Good Essay On Ricardo's Dilemma

Jane Doe

n/a
n/a
Ricardo seems to be a caring individual with a genuine commitment to the clients he counsels. The dilemma he faces does not involve any problems in the quality or professionalism in his interaction with the clients he seems. The problem with Ricardo is his willingness to bend the rules by dishonestly diagnosing some patients. He does this so that those who could not afford, but desperately need the help, receive the support they deserve. He also is known to offer services without payment from several people who do not have insurance. One the weekends he charges his clients who are financially stable a higher fee, knowing they have insurance and that most of it will be covered. One cannot judge his character in terms of his care and concern for others; as a matter of fact he seems to be quite honorable for his choice to offer this to people in desperate need.
The problem exists with his misdiagnosis of many clients. “Counselors may become confused about where their primary allegiance lies--with the client, with the professional association, or with the MCO” (Braun, S. A., & Cox, J. A. (2005). According to the ACA Code of Ethics this is an unethical practice based on the rules and regulations that counselors are to follow. In Section C.6. Public Responsibility in the ACA Code of Ethics, Ricardo is violating rules under C.6.b. Reports to Third Party (American Counseling Association, 2015). The violation could result in legal issues and fines against him.
If I were one of Ricardo’s colleagues I would talk to him about making some changes for his own security. Letting him know that I understand his intentions are not malicious, but that they still are an unethical practice according to regulations that individuals in the profession are expected to follow. I would remind him that some of the issues with lack of insurance coverage in mental health care have occurred because of excessive misdiagnosis cases by counselors. Considering he is a good person, maybe he could discontinue the misdiagnosing part of his practice and continue through taking on a few more clients that can afford the service. By taking on more of these clients he could accept the other patients without needing to be dishonest with the insurance company.

References

American Counseling Association. (2015). counseling.org. Retrieved from
http://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf
Braun, S. A., & Cox, J. A. (2005). Managed Mental Health Care: Intentional Misdiagnosis of
Mental Disorders. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 83(4), 425.