Discussion Post: Helping Clients Make Informed Decisions
According to the ACA Code of Ethics, the "primary responsibility of counselors is to respect the dignity and to promote the welfare of clients" (Standard A.1.a). Counselors also should be "aware of-and avoid imposing-their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Counselors respect the diversity of clients, trainees, and research participants and seek training in areas in which they are at risk of imposing their values onto clients, especially when the counselor's values are inconsistent with the client's goals or are discriminatory in nature." (Standard A.4.b). Keeping both points in mind, counselors must sometimes help clients make informed decisions about behavior that is harmful to themselves and, potentially, others. Whether or not to use contraception is one potential area related to sexuality counseling for which counselors may need to inform clients about the potential risks.
Base your responses to this Discussion on the following case study:
You are a counselor working in a college counseling center. You just completed your intake evaluation session with Josiah, a 20-year-old sophomore. Josiah was mandated to attend six counseling sessions after he received a citation from the campus police for underage drinking at a party sponsored by the fraternity to which Josiah belongs.
During the intake session, Josiah was very verbal and willing to share information about his background and current experiences. He shared with you that he frequently drinks six to eight beers or other alcoholic beverages at a time, typically every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday when he "parties with my friends." He described this as normal behavior among his peer group, saying that this is "just how we unwind from all the stress of school every week."
When you asked Josiah about his relationships and sexual behaviors, he stated that he has not had a steady partner since high school, saying, "People here just aren't into long-term relationships." He admitted that he typically "hooks up" with at least one or two partners each weekend, and when you asked him what he meant by that, he said, "Sex." You asked if he uses any contraception in these sexual encounters, and he said, "No, I don't like how they feel, so I won't have sex if the other person would make me use one."
You asked Josiah what his goals are for counseling and what he would like to change, and he responded, "Not much really. I like my life and have fun with all the partying we do here. I guess I need to learn to be a little more careful with my drinking since I got that police citation, but otherwise, I feel really happy with my life right now and can't think of much that I really want to work on in counseling."
With these thoughts in mind:
1) Write an explanation of how you, as a counselor, might help this student make healthy, informed sexual decisions.
2) Describe one specific strategy you might use or one example conversation you might have with him (in the form of a short dialogue) to help him change his sexual behavior.
3) Explain why the strategy or conversation you described might be effective.
The response must include a reference list. One-inch margins, double-space, Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font and APA style of writing and citations.