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Article Excerpt
The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of beliefs of substance abuse counselors regarding multiple relationships. The association between beliefs and educational level, recovery status, experience, and supervision were explored. Results showed that non-recovering individuals and individuals receiving supervision found more multiple relationship behaviors to be ethically problematic. Highest degree obtained, experience prior to licensure, and supervision prior to licensure did not contribute to beliefs regarding multiple relationship behaviors.
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Ethical issues surrounding dual or multiple relationships have generated considerable controversy and are a concern among mental health counselors (Herlihy & Corey, 1997; Pope & Vetter, 1992). Multiple relationships, which violate the therapeutic boundary, occur whenever a mental health counselor has another, different relationship with a help seeker (Herlihy & Corey; Remley & Herlihy, 2005).
Substance abuse counselors, along with other mental health counselors, have an ethical obligation to avoid dual or multiple relationships that could impair professional judgment or jeopardize the welfare of clients (American Counseling Association, 1995; American Mental Health Counselors Association, 2000; National Board for Certified Counselors, 2000). Multiple relationships may be difficult to avoid when mental health counselors share "small worlds" with their clients (Herlihy & Watson, 2002; Remley & Herlihy, 2005). Compared with other mental health counselors, substance abuse counselors have more opportunities to interact with clients outside of the therapy session (Doyle, 1997). Substance abuse counselors who are also in recovery face some unique problems (Powell, 1997), including the potential to encounter clients in the 12-step community, former clients becoming colleagues, and relapse potential for the counselor.
Despite the unique multiple relationship dilemmas these counselors confront, there is a paucity of research regarding ethical beliefs of substance abuse counselors. Therefore, this research study was intended to investigate beliefs of substance abuse counselors regarding multiple relationships. The ability of substance abuse counselors to address the ethical dilemmas related to multiple relationships may be influenced by their education, experience, and prior or current supervision of their clinical work (Dove, 1995; Doyle, 1997; West, Mustaine, & Wyrick, 1999). Doyle (1997) suggested that substance abuse counselors could benefit from continued supervision due to the high potential for ethical and multiple relationship issues to be present in the field; additionally, supervision could be helpful for recovering counselors when faced with ethical dilemmas related to social relationships, sponsorship, and self-help group meetings. Educational differences also contribute to difficulties associated with training in ethics. Substance abuse counselors come from a variety of backgrounds including social work, psychology, criminal justice, and counseling and may possess a degree in an unrelated field that does not require specific coursework in ethics (West et al., 1999). Educational differences can lead to a lack of standard coursework or preparation in ethics (Culbreth, 2000; Dove, 1995). West, Mustaine, and Wyrick (2002) and Culbreth (1999) found a lack of consistency in clinical experience and education required to provide supervision to substance abuse counselors. Educational differences between supervisor and supervisee as well as mismatches in recovery status also have been examined as factors affecting supervision (Anderson, 2000). Research by Culbreth and Borders (1998) indicated that substance abuse counselors believed recovery status was a significant issue in the supervisory relationship.
Despite these concerns, there is a notable dearth of research that has investigated ethics in substance abuse counseling. Although a significant amount of research (e.g., Bernsen, Tabachnick, & Pope, 1994; Borys & Pope, 1989; Gibson & Pope, 1993; Pope & Vetter, 1992) has examined multiple relationship beliefs and behaviors of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and counselors, substance abuse counselors have been included within the broader framework of the helping professions rather than being specifically targeted for research. Although substance abuse counseling is a smaller subset or specialization within the helping professions, its problems can be unique.
The few research studies that have focused specifically on substance abuse counselors and ethics have been limited to studies related to education level (Toriello, 1998) and beliefs and behaviors...
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