Critical Thinking in Clinical Supervision
CCMH/581
In Summary
a. The scenario
b. Ethical codes and legal statutes
c. Plan of action
d. Clinical supervisor role
, Critical Thinking in Clinical Supervision
Ethics and standards are the backbone of the mental health field. Just as counselors,
therapist, and even doctors have ethics they must follow so do those who act in the role of
clinical supervisor. The difference is that clinical supervisors have different ethical codes and
legal statutes because what they do is so important. This essay will refer to state laws as well as
the American Counseling Association, the National Board for Certified Counselors codes of
ethics and peer reviewed articles to show possible ethical dilemmas and how to solve them.
The scenario
Edmond, a Hispanic 35-year-old male, is a counselor at a treatment facility. For the past
month Edmond has been acting as a supervisor to two college students working through their
internship program. Edmond finds he enjoys his role as a supervisor and teacher and the students
under his supervision all seem very eager and have a lot of potential. At the end of each day
Edmond sits down with each student and he reviews each student counseling session. Edmond
goes over possible room for improvement and what was done effectively. The first student
counselor whose name is Alex has come to Edmond and informed him that his current client a
16-year-old boy, has disclosed that he is homosexual. Due to Alex’s conservative religious
beliefs, he does not feel as if he can appropriately counsel someone who engages in a behavior
that goes against his personal beliefs. The last student counselor Rebecca has just got done
meeting with a 13-year-old girl and her mother. A mother brought her daughter in after her
daughters suicide attempt. The mother told the student counselor that her daughter tends to lie
and often makes up stories. However, during the session, the child shares that she only tried to
kill herself because her mom is constantly physically and mentally abusing her. Edmond
discovers that Rebecca has not reported this information to DCHS after he reviews her reports.