Read the case study examples in Ch. 9 of Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions.
Discuss one of the cases as a team.
Write a 350- to 700-word summary of your discussion about the case and its legal and ethical implications. Include the following:
• Identify the relevant legal, ethical, and professional issues.
• Identify the specific ethical code violations from the CAMFT Code of Ethics.
• Describe the importance of professional consultation and supervision.
Format your summary consistent with APA guidelines.
MULTIPLE ROLES AND RELATIONSHIPS IN THE SUPERVISORY PROCESS
LO11The ACES "Best Practices in Clinical Supervision" (2011) state that clinical supervisors are expected to possess the personal and professional maturity to play multiple roles. Multiple-role relationships in supervision occur when a supervisor has concurrent or consecutive professional or nonprofessional relationships with a supervisee in addition to the supervisor-supervisee relationship. Multiple relationships frequently occur between supervisors and supervisees. These relationships generally are beneficial for supervisees, but they have the potential to be harmful (Gottlieb, Robinson, &Younggren, 2007). Barnett and Johnson (2010) believe going too far in avoiding all nonprofessional relationships may limit opportunities for appropriate relationships with supervisees and students. Multiple roles and relationships are common in the context of training and supervision, and supervisors would do well to discuss these topics with their supervisees.
Multiple relationships with supervisees cannot always be avoided, but it is the responsibility of supervisors to avoid those nonprofessional relationships with supervisees that are likely to impair objectivity or to harm the supervisee. According to Westefeld (2009), training programs are responsible for educating students about the ethical dimensions of multiple relationships. Appropriate relationships need to be modeled, ethics courses need to address multiple relationships, and supervisors need to directly address these issues in the supervisory relationship. Supervisors need to clarify their roles and to be aware of potential problems that can develop when boundaries become blurred. As Herlihy and Corey (2015b) point out, unless the nature of the supervisory relationship is clearly defined, both the supervisor and the supervisee may find themselves in a difficult situation at some point in their relationship. If the supervisor's objectivity becomes impaired, the supervisee will not be able to make maximum use of the process. If the relationship evolves into a romantic one, the entire supervisory process is destroyed, with the supervisee sooner or later likely to allege exploitation.
The core issue of multiple-role relationships in the training and supervisory process is the potential for abuse of power. Like therapy clients, students and supervisees are in a vulnerable position and can be harmed by an educator or supervisor who exploits them, misuses power, or crosses appropriate boundaries. Both feminist supervision and multicultural supervision pay attention to the power dynamic in the supervisory relationship and try to reduce its impact. For example, instead of the supervisor telling supervisees what to do, the supervisor can help supervisees think about their clients in new ways, formulate their own interpretations, and devise their own interventions. Many of the professional codes of ethics have a 356357standard pertaining to relationship boundaries with supervisees, such as this one by the American Mental Health Counselors Association (2010).