Palm Beach State College Professional Ethics in Psychology Practice Essay

Confidentiality is essential to establishing a strong professional counseling relationship with your clients. There are limits to confidentiality, and these limits are not dictated solely by the counselor’s personal ethical and moral standards. There are case laws and statutes that require counselors to breach confidentiality in certain circumstances for the safety of the client or others.

For this assignment, you compare and contrast two instrumental court decisions: Tarasoff v. Regents of California (1976) and Estates of Morgan v. Fairfield Family Counseling Center (1997). Both of these cases impacted confidentiality practices in the counseling profession. Discuss how the rulings impact clinical practice.

Submit a 2–3 page paper:

• Compare and contrast the details of the Tarasoff v. Regents of California (1976) and Estates of Morgan v. Fairfield Family Counseling Center (1997) court decisions. Identify how these cases may be similar or how they may be different.
• Describe how the court rulings relate to confidentiality in the counseling profession. Cite appropriate ACA ethical codes, as well as the ethical codes from ASCA, IAMFC, or an ACA division to support your narrative.
• Put yourself in the role of a counselor and discuss how the rulings might clarify or make it more difficult for you as a clinician.
• Reflect upon your understanding of your responsibility to maintain confidentiality with a client or student.

Your paper should be in proper APA format with a minimum of 2–3 scholarly references. Use the assignment template, readings, course textbook, and the court cases to complete the assignment.

Resources

Remley, T. P., & Herlihy, B. (2020). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

• Chapter 5, “Confidentiality and Privileged Communication”

American Counseling Association (ACA). (2014). 2014 ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-e…

• Section A: The Counseling Relationship
• Section B: Confidentiality and Privacy
• Section C: Professional Responsibility

American School Counseling Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/Et…

Edwards, G. (2013). Tarasoff, duty to warn laws, and suicide. International Review of Law and Economics, 34(C), 1–8. doi:10.1016/j.irle.2012.10.004

Estates of Morgan v. Fairfield Family Counseling Center, 77 Ohio St. 3d 284, 285 (1997).

Fisher, M. A. (2016). Step 1. Prepare to protect confidentiality rights. In Confidentiality limits in psychotherapy: Ethics checklists for mental health professionals (pp. 27– 36). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/14860- 003

International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC). (2017). International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.iamfconline.org/public/IAMFC-Ethical-Co…