The attraction between intimate partners can be attributed to a wide range of personal qualities. People choose to have partners, or not, at different times in their lives for a variety of reasons. As a counselor, you may be expected to work with clients who have attraction preferences, sexual behaviors, or comfort levels with nontraditional relationships that are unfamiliar to you. It is a counselor’s professional responsibility to know how to set aside the personal judgment we use to make choices in our own lives from the ethical and evidence-informed perspectives that we adopt as clinicians to advocate for our patients’ effective treatment.
Imagine that you are working as a counselor with a client whose sexual beliefs differ from your own, causing you distress. Describe a fictitious client scenario to use as an example for this assignment that challenges your preconceived notions of gender identity, sexual orientation, attraction type, and/or relationship style.
Describe the terms and language that this client might use when self-identifying and presenting their situation to you in session.
Write a paper in which you analyze your ethical decision-making approach to counseling this client. Include the following in your analysis:
Some of the potential ethical dilemmas to counseling this client
Ethically appropriate decisions you can make to address these concerns
The ethically appropriate decision-making steps you would take during this process
Format your paper according to appropriate course-level APA guidelines, including a minimum of two scholarly sources.
