FREE ESSAY ON DUAL RELATIONSHIPS AND SELF DISCLOSURE

DUAL RELATIONSHIPS AND SELF DISCLOSURE

Dual Relationships and Self-Disclosure
Chemical Dependency counselors have quite a few ethical dilemmas to deal with. Therapists
that are in recovery may confront some even more complex dilemmas, opposed to those who
are not. There is a high percentage of addiction counselors that are in recovery. In
fact, 55% of 36,000 members of the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Addiction
Counselors (NAADAC) are recovering alcoholics and 21% are recovering from some other
chemical dependency. This brings up two sides to counselors in recovery. "There is
something about the personal experience that assists counselors to being especially
attentive to the needs of the recovering client." On the other hand, counselors bringing
personal experience with them are likely to raise personal/professional boundary
violations. Two specific dilemmas that recovering counselors may run into are dual
relationships and self-disclosure.
Outpatient rehab centers are on the rise because it is what most people with drug and
alcohol problems are attending. The one problem with outpatient facilities is that they
create the likelihood of dual relationships. A dual relationship is a situation where a
counselor (usually in recovery) and client have more than one type of relationship. A
good example of this is the counselor - client relationship and the relationship they
might possess in A.A. The difficult part for the drug therapist is knowing which hat to
wear and 
when to wear it. It is hard for them to differentiate between their professional self and
their self as an A.A. member. It is two completely diverse settings. 
Some counselors have no problem going to an A.A. meeting when a client is there and
others would feel very uncomfortable in that position and choose not to go to meetings
anymore. Several counselors will notice a client in the rooms (A.A.) and continue to talk
and disclose normally. The downside to this is the client may not feel comfortable with
the situation. Other counselors' view that in order to keep things ethical, they must
make it clear with the client that client treatment is not to continue into meetings. In
my eyes, that is an excellent stand to make, but what if the client doesn't respect that
boundary? Is it then still ethical? I personally feel one of the best ways to handle it
is to do what some counselors said at a NAADAC conference: "I don't avoid talking to
former or current clients at meetings, I will, however encourage them to talk to other
A.A. members." There is apparently no clear-cut procedure to follow, except that all
chemical dependency professionals agreed that counselors should never, under any
circumstances, be an A.A. sponsor for a client. It would then be a relationship that
could not be separated. 
"I try to avoid meetings my current clients attend, since I feel it is a boundary
violation for both of us." This statement may be ethical, but it still remains
questionable. If someone goes to meetings to stay sober, will they be able to stay sober
without going? If the counselor in recovery doesn't go to their meetings, they may be
making their recovery very vulnerable. According to one book, counselors should keep A.A.
separate 
from professional and personal life. This may be ethical, but is it possible? What is one
to do if they live in a small community and don't have another meeting to go to? One 
may also look at this statement and say, you can still go to any meeting you want, but
you have to keep it separate from everything. That is difficult to follow as alcoholism
is a disease that affects every part of our life, and so in dealing with that disease how
can you separate different aspects of your life? I would guess that someone in this
predicament has to look at what is more important, remaining sober or helping people? Not
going to A.A. or not being involved in meetings because a client is there may jeopardize
your sobriety, but at the same time, it may help your clients. I don't think that this is
solely an ethical dilemma, it may also be a personal dilemma and neither has an answer. 
As dual relationships are ethically sensitive, so is self-disclosure. Self-Disclosure
refers to a counselor in recovery who tells a client that they too are an alcoholic,
along with anything else relating to their personal experience with the disease. In order
to remain ethical, the first question you must ask yourself is: Why am I self-disclosing?
If it is to serve the needs of the counselor, in any way, or to create an instant
client-counselor bond without trying anything else, it is unethical. One of the ethical
principals is to do everything for the good of the client, not yourself. If you are
disclosing for the good of the client, it then may be ethical, but some questions still
remain. 
If done correctly, self-disclosure can be very useful and helpful for the client. One
possible reason that it isn't always done or done ethically is therapists are not trained
in self-disclosure. There are not really any programs that teach counselors how to
properly self-disclose, so how are they suppose to know how? If one does choose to 
disclose to a client, they must keep in mind that chemical dependency is a life long
disease and the client may view you as a risky source of help. If you, as a counselor,
are viewed as an unreliable source of help, your treatment won't be very helpful. Another
disadvantage to revealing your personal experience is it may cause the client to focus on
the therapist's issues and not their own. Having the client become interested in your
issues can also lead to dual relationship problems. If the client becomes interested
enough, they may begin attending your meetings and begin "stalking". Something very
unhealthy for anyone to do, never mind someone in a very vulnerable position (client).
One counselor stated that an unethical thing to do is to self-disclose at the initial
consultation because it can split up a program staff into those who are in recovery and
those who are not. 
There is many ethical ways for a counselor to self-disclose. When done appropriately and
for the good of the client, self-disclosure can build trust and give helpful information
toward recovery. It can be comforting for the client and make their recovery process less
stressful. One counselor said an ethical way to self-disclose is not to actually
self-disclose. For example, you can say, this is what people share at meetings. You are
telling the client what helped you, for the benefit of the client, with out actually
saying it was you. If done correctly, this can resolve some problems, but again, we (as
counselors) are not properly trained how to do this. A method that another counselor used
was to only disclose relating to recovery, not current issues. In doing this, it is
harder for the client to become involved in your issues. It would also be a way 
to tell only relevant information. Being a counselor in recovery, you are dealing with
issues beyond just keeping sober. On the other hand, your client is most likely trying to
just keep sober, so why would sharing current issues be for the good of the client?
Again, when you self-disclose appropriately and ethically, it can be a model of hope for
the client and become extremely useful. The one thing that counselors, across the board,
agreed on was that you should without doubt consult with colleagues to get a look at the
situation from another view. 
The question still remains a question, is it ethical to have a dual relationship or to
self-disclose? Yes, both are ethical and at the same time, they may not be. They are both
very complicated ethical dilemmas that have many different views and can only be answered
when each and every variable is taken into account. It may be easier to justify the
question when looking at the definition of dilemma. The word itself denotes a predicament
that seemingly defies a satisfactory solution, not just any predicament or problem. 
Work Cited
Bissell, LeClair and Royce, James E. Ethics for Addiction Proffessionals. Minnesota:
Hazelden Foundation,1994
Official Site in Addiction Technology Transfer Center. Ethical Challenges for counselor
competency. 23. May. 2000. Online Available
http://www.mid-attic.org/courses/freemod_ethics2.html
Pita, Dianne D. Addiction Counseling. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1992
Wendel, Peter Counselors in Recovery find answers to ethical dilemmas. Counseling Today.
May 1997: 28 pars Online: Available
http://www.conseling.org/ctonline/archives/recovery.htm
White, William L. Critical Incidents: Ethical Issues in Substance Abuse Prevention and
Treatment. Illinois: Lighthouse Training Institute, 1993