Counseling Ethics for the 21st Century

Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D., Brown University, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Humanities at Indian River State College, and Adjunct Professor of Clinical Ethics at Florida State University College of Medicine. He is also Executive Director of the National Philosophical Counseling Association (NPCA); President of the Institute of Critical Thinking Center for Logic-Based Therapy (LBT); and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Applied Philosophy. Author of 22 published books and numerous articles in diverse areas of applied and professional ethics, and philosophical counseling, Dr. Cohen has developed and proposed model rules for professional codes of ethics including the American Counseling Association (ACA). He also writes a popular blog for Psychology Today called, What Would Aristotle Do? Gale Spieler Cohen, Ed.D., LMHC, NCC is Professor and Chair of the Human Services Department at Indian River State College. She is a licensed mental health counselor in Florida and a National Certified Counselor with clinical experience in a wide array of areas including child sexual abuse and domestic abuse and intimate partner violence. She holds a doctorate in Child, Youth, and Human Services with a specialization in Family Systems and Services from Nova Southeastern University.

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction PART I. Becoming a Virtuous Therapist Chapter 1: Building Character: Virtues of Excellent Practitioners Chapter 2: Being Trustworthy Case Studies: Two Resistant Clients PART II. RESOLVING ETHICAL ISSUES Chapter 3: Applying Ethical Standards Case Study: A Clash of Values Inside a Fundamentalist Christian Family Chapter 4: Using an Ethical Decision-Making Process Case Study: A Hateful Client PART III. NAVIGATING KEY CONCEPTS: CONFIDENTIALITY AND INFORMED CONSENT Chapter 5: Exercising Discretion Case Study: A Dangerous Client Chapter 6: Being Candid and Honest Case Study: Withholding Information From a Depressed Client PART IV. EMPOWERING AND ADVOCATING FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS Chapter 7: Empowering Adult Victims of Domestic Abuse Case Studies: Physical and Emotional Abuse Chapter 8: Exercising Courage in Protecting Children Case Study: Child Sexual Abuse PART V. COUNSELING ACROSS MULTIPLE ROLES AND CULTURES Chapter 9: Being Loyal and Fair to Clients Case Study: Sex with a Former Client Chapter 10: Being Respectful Across Diverse Cultures Case Study: Supervising a Supervisee Doing Cross-Cultural Counseling PART VI. COUNSELING IN CYBERSPACE Chapter 11: Being Diligent in the Digital Age Case Study: A Case of Record Hacking Chapter 12: Providing Competent Online Counseling Services Case Study: A Suicidal Client PART VII. DEFINING LIMITS OF CONFIDENTIALITY Chapter 13: Being Benevolent Case Study: A Terminally Ill Client Contemplating Suicide Chapter 14: Being Nonmalevolent Case Study: A Sexually Active Client With HIV Index About the Authors

"The authors have provided an up to date, thought provoking, clearly written, state of the art resource for seasoned professionals as well as neophyte counselors and therapists. They present ethics, not merely as minimal prescriptions but as choices that are maximally or virtuously ethical. Professional mental health workers with a wide variety of training and licenses can benefit from the insights and challenges presented by Elliot and Gale Cohen. The various levels of ethical practice that professional mental health workers face and deal with on a regular basis are explained. The authors allow for a variety of possible ethical resolutions when it is appropriate. I most enthusiastically recommend this book for professionals who function in the ever changing world in which they live and who wish to provide high quality service to their clients." -- Robert Wubbolding, Ed.D. "As one of the founders of the philosophical counseling movement and inventor of Logic-Based Therapy, Elliot D. Cohen has once again made an enormous contribution to the literature in his new book co-authored with Gale Spieler Cohen. In Counseling Ethics for the 21stCentury, the Cohens provide an original analysis of the morality of counseling by examining many ethical challenges that beset all types of professional therapists and mental health practitioners. They argue for what a virtuous therapist should be like while helping others and address many facets of practice including cultivating good character, applying ethical standards, being mindful of the issue of confidentiality and privacy, internet based-interventions, record keeping, working with vulnerable and abused populations, as well as respecting and working with diversity issues. The authors' introduce the technical principles of applying a step-based approach to ethical decision making peppered with lengthy case examples in a wide array of counseling situations that give the reader a real feel for what it is like to be in the consulting room. This is an ideal text for graduate students first being introduced to the counseling process." -- Jon Mills "The orientation of this text around case studies makes it much more understandable and usable for master's-level students in their quest for excellence in counseling." -- Anna M. Viviani