Counseling An Ethical Dilemma with HIV/AIDS Essay example

In the counseling field, it is necessary for clients to trust the therapist and be able to disclose sensitive information about themselves. Many times when a person is coming in for counseling the individual is vulnerable and looking to improve the quality of life. This is the reason why confidentiality is highly important in therapy. It is an essential piece that helps to create a rapport and relationship between the client and therapist. One area in which it is extremely important to explore confidentiality is when clients have HIV/AIDS and there is a third party involved. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has presented an ethical dilemma for many counselors in knowing how to approach decision-making processes in situations encountered within this†¦show more content†¦7). Counselors can refer to this code, but often need to become aware of the laws in their state pertaining to confidentiality and clients with HIV/AIDS. A few states permit the disclosure of a clients HIV status to iden tifiable third parties, however the majority of states limit this practice to medical personnel (Shallcross, 2011). Still when should this confidentiality be breached, if at all? In many organizations the confidentiality is broken when the client is going to harm him or herself or when the client threatens to harm someone else. It is crucial that clients are to be made aware of the limitations of confidentiality in the beginning of the counseling relationship (ACA, 2005). This seems fairly clear cut but in reality this is a complex issue. In the case of Michael the complexity of this issue is presented. In the case of Michael Smith, Michael is a 33-year-old male who has been coming to therapy for 3 months. Michael has been married for 8 years and has two children ages 3 and 5. Michael recently admitted to having an affair with his next-door neighbor a few years prior. Michael’s wife never knew about the affair. Recently, Michael found out that his neighbor died of AIDS. This caused Michael to go and have an HIV test and the results of the test wereShow MoreRelatedDeveloping A Health Advocacy Campaign846 Words   |  4 Pagesreality. Unfortunately, HIV/AIDS epidemic has deprived many people of this dream. HIV/AIDS is one of the worlds’ most serious and the deadliest diseases and a $30.4 billion drain on healthcare cost in the United States, and of this figures’ 57% is appropriated for routine care, 10% for housing and social support assistance, 9% for research and 22% for global assistance to address the epidemic (The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, 2016). Accord ing to Small Kerr, (2011), HIV/AIDS research has had a longRead MoreThe Questions On Workplace Ethics1254 Words   |  6 Pagescalled an ethical dilemma whereby individuals are forced to weigh the right and wrong of their actions (Westerholm, Nilstun, Øvretveit, 2004). In my research the following senior about workplace ethics. 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