Unique ethical challenges involve the myriad of dual relationships inherent in the field and include dilemmas stemming from recovering workers attending AA meetings with clients or with their supervisors, or the changing role of some individuals to service providers within the very programs in which they had recently been clients.
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Why are there so many addiction treatment facilities with bad ethics?
A lot of addiction treatment facilities practice poor ethics by overcharging clients for care or double-billing the insurance company. It is important to stay on top of the costs of addiction treatment so you or your insurance company doesn’t overpay. Sexual Misconduct.
What are some ethical practices in drug and alcohol treatment?
Ethical Practices and Addiction Treatment – Be Informed 1 Improper credentials. In order for a drug and alcohol treatment facility to operate,... 2 Bribery. If you can bribe anyone at a treatment facility to prescribe drugs, provide special favors,... 3 Patient Brokering. This is what happens when someone from an addiction locator service steers...
What are some unethical practices in the addiction industry?
Here are five common unethical addiction practices happening in the treatment industry: Improper credentials. In order for a drug and alcohol treatment facility to operate, it must be licensed and operated by licensed professionals. If a treatment center does not have the proper licensing and credentials, you don’t want to go there.
What are the challenges of being a drug and alcohol addiction therapist?
Client relationships often prove to be the most brutal of challenges. It’s the cornerstone of what you do. Every day, you work one-on-one and with groups of people who battle substance abuse and/or addiction. You see the ugliness of drug and alcohol abuse, and you take a front row seat to your clients’ lives.
What are some ethical issues in substance abuse counseling?
This article provides an overview of these issues, which include but are not limited to (a) the lack of communication and continuity between research and clinical practice, (b) lack of agreement over the necessary professional credentials, (c) the questionable propensity of group work in the addictions field, (d) ...
Is drug abuse an ethical issue?
Drug abuse is both a personal and a public issue, raising questions about individual rights and the boundaries of law, as well as about national sovereignty and international control. Ethical issues that arise under these headings may be related to certain broad ethical positions.
Why are ethics important in addiction counseling?
Ethics is essential to the safe and effective delivery of care to individuals seeking addiction treatment. Therefore, specific codes of ethics, as well as state and federal laws, have been developed to guide addiction professionals in their delivery of professional care to individuals seeking their services.
Why does beneficence support the ethical practices in substance abuse counseling?
Beneficence requires substance abuse counselors to act in their client's best interests. Health promotion is an important component of beneficence. The substance abuse counselor considers benefits and risks to the client in recommending interventions and treatment modalities.
What are considered ethical issues?
Ethical issues occur when a given decision, scenario or activity creates a conflict with a society's moral principles. Both individuals and businesses can be involved in these conflicts, since any of their activities might be put to question from an ethical standpoint.
What are examples of ethical considerations?
Ethical considerationsInformed consent.Voluntary participation.Do no harm.Confidentiality.Anonymity.Only assess relevant components.
What are the major areas of legal and ethical considerations that a substance abuse counselor must know in regard to client welfare?
Alcohol and drug counselors providing vocational rehabilitation (VR) services directly or through referral need to be aware of legal and ethical issues in three areas: discrimination against recovering individuals, welfare reform, and confidentiality.
What are three basic ethical principles?
Three basic principles, among those generally accepted in our cultural tradition, are particularly relevant to the ethics of research involving human subjects: the principles of respect of persons, beneficence and justice....Part B: Basic Ethical PrinciplesRespect for Persons. ... Beneficence. ... Justice.
What is Ethics in addiction?
The ethical quandaries raised by addiction include the degree to which it can be said to compromise patient autonomy, patient access to appropriate medical care, and how the perceptions that physicians—often subconsciously—have of addicts affects treatment.
What are the ethical principles?
The 4 main ethical principles, that is beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice, are defined and explained.
What is an ethical dilemma example?
Some examples of ethical dilemma include: Taking credit for others' work. Offering a client a worse product for your own profit. Utilizing inside knowledge for your own profit.
What are the six ethical principles of counseling?
Examine the dilemma's implications for each of the foundational principles: autonomy, justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and fidelity.
What is substance use disorder?
Substance use disorder includes the abuse and misuse of a wide variety of licit and illicit substances, the most common of which are listed in Box 1 2 3. (Although tobacco is listed in Box 1, tobacco abuse is beyond the scope of this Committee Opinion.)
When did the Supreme Court rule that a hospital should not use drug test results?
The U.S. Supreme Court also recognized the importance of privacy to the patient–physician relationship when it ruled in 2001 to prohibit a public hospital from using results from drug testing done for medical purposes to further a criminal investigation without a warrant or specific consent 31.
What is the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, defines substance use disorder as a pathologic pattern of behaviors related to the use of any of 10 separate classes of substances, including alcohol and licit and illicit substances.
Why are physicians reluctant to record substance use?
Because of concerns regarding patient confidentiality, physicians may be reluctant to record information related to substance use or substance use disorder in patients’ medical records. On the one hand, the physician may be concerned about nonmaleficence. Because medical records may not be safe from inappropriate or state-mandated disclosures of a positive drug test result or a diagnosis of substance use disorder, the patient may experience real harms—including job loss unrelated to workplace performance issues, eviction from public housing, loss of public assistance benefits, termination of insurance, arrest and incarceration, and removal of child custody. On the other hand, the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence require that physicians ensure the accuracy of the medical record to optimize collaborative care with other clinicians. Pertinent medical information obtained by obstetrician–gynecologists may be vital for other clinicians to provide appropriate patient care and avoid harm. Concerns about breaching confidentiality and causing harms through disclosure can be appropriately addressed by including only accurate and medically necessary information in the medical record and informing the patient why and how this information will be included.
What is therapeutic intent?
Therapeutic intent, or beneficence, is the foundation of medical knowledge, training, and practice. Positive behavior change arises from the trust implicit in the patient–physician relationship, the respect that patients have for physician knowledge, and the ability of physicians to help patients see the links between physiologic dysfunction and behavior and their physical and psychologic consequences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that all patients be asked about alcohol and substance use regularly and in plain language 7. Routine screening for substance use disorder can be accomplished by way of validated questionnaires or conversations with patients. Routine laboratory testing of biologic samples is not required. There are several examples of evidence-based screening tools that can be used in the evaluation of alcohol and substance use disorder 4 5 6 7. It may be most efficient and effective to screen using a team approach, in which nonphysician members of the health care team are educated about screening and how to assist women who have positive screening results.
Why is confidentiality important for adolescent patients?
Confidentiality is as important to the patient–physician relationship with adolescents as with adults, and physicians must build a relationship of trust with their adolescent patients in order to facilitate candid discussions regarding health-related behaviors that include the use of alcohol and other substances. Physicians should consider issues of informed consent, parental permission, and adolescent assent when dealing with detection and treatment of adolescent substance use disorder. Obstetrician–gynecologists should be aware of state laws that protect the confidentiality of minors regarding testing or treatment for substance use disorder. Minors, in general, may not be subjected to involuntary testing at their parents’ request.
What is routine screening for substance use disorder?
Routine screening for substance use disorder should be applied equally to all people, regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Routine screening for substance use disorder can be accomplished by way of validated questionnaires or conversations with patients. Routine laboratory testing of biologic samples is not required.
What is the duty of a school counselor?
It is the school counselor’s ethical duty to report, refer and include family in the safety plan. Although confidentiality is the cornerstone to a counseling relationship, it is by far better to lose the relationship with the student than to lose the student’s life.
Why do students need a trusting relationship?
Students need a trusting relationship, especially when a substance use or abuse situation has made them so vulnerable. How to navigate this ethical and legal road is a difficult challenge for school counselors. The rules of the road aren’t clear and often are left up to the individual school counselor.
When is confidentiality given to a minor?
Generally speaking, confidentiality for a minor is given to the parents or guardians until the child attains majority age.
Is confidentiality important for minors?
Confidentiality: Confidentiality when working with minors can be a tricky situation , and the road becomes even rockier when the issue is substance use or abuse. Each state has different laws and regulations regarding confidential ity and privilege, including confidentiality for minors.
Can confidentiality be maintained?
One of the few areas in which most agencies, governing bodies and practitioners agree is that confidentiality can’t be maintained when imminent danger exists. While substance use and abuse can be an antecedent to imminent danger, it can also mask level and immediacy of the danger.
Does the Affordable Care Act cover addiction?
Many healthcare plans now include coverage for addiction treatment, which is undoubtedly a step in the right direction .
Is there corruption in rehab?
For people who are seeking addiction treatment and their families, news of corruption and illegal activities within the rehab industry is frightening and disheartening. It is important to note that the vast majority of addiction treatment facilities have patients’ best interests at heart. However, due to the ongoing limited oversight of the industry in most states, enough bad actors are able to set up shop that the entire industry has been marred. The most concerning thing is that people who desperately need treatment may not seek it because they’re afraid of being taken advantage of.
Can sober living facilities bill insurance?
Some sober living facilities and treatment centers have found it incredibly easy to bill insurance plans for their services. At first glance, this may seem like a good thing. However, it also makes it far too easy for a facility to bill for services that it isn’t providing with any real sincerity. These facilities are able to bill patients’ insurance plans even while they actively abused drugs in his sober living homes.
Do addiction treatment centers pay referral fees?
It has been shown that many addiction treatment centers pay referral fees–which are more rightfully called kickbacks–to entities that drive “business” their way. This phenomenon reduces people who are seeking addiction treatment to little more than pawns that are manipulated to generate as much profit for sketchy, unethical treatment centers as possible. Unsuspecting people who sincerely need treatment don’t usually realize what is happening, and they often end up slipping through the cracks.
What is a substance abuse counselor?
The substance abuse counselor is a unique professional. Taking a front row seat to the impact of drug and alcohol abuse and dependency, they work closely with people in recovery. It’s a bumpy road fraught with emotions and sometimes the stuff of movies. Ethics and values weigh heavily on every move a counselor makes, and on a daily basis, the challenges they face can create or destroy.
What are the don'ts of a client?
Let’s start with the don’ts: Don’t get involved with a member of a client’s immediate family. Don’t nurture dual relationships that could impair your judgment or increase the risk of exploitation. Don’t become sexually active or come into sexual contact with a client.
What are the six core ethical guidelines?
What follows are six core ethical guidelines that are sufficiently broad and context-free to serve as a useful frame of reference in day-to-day counseling practice. These six guidelines are to provide informed consent; to operate in a competent and theoretically sound manner; to insure confidentiality of client information;
What is the ethical responsibility of a counselor?
A counselor has an ethical responsibility to practice only within the scope of his or her professional competence. Some typical indicators of competence include education, experience, training, and certification (Pope and Vasquez, 1998). Competence in one clinical area doesn't necessarily translate to another. Counselors with extensive experience treating general psychiatric disorders aren't necessarily competent to meet the specific needs of addicted clients, just as addiction counselors without advanced training don't always adequately recognize signs of psychiatric disorders. Cross-referral between such specialists is necessary in such situations.
What is the ethical principle of confidentiality?
Confidentiality. Another core ethical principle is for a counselor to vigilantly guard against unauthorized disclosure of client information. The assurance of confidentiality is a fundamental guarantee, but it is not an absolute one.
Why should counselors disclose personal information?
Consultation with colleagues and supervisors can help insure that the true purpose for disclosing personal information is to meet the emotional needs of the client rather than the counselor. One helpful guideline is for a counselor to reveal information about a personal life problem only well after it has been resolved, and not while it is an ongoing issue (Hunter and Struve, 1998).
When a client and a counselor hold fundamentally incompatible value orientations, should the counselor refer the case?
When a client and a counselor hold fundamentally incompatible value orientations, the counselor should either refer the case or strive to help the client achieve the goals of counseling within the context of the client's value system rather than attempting to change those values.
What is the duty of a counselor?
Duty to Warn/Protect. It is widely accepted that counselors have a general obligation to warn or protect people whom a client places in imminent harm. The right to confidential treatment is therefore balanced by the need to insure the safety of others.
What is competency in counseling?
One often-overlooked component of competency is a counselor's ability to clearly describe the theoretical basis for providing a particular clinical service. Just because a client's case turned out all right doesn't necessarily justify a counselor's actions if they otherwise lack adequate theoretical support.
Why do outliers enter the addiction treatment field?
However, there are outliers, who enter into the addiction treatment field purely to profit from the “Gold Rush” (referring to the enormous profit potential from exploiting urine screening) and to take advantage of the desperation of addicts and their families.
Is patient brokering illegal?
Patient brokering and insurance manipulation have been viewed as unethical practices, but they are actually illegal.
What is the role of confidentiality in addiction?
Addiction Professionals understand that confidentiality and anonymity are foundational to addiction treatment and embrace the duty of protecting the identity and privacy of each client as a primary obligation. Counselors communicate the parameters of confidentiality in a culturally-sensitive manner.
What is the responsibility of addiction professionals?
Addiction Professionals understand and accept their responsibility to ensure the safety and welfare of their client, and to act for the good of each client while exercising respect, sensitivity and compassion. Providers shall treat each client with dignity, honor and respect –and act in the best interest of the client.