Case Study:
Allison, a 28 year old, White, first year doctoral student is doing a practicum at a community agency in a predominantly Latino neighborhood in a large urban area. The agency offers comprehensive counseling services including career counseling. One of Allison's clients is Carmen, a 19 year old Latina. Carmen and her family moved from Puerto Rico when she was 10 years old. Carmen is single, lives with her parents, and attends a nearby community college. Allison has been counseling Carmen for several sessions on career options that Carmen might pursue after she obtains her associate's degree. In one of these sessions, Allison reviewed with Carmen the results of an interest inventory that she had recently completed that suggested a number of career options Carmen might consider pursuing. After each option was presented, Carmen would reflect on it and then say, "That sounds like it might be a good job, but I need to check with Papi to see what he thinks about it." After reviewing several options, Allison asked Carmen who Papi was and why his opinion was so important to her. Carmen stated that Papi was her father and that she needed to seek his guidance and permission prior to entering a career. When Allison heard this, it aroused her feminist sensibilities and she responded that Carmen was a woman now and did not need her father, or any man for that matter, giving her permission to live her life and pursue a career. Allison believed Carmen was in a highly dysfunctional enmeshed family situation, and she wanted to explore strategies that would help Carmen break free of her father's seemingly oppressive grip and allow her to assert her independence a woman. For the next counseling session, Allison brought several books on women's issues for Carmen to read. She also engaged Carmen in discussion about what it means to be a woman in contemporary American society. Allison's goal was to get Carmen to begin to assert her independence from her family, in particular her father. Allison attempted to stress to Carmen that the decision to pursue a career was hers alone. She could certainly listen to her father's advice; but as a modern American woman, Carmen did not need her father's permission to pursue a career. This session ended with Allison attempting to get Carmen to think of ways that she could move out of her father's house. Carmen did not return for further counseling after this session.
QUESTIONS:
Q1. Are Allison's actions unethical? What are the ethical principles that Allison is struggling to uphold according to the NASW Code of Ethics?
2. Identify some of Allison's personal values compared to those expressed by Carmen.
3. If you were Allison's supervisor, what steps would you suggest Allison might take to enhance her awareness, knowledge, and skills and become a more culturally responsive counselor?
4. How could another person have a different view of the situation? What would they use for evidence to support that view?