Ethics Within Groups

Ethics within Group and Individual Counseling

Pamela R. Thompson

Liberty University

Abstract

This paper ceases to address ethical issues relevant within group and individual counseling. Group counselors are responsible for the welfare of the group as well as individual group members, ensuring the protection for all, and that the groups function in a way that is beneficial to everyone involved. I will seek to address the ethical issues unique to group counseling and how those issues compare to those from individual counseling. These issues include the screening of prospective group participants and outside socializing among members, issues with confidentiality and communication, establishing and maintaining boundaries, minimizing risks, understanding diversity, early withdrawals from the group, and ending group counseling in unethically sound manner. Thus, groups and individuals can relate to these implications as well as minors and mandated clients. Lastly, I will provide specific reasons a professional counselor would choose group counseling over individual counseling and vice versa. There are several factors to consider that ultimately will benefit not only the setting, but the professional as well.

Introduction

In order to understand group counseling and the ethical issues within counseling groups, I will first provide appropriate definition. The American Counseling Association (2015) defines counseling as a way to help another through the sight of others. It provides of way of showing one that there are others dealing with similar life challenges, and that they are not alone. Studies have shown that group counseling or being involved with a group of peers in a familiar surrounding helps another to understand the struggles of each person, as well as multiple ways for reaching a solution. Groups can typically have up to eight participants, with multiple leaders, working together to cover a common topic such as: issues with self-esteem, divorce,...