Professional Ethics

I see a few issues here:First, the age of the child is important. If the child is considered an "adult" by state law with regard to counseling (states differ on this - the range is typically between age 13 and age 18), no one is allowed to be in the session without the child's consent.Second... more

Seems you would benefit more from legal guidance than from therapist advice.For example, I imagine policy must be presented in writing to the prospective employee prior to signing a contract of employment.If you were not given in writing the organization's policy of employees not being permitted to... more

Counselors should consider ending counseling sessions or terminating therapy under several different circumstances. Here are a few of the most common:If the client has developed the coping skills for which they came to therapy, counselors should encourage clients to decrease sessions to less often... more

For most:  When the money/insurance runs out.

When best:  When the job is done... and you're feeling much better.

There are typically three reasons why therapy is terminated:1) Client has met therapy goals2) Client is not progressing 3) Therapist is not a good fit for clientIn order to properly assess whether therapy is helping and what progress is being made, the therapist needs to have ways of consistently... more

To be able to identify a clear ending to a counseling relationship, we must have a clear understanding of the goals and limitations of treatment. Usually, during the initial evaluation, I identify my client’s short term and long term therapy goals. As therapy progress, we verify goals on a monthly... more

I will admit I am confused about this question. Are you the other parent in question or a concerned coworker of this therapist? Therapists do not prescribe or have access to medication. Most therapists won't even get involved in a custody battle. They know there is a good chance of their records... more

This sounds like a potentially serious situation. The most important thing is to make sure the child is safe. If you suspect that a child is (or has been) harmed, I would strongly recommend that you report your concerns to your local law enforcement or to Child Protective Services. If you don't... more

Therapists, regardless of the discipline (i.e. licensed professional counselor, social worker, psychologist) are expected to put the health and well-being of the client first. Each professional discipline does have a code of ethics as well as a licensing board in each state. In order to get licensed... more