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Sam is a 32-year-old Caucasian, that has been coming to weekly sessions for a month for his compulsive sexual behavior. At the last session, Sam discussed the different boundaries he crossed to satisfy his sexual urges and hugged the counselor at the end of the session. During the present session Sam greeted the counselor with a hug and kiss on the cheek blurring the counseling boundary. The counselor is becoming attracted to Sam and does not say anything to him about the physical contact. As the session proceeds Sam discusses having sex in public places and talks about how this is affecting his life as he was arrested for indecent exposure. Sam starts to get upset and the counselor places a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. At the end of the session, Sam asks the counselor if she would like to go out for coffee.
The counselor needs to ensure not to enter into a relationship with Sam or a friendship as it would be unethical according to the ACA (2014) Code of Ethics, sexual or romantic relationships are prohibited between counselor and client or former client for a period of five years (§A.5.a. & §A.5.c.). Potential harm can occur, and the counselor may not be able to remain objective. After careful consideration of the risks and benefits of continuing to counsel Sam, and seeking consultation, supervision, and gaining informed consent. The counselor decides to continue counseling Sam, they must ensure that Sam understands the role of the counselor, and his as a client, and the limits of the counseling relationship (Remley & Herlihy, 2016). If the counselor believes the role is changing, she will reevaluate the relationship, and restate the roles, if she finds that her judgment is being affected, she will seek consultation to ensure no harm is being done to Sam. There are not always signs when a counselor-client relationship can become an inappropriate relationship as the counselor may inadvertently exploit or misuse power (Remley & Herlihy, 2016).
If the counselor determines that she cannot appropriately or effectively counsel Sam, and there is a potential of harm, she needs to provide pretermination counseling and refer him to another counselor (ACA, 2014, §A.11.c.). The counselor cannot abandon Sam, but explain the reason why she needs to refer him to someone that can objectively counsel him. If Sam decides to continue counseling with another therapist, the counselor needs to ensure the appropriate administrative processes are completed, and that there is proper communication between Sam, the counselor, and the new counselor (§A.11.d.).
If the counselor accepted Sam’s invitation for going for coffee she would be extending the counseling boundaries. Counselors need to consider the risk and take precautions if it’s determined it would be beneficial to extend the boundary. The counselor would need to seek supervision and consultation, obtain informed consent, and document the reasons why, and make sure no harm would come to the client (ACA, 2014, §A.6.b.). The documentation must include the potential benefits and any foreseeable or potential consequences, and evidence of any attempts made to remedy if harm occurs to the client (§A.c.6.). In this scenario, I do not bilevel it would be beneficial to Sam as it may confuse the counseling relationship as the counselor is attracted to him.