundation of a healthy therapeutic relationship and effective treatment. The Federal statute 42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2  protects the confidentiality of patients who receives substance abuse services in public hospitals. It protects their records from being shared with thirds parties without patients’ consent. Also, it protects the use of such records as evidence in a court of law (Epperson & Lohse, 2017). The patients are given the right to refuse to give consent to a counselor or a psychologist to disclose his or her medical records to other people. State laws on confidentialities, for example, Florida §394.4615 states that all clinical records are confidential and can only be disclosed to a third party if the patient gives consent. These sentiments are also echoed by the American Counseling Association ethical standards (2017) which require counselors to keep confidential any information they collected when interacting with the client.

 

 

The impact that diversity may have during a group process

            Diversity refers to more than cultural differences. It is a term that is used to refer to any differences that distinguishes a person from others and affects how a person identifies himself and how he is identified by others. Therefore, diversityentails language, physical abilities,gender, age, socio-economic status, parental status, education, religion and beliefs amongst a group of people(SAMHSA, 2005). Cultural issues affect how individuals understand the environment and view things. Therefore, clinicians needs to mindful of diversity issues in addiction groups. When members of a group are with people from his group, they tend to behave differently from how they do while in a heterogeneous group. Members of a culturally homogenous group tend to adopt the values and roles from their cultural origin(SAMHSA, 2005). Such cultural values should be respected and incorporated in the healing and recovery process. However, if the cultural roles and values conflicts with the requirements for treatment, direction should be provided by the therapist.  Diversity also affects communicationtherefore; clinicians should pay attention to assumptions that may hinder the progress or individuals in the group. Cultural traditions may contribute to a success of an individual in a group but at the same tile can be a source of misunderstanding in culturally heterogeneous groups(SAMHSA, 2005). A therapist working with culturally diverse groups should learn and understand individual participant’s culture. This is because cultural issues may have serious impact on group treatment. Group members who belong to the minority may be under intense pressure to conform to the dominant group culture. Also, an individual’s traditional believes may be in conflict with norms of the group and this may affect healing and recovery.

References

American Counseling Association. (2017). ACA Code of Ethics Preamble.Retrieved on 21st June 2019 https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf

SAMHSA. (2005).Substance Abuse Treatment: Group Therapy. Series, No. 41. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 15-3991

Epperson, K. J., & Lohse, J. (2017). Confidentiality of alcohol and drug abuse patient records regulations 42 CFR part 2: subpoena response toolkit. Retrieved on 21st June 2019 from http://garnerhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Subpoena_Response_Toolkit_Final.pdf

Harpine, E. C. (2015). Why Is Group Process Important in Group Prevention?. In Group-Centered Prevention in Mental Health (pp. 29-50). Springer, Cham.

Hofman, J., & Rose, A. D. (2014). Laws and Regulations Governing the Disclosure of Health Information (2014 update). Journal of AHIMA.

NAADAC. (2019). Introduction to NAADAC/ NCC AP Ethical Standards. Retrieved on 21st June 2019 fromhttps://www.naadac.org/code-of-ethics

Katz, A. L., Webb, S. A., & Committee on Bioethics. (2016). Informed consent in decision-making in pediatric practice. Pediatrics, 138(2), e20161485.