Instructor Contact Information Kevin Doyle ksd3c@virginia.edu Biographical Sketch of Instructor Kevin Doyle is the Vice-President for Enhancement and Chief Enhancement Officer for Vanguard Services Unlimited, a non profit, substance abuse treatment agency based in Arlington (Va.). He has served as Project Director for Vanguard s CSAT grant to improve treatment access and retention from 2003-2007 as part of the national Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) and has worked in the addiction treatment field since 1986. Doyle received his doctorate in Counselor Education from the University of Virginia in 1999 and is licensed as a Professional Counselor and as a Substance Abuse Treatment Practitioner (LSATP) in Virginia. In 2002, he was appointed by Governor Mark Warner to the Commonwealth of Virginia s Board of Counseling, and served as Chairman of the Board from 2005-2007. His professional interests include counseling ethics, the recovering college student, and adolescents. He serves as an editorial board member for the Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, is a past-president of the Virginia Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (VAADAC), and is a past Chair of the Ethics Committee of the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC). Course Summary This course is for beginning counselors who need to learn basic ethical principles and explore legal and professional issues which govern counseling. It also serves as a refresher course for more experienced practitioners. Content includes the ethical decision making process and the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, competence, discretion, justice and non-malfeasance. We will use the NAADAC code of ethics as a guide but for those professionals who are not certified by ICRC or NAADAC or are not members of NAADAC, please go to the link Illinois Institute List Professional Codes of Ethics and find the code of ethics that applies to your practice. Course Objectives 1. 2. 3. To increase counselors knowledge about the ethical decision making process. To educate counselors about the legal issues involved in ethical decision making. To engage counselors in the decision making process. Instructional Methods Students should plan on spending roughly 10 total hours "on-line" during the course, or 2 hours/week, though individual times may vary. There are 5 required modules in this course. Each module contains detailed instructions as to how to proceed through the work, which may include on-line readings, and interactions with the instructor and/or other students through email or in the Course Discussion Board. The course includes:
Online registration, post test and post evaluation Online instruction Thought-provoking assignments Email and a discussion forum Online evaluations Course Modules Module 1: Module 2: Module 3: Module 4: Module 5: Involves the completion of a self-inventory on beliefs about ethical practices. This module also covers ethical decision making and ethical dilemmas. Provides knowledge about legal terminology. Covers the principles of autonomy and beneficence. Covers the principles of discretion and non-malfeasance. Covers the principles of justice and competence. Module Assignments Module 1 Introductory Exercise: Please introduce yourself to the class on the Discussion Board and share the answer you gave to one of the questions on the self-inventory. Discussion Exercise: Describe an ethical dilemma that you have encountered in your practice using confidentiality guidelines to protect clients' identity. Identify the ethical concerns and how you resolved it or wish you had resolved it. If you are not currently in practice, identify a client population you would like to work with and discuss a possible ethical dilemma that could occur as well as your thoughts about how to resolve it. Module 2 Legal Issues Discussion Questions Decide whether each of these three scenarios is ethical and/or legal and post your answers to the class Discussion Board. 1. A counselor informs the adult partner of an adult client that the client has tested positive for HIV. 2. A counselor receives a subpoena to testify from an attorney and does not have a release of information signed by the client so refuses to testify. 3. A counselor discloses to a probation officer that a sixteen-year-old client is pregnant. Post your response on the "Discussion Board.
Module 3 Autonomy Discussion Exercise (Please complete before proceeding to Beneficence) List the three most important items that you believe need to be included in the informed consent process for clients attending your program. Case Study 1--A required assignment in identifying an ethical dilemma, its legal concerns, your personal reactions and three steps you would take to address this. If you have any questions about the assignment, please contact your instructor. You are a certified addictions counselor providing counseling in a not- for-profit community program. Due to budget cuts, your program may have to be closed within this year. You serve many of the clients who cannot access private treatment because of their economic status. There is also a 3 month waiting list already at the public funded treatment program in your community. Your Board of Directors calls you into a meeting to discuss how to respond to the possible loss of funding. They suggest the following strategy to you: *Have reporters from local t.v. stations and newspapers come to the program and interview clients to raise community awareness *Have clients write letters to the funding agencies advocating for continued funds *Give the Board a list of former clients they can contact to help with this campaign 1. Identify the ethical dilemma(s) 2. What are your personal reactions as the counselor? 3. Identify any legal concerns. 4. Describe how you would respond. Send completed assignment by email to: Charlotte Chapman. Module 4 Confidentiality Discussion Exercise Choose one of the following and discuss how you would respond. 1. A client gives you written permission to tell his employer what you discuss in treatment. The client advises you he is in relapse with alcohol and it is affecting his job as a dental assistant. 2. A client does not give you written permission to discuss her treatment with her attorney and the attorney issues a subpoena for you to testify in a custody case regarding the client's right to have her children. Nonmaleficence Discussion Exercise: List three criteria you would use to determine that a client had been harmed by another counselor.
Case Study 2--A required assignment in: identifying an ethical dilemma, its legal concerns, your personal reactions, and three steps you would take to address this. If you have any questions about the assignment, please contact your instructor. This is the second case study assignment.. If you have any questions about the assignment, please contact your instructor. You are a certified substance abuse counselor working in a private hospital. This is the third time, Sherry, has been admitted to your facility for detox from alcohol and prescription medications. She is a 28 year old female, referred by her primary care physician. The first time she was your client, your referred her to a thirty-day inpatient program. She completed the program but relapsed a few weeks after leaving. The last time she was in your program, she refused referral to inpatient treatment, stating she would attend more AA meetings. When you meet with her to fill out the intake forms for this admission, Sherry tells you that she relapsed both times because of problems in a relationship. When you ask for more information, she reveals that she has been emotionally and sexually involved with a counselor from the inpatient program where you referred her. She refuses your request for her to sign a release so that you can talk with this counselor. Assignment 1. Identify the ethical dilemma. 2. What are your personal reactions as the counselor? 3. Identify any legal concerns. 4. Describe three steps you would take to address this dilemma. Send completed assignment by email to: Charlotte Chapman. Module 5 Justice Discussion Exercise: Explain two ways you apply the principle of justice in your current practice. If you are not currently working as a counselor, list two things you would do in response to NAADAC Code, Principle 12: Social Responsibility Please post your response on the "Discussion Board". Competence Discussion Exercise: Choose one of the following five indicators of competency and post your answer to the class discussion board. Certification credential Bachelor's degree in counseling Five years of experience Recovery from alcoholism/drug addiction Graduate degree in counseling List two reasons why it is an adequate indicator of competency and two reasons why it is an inadequate indicator of competency. For example, if my choice was indicator 5. graduate degree in counseling, I could say that a graduate degree in general counseling is an adequate indicator of competence because a supervised practicum is typically required by counseling graduate programs. Graduate-level counselors typically have had to demonstrate
some competence. I could say that it is an inadequate indicator because there is not a standardized curriculum for substance abuse counseling in most general counseling degrees. The quality and requirements of each substance abuse curriculum varies. If you choose graduate degree as an indicator, please use an example other than this one. Please post your response on the "Discussion Board". Case Study 3--A required assignment in: identifying an ethical dilemma, its legal concerns, your personal reactions, and three steps you would take to address this. This is the case study required assignment. If you have any questions about the assignment, please contact your instructor. You are a certified substance abuse counselor working in a private outpatient treatment program. Your program has just received a federal grant to offer a program for alcoholic/addicted women and their children. The director of your program meets with you to discuss the impact of this grant on your agency. She tells you that she wants you to be in charge of this program and that you need to, gradually, transfer all of your male clients to another staff member. Even though there is a waiting list for male clients, you will not accept any more new male clients. She also wants you to assume supervisory responsibility for all the staff that will be hired to work in this program. You will be working with her in developing the component of the program for children. A quarterly report is due on the grant and she would like the program to start within that time frame (three months). Assignment 1. Identify the ethical dilemma. 2. What are your personal reactions as the counselor? 3. Identify any legal concerns. 4. Describe three steps you would take to address this dilemma. Send completed assignment by email to: Charlotte Chapman. Course Requirements A posttest is required in order to obtain credit through NAADAC, NBCC, and local certification boards. Please note: You must answer at least 70% of the posttest questions correctly in order to receive your certificate of completion. A post-evaluation is required so that we can get feedback on your experiences in participating in this course. Certificates of completion are only sent to students who complete these requirements. Recommended readings for this course are: NAADAC Code of Ethics Corey G., Corey M. S., & Callanan, P. (1998). Issues and ethics in the helping professions (5th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Anderson, B. S. (1996). The counselor and the law (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Counseling Association. Available from American Counseling Association using the link to Resources and Books
Course Structure and Navigation This course is provided on-line and consists of the following elements: A post evaluation A post-test 5 online modules A class forum, which is intended to be an open discussion. This is a "threaded" forum, in which all messages remain posted on the page for viewing at any time. Students are expected to participate in the discussion continuously throughout the course. Any topic related to the course is appropriate for posting, though there will be different "primary" topics posted by the instructor each week. No censorship or editorial license will be applied, though all posters are expected to exhibit common sense and common courtesy and respect for others' viewpoints Navigating through the course The course is comprised of five "modules". You should complete an entire module each week for five consecutive weeks. As a general rule, it should take you about 2 hours each week to read the module and work on assignments. There are several ways to make your way through the materials on these pages. You should begin the course by reading the Welcome and Syllabus pages located on the Course Information page. Then go to the "Course Documents" page and click on the link to Module 1. Upon completion of Module 1 you may work your way through the other modules in a similar fashion. You can always get to any of the open materials by going to the Course Documents page and clicking on the link to the appropriate module. Course Schedule There are no scheduled classes or "virtual class" meetings although students are expected to complete a module per week. Be advised that some instructors do set due dates for assignments, see the assignments within the discussion board for details. Contact the Mid-Atlantic ATTC for technical assistance: Mid-Atlantic Addiction Technology Transfer Center VCU Dept. of Addiction Psychiatry 4907 Fitzhugh Ave. Suite 202 Richmond, VA 23230 (804) 367-7720 (804) 367-7724 Fax Dmail: mid-attc@mindspring.com