Ethical delimma in counseling
In case you've been hiding under rock for the past ten years or so, and missed the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, there are new discoveries that may be of interest to you. HIV/AIDS is on the rise and is just as popular today as ten years ago. HIV Plus magazine indicates that the disease is spreading at alarming rates among women, minorities and the poor. Many people are unaware that they have been exposed to HIV and may continue to pass it on to other individuals through sexual contact or IV drug use. This leads to the necessity for advanced systems of reporting and tracking HIV and AIDS cases. This also opens the door to serious issues such as discrimination and confidentiality. Current methods of tracking patients include anonymous coding in which individuals are coded to prevent identification and maintain confidentiality. Systems that provide identifiable data allows the individual to be tracked offered services such as partner notification and medical services. The issue of confidentiality penetrates the HIV/AIDS community. HIV/AIDS infected persons have the right to prevent others from releasing information pertaining to their status without written permission. Those maintaining information relating to an indiv
Is there an obligation to notify Janie's partner of her HIV status or is it a legal requirement? Federal and state laws require that a person who knows of his or her HIV/AIDS status, displays symptoms of HIV infection or has a prior sexual partner diagnosed with HIV/AIDS is legally bond to acknowledge this information to actual or potential sexual partners. Though law requires partner notification, most people infected with HIV do not inform their partners of their HIV status. Of those who do not disclose, a majority of these do not use condoms or practice safe sex and put their partners at risk of being infected. Many HIV positive persons do not inform their partners of their status out of shame and fear of rejection, or fear of bodily harm. The aim of health officials has been voluntary partner notification, whereas the infected person is counseled and encouraged to inform his or her partner of their HIV status. (ACLU Aisd project report) Traditional ethical standard held that confidentiality and the client's right to privacy essential to the counseling profession. When it comes to honesty and respect, the relationship between a therapist and his client are at the forefront. This relationship allows the client to share her most intimate feelings and problems with her therapist. The conflict of the duty to warn for therapist has infringed upon this very relationship. The decision in Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976) case greatly jeopardized the counselor-client relationship. The ruling required licensed counselors and therapists to disclose information about their client in foreseeable dangerous situations. Thus, causing the counselor to potentially violate the therapuetic relationship. (Anderson 1996, p. 28) Relating to
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Approximate Word count = 1203
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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