Career Counseling Case Study: Legal and Ethical Issues

Career Counseling Case Study
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September 17, 2016
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Theory and Relationship Strategies
Every individual is given the power to decide on his own by society. This is because it is the letter who has the power to give resources, which in turn, gives the person the opportunity to do what he wants. This is the main principle that govern an individual’s daily life and even his knowledge of establishing his career options. However, this process also has its own flip-side. This dependency on the society’s resources also makes him deeply embedded and dependent on the tools and trade that he employ – a phenomenon also known as ‘Technological determinism’. Due to this, a person locates himself in the world with his own practice and create a sense of ‘who he is’ with his work, which is great but at the same time poses a great risk. This risk is the possibility of great emotional and mental distress when the resources being given by the society ceases to exist. Couple this problem with the unequal and discriminatory allocation of these resources and opportunities, then it would be very easy to see that individuals with different colors, race, ethnicity, and Socio-Economic Status are the most likely victims of this distress.
According to Arthur & McMahon's (2005), the system approach to diversity has failed in receiving attention from individuals with diverse backgrounds are significantly impacted by environmental influences especially those whose lives are significantly affected by feelings of difference and discrimination. An instance can be established in a case where a counselor encounters an individual is discriminated in a job as a result of a social bias against his race and color. In addition to this author points out to the fact that human beings live within a social system and details the fact that researchers face limitations in viewing individuals as a system and a subsystem. Career counselors, therefore, need to determine some of the unique perspectives of different clients and the manner in which cultural factors influence their career-related needs (Arthur & McMahon's, 2005). Rather than considering each cultural unit as a separate entity, multicultural career counselors can benefit from the theoretical aspect that takes consideration of the relations and interplay between different systems of cultural influence.
Aside from this, the author believes that in the field of Career counseling, the patient’s culture (belief system and the shared values) and age should be put into focus. Giving much focus to the first one is imperative since it influences the manner in which a person interacts with the world, which in turn, affects his behaviors, goals, and decision-making (Dockery & McKelvey, 2013). In contrasts, the latter one – age – is also considered to be a very important factor since it affects a patient’s decision making especially in the latter parts of his life (near the retirement stage) (Dockery, D. J., & McKelvey, S., 2013).
In order to provide a visual element and an example of this issue this paper is aimed at discussing counseling topics by practically applying it to the case of Alex. Our patient, is a 44-year old, professional, and biracial male who has a great sense of responsibility and a good sense of humor. A section of this paper would be dedicated to trying to conceptualize an effective treatment method within the premises of the ethical guidelines of counseling. Lastly, this paper would also look at specific tools that can be utilized to effectively tackle Alex’s career issues and any impact that might be caused by crises, an emergency, or a disaster to his way of life.
Diversity Issues
Since an individual is made “capable” by the society where it belongs, and the essence of who he is, is embedded in his work, it is important to note that; (1) the opportunities accorded to him, (2) the resources that are available at their own disposal, and (3) the social frameworks that define the manner in which he live and cohabit with others contribute to his awareness and sense of self in establishing their knowledge on career options (Dockery & McKelvey, 2013). In terms, cultural diversity, it is important to remember that cultural differences remains relevant and could be manifested in several behaviors that may result in biases and assumptions that impact the process of career counseling. For instance, a counselor is likely to have a biased view and assumption among individuals of color, those from different cultural backgrounds and who speak different languages (Fouad & Kantamneni, 2013). These elements and assumptions are bound to impact the process, an aspect that denotes the need to incorporate a ‘multicultural competency approach’. Due to this, we must note that the negative experiences encountered by individuals of color with career counselors remain an integral aspect that negates the process of counseling, one that requires the acknowledgment of cultural factors in the process that engages different individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds (Fouad & Kantamneni, 2013). One of the effective approaches to addressing this challenge would be the inclusion of visible and sustained outreach programs that allows individuals of color to congregate in different areas to receive career counseling. Lastly, According to Brown & Lent (2013), counselors must also be aware that not everyone who aims at pursuing, developing, and establishing themselves in a career puts wealth as their main aim. They said that counselors must instead be able to know the individual’s cultural expectation in the society where they associate themselves with.
Legal and Ethical Issues
In Alex’s case, the author believed that a counselor should focus on the ethical codes of the National Career Development Association and the American Counseling Association. Even though that there is a significant similarity between the two code of ethics – since NCDA is considered to be one of the founding fathers of ACA (National Career Development Association, 2015) – they have their own focus in the counseling process and how to handle issues (e.g. diversity issues) that arise during the process. For NCDA, one of the most striking aspect in the 2015 revision that they released is a “Non-discriminatory statement” in the introductory part of the NCDA 2015 – Code of Ethics. It says that the NCDA “opposes discrimination against any individual based on age, culture, disability, ethnicity, race… language preference, socioeconomic status, or ...