Family Counseling and Ethical Challenges with Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered (GLBT) Clients: More Questions than Answers

Abstract

Couples, marriage, and family counselors face unique ethical and practice challenges in their dual commitment to the positive growth and integrity of both the individual and the family system. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) persons and their families present unique ethical challenges. A series of brief case vignettes touch on a range of ethical issues for couples and family counselors, including training, supervision, custody evaluation, ethical decision making, counselor bias, gender, ethnicity, and referral.

Ethical Responsibilities in Training Marriage and Family Counselors

“…Several authors have documented unique issues including treating the entire family unit, imposing therapist values, manipulating the family for therapeutic benefit, making decisions on marital status, balancing family and individual needs, convening all members of the family, determining the amount of intrasystem stress to allow and create, and identifying the client within the system (Beamish, Navin, & Davidson, 1994;Corey et al, 1998;Smith, Carlson, Stevens-Smith, & Dennison, 1995). The changing definitions of family, marriage, and couples beyond the traditional also call into question marriage and family counselors' values and approaches (Janson & Steigerwald, 2002). Serovich and Mosack (2000) further suggested that there are unique issues surrounding working with HIV/AIDS for family counselors who work not only with the individual but with family members and friends as well.…”

“…Counselor educators may do well to consider that it is not just marriage and family counselors who will work with couples and families. Counselors working in mental health agencies, university settings, and schools must be prepared to provide various types of counseling, including individual, group, couples, family, mental health, and substance abuse (Beamish et al, 1994;Janson & Steigerwald, 2002). There is benefit then to all students to include issues in couples and family counseling across the curriculum.…”

Conversion Therapy: Ethical Considerations in Family Counseling

“…Get in contact with your immediate or "gut" reactions. Take some time to reflect and then answer the following questions: (Janson & Steigerwald, 2002). What do your reactions and perceptions tell you concerning your beliefs, values, and biases in this area?…”