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Crisis Counseling Ethics

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Counselors must be aware of their ethical and legal obligations when providing counseling services, such as those related to crisis prevention and intervention. This knowledge can guide the counselor in making appropriate decisions to best assist the client. The American Counseling Association Code of Ethics (2014) provides counselors with the core principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice and fidelity to guide them in decisions making. Furthermore, the following ACA (2014) ethical codes are applicable to crisis counseling:
A.1.a. Primary responsibility.
A.1.b. Records and documentation.
A.1.d. Support network involvement.
A.2.a. Informed consent.
A.2.b. Types of information needed.
A.4.a. Avoiding harm.
A.4.b. Personal values. …show more content…

Some of these roles may include advocacy, collaboration with other professionals regarding the creating of crisis response plans, providing education related to mental health and resilience, holding leadership roles on multi-disciplinary crisis response teams, serving as media liaisons, assessing the needs of those affected by disasters, providing crisis intervention and support, and assisting with death notifications. Furthermore, CMHCs may fulfill the following roles and responsibilities when assisting those in …show more content…

This self-awareness should include continuously examining their own development and unexamined personal trauma, as well as, personal biases, ideas, values, and beliefs related to culture, crisis, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and suicide. Counselors should also practice self-awareness related to their own knowledge and level of competence in providing crisis services. Lastly, self-awareness should include monitoring their personal reactions to the trauma and crisis they are working with, changes to their own personal schema, and failures to address personal issues (Sartor, 2016). By engaging in self-awareness, the counselor can provide appropriate services to assist the client, rather than cause harm. Furthermore, practicing self-awareness and engaging in self-care activities can serve to protect crisis counselors from burnout, vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, and compassion fatigue (Sartor, 2016; Jackson-Cherry & Erford,

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