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Group of Adolescents and ACA Code of Ethics Discussion

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Topic 6 DQ 2 (Obj. 6.2)

Judith is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in private practice. She has a contract to

facilitate psycho-educational groups for students in a local public high school. Many of the

students in her groups are dealing with the divorce of their parents. Judith has decided to create a

specific psychoeducational group for adolescents whose parents are divorcing or divorced. What

should be covered in her pregroup screening interviews with the students?

Judith needs to make certain the potential members of the group have all the facts and potential

benefits of becoming a member. Careful consideration should be given as to whom to include in

the group. The purpose of creating the group is to help everyone in the group. You don’t want

to include individuals who may be harmed by participating. Corey et al. (2015) contends, “In

our experience in working with groups, we have found that providing members with basic

information about group process tends to eliminate some of the difficulties typically encountered

in the early stages of a group.” You don’t want to overwhelm potential members with a plethora

of information at the onset, however you do want to make certain everyone involved understands

the purpose of the group.

When creating a group, the ACA Code of Ethics A.9.a Screening (2014) says,

Counselors screen prospective group counseling/therapy participants. To the extent

possible, counselors select members whose needs and goals are compatible with the goals

of the group, who will not impede the group process, and whose well-being will not be

jeopardized by the group experience.

As part of the pre-screening process there should be information on the principles and limits of

the group and its discussions. The potential risks of group discussions may also be covered. As

this is a group of adolescents, time should be spent discussing perceived misconceptions of

group therapy. It should be emphasized that the topics discussed during group need to stay

within the group and not talked about during school. Some of the kids may harbor fears over the

stigma of being in therapy. This should be addressed as well. Finally, the kids should be asked

what they think they may get out of the group itself. It may be beneficial to discuss the purpose

and proposed outcomes of participation. Not every kid may be familiar with therapy beyond

what they’ve seen on television or in the movies. They may not have any real-world experience

with any type of therapy.

American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. Retrieved Aug. 7, 2020

from https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2014-code-of-

ethics-finaladdress.pd

Corey, G., Schneider Corey, M., Corey, C., & Callanan, P. (2015). Chapter 12 Ethical Issues in

Group Work. In Issues and ethics in the helping professions (Ninth ed., pp. 442-446). Stamford,

CT, USA, CT: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning.

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Topic 6 DQ 2 (Obj. 6.2) Judith is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in private practice. She has a contract to facilitate psycho-educational groups for students in a local public high school. Many of the students in her groups are dealing with the divorce of their parents. Judith has decided t ...
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Tags: aca code of ethics group of adolescents ethical principles helping professions American Counseling Association