Problem
Group Treatment and Ethics Vignette
Chris is a Licensed Professional Counselor working in a private practice who runs a group for recovering addicts. The group will meet two and sometimes three times a week. Chris's practice has not been busy of late and he seldom screens out anyone from attending the group. He does not monitor the circumstances or diagnoses of potential group clients and seldom screens applicants. Chris provided a partial segment of a transcript from the first meeting of the group:
Counselor: Good evening. I am Chris and welcome to my addictions counseling group. I will be your group leader and we will meet on Monday and Wednesday nights and occasionally on Thursday. Attendance is mandatory and you will get a lot out of the meetings. This is a large group and that is good. Let's see - how many are here - twenty. That is a good number. Just to let you know, this is a psycho-ed group and we will talk about addiction and recovery in this group. We will talk about data and information about addiction and what makes all of you addicts. You will learn coping skills and things you can do to curb cravings keep you from relapse. We will address all the things you will need to know to stay sober and avoid relapse. In this group, you will not only learn new skills but you will practice them here in the group with each other. You will practice some of these skills within the group and other ones you will do at home. We will discuss those in group later. What questions can you think of?
Client: I have a question. What makes you the leader of the group? Are you an addict?
Counselor: I have a counseling license and I lead this group because this is my practice. My past is not important because you are who has the problems. I am here to help you fix the problem. I have gone to school to become a trained counselor. I want all of you to know that everything that is said in here stays here. We are completely confidential in this group. Everything that you say here is guaranteed to be confidential so I want you to be completely open with everything you share here. This group needs everyone to be open and share about everything or you won't get the results you want. I promise not to talk to anyone else about what you say here. We will start by going around the room and everyone sharing about why he or she is here and what your addiction is. By the way, if you know of anyone else who can benefit from group therapy, invite them to come next meeting - we have plenty of room for everyone. The group is only $20 per session and that is cheap! So, let's get started. You, over there, why did you come?
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