Chapter 7: Group Work: Ethical/Legal Considerations

1. Chapter 7: Group Work: Ethical/Legal Considerations Introduction to Group Work, 5th Edition Edited by David Capuzzi, Douglas R. Gross, and Mark D. Stauffer

2. Publications with Which To Be Familiar • ACA’s Code of Ethics • ASGW’s Best Practice Guidelines • ASGW’s Principles for Diversity-Competent Group Workers • Ethical guidelines of the following organizations: • The American Group Psychotherapy Association • The National Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists • All the above are available online.

3. Pre-Group Ethical/Legal Considerations: • Determining Competence and Avoiding Malpractice • Know whether you have knowledge, skills, and competencies for type of group you plan to facilitate. • Understand how issues of diversity affect group. • Understand that group members can file a lawsuit if you do not uphold prevailing standard of care or if members are harmed, harm themselves, or injure others. Always consult an attorney.

4. Pre-Group Ethical/Legal Considerations: • Planning and Recruiting Members • Goals and purposes • Needs to be met • Type of group • Appropriate techniques and leadership style • Coleadership and resources • Evaluation • Using caution in schools

5. Pre-Group Ethical/Legal Considerations: • Screening Potential Members • Recognize that not all clients can benefit from a group experience. • Recognize that some can even be harmed by participation. • Be prepared to identify such individuals during the screening process. • Be prepared to direct them to individual counseling or other forms of assistance.

6. Pre-Group Ethical/Legal Considerations: • Securing Informed Consent • Provide a written disclosure statement that includes the following: • Information on confidentiality and its limits and exceptions • Nature, purpose, and goals of the group • Member/facilitator roles • Facilitator’s qualifications • Length, frequency, fees • Disclosures to third-party payers

7. Pre-Group Ethical/Legal Considerations: • Child and Adolescent Groups • From a legal perspective, parents or guardians are the ones who must give informed consent. • It is a good practice to have the child or adolescent sign the consent as well.

8. Pre-Group Ethical/Legal Considerations: • Mandated Clients and Involuntary Groups • Freedom to withdraw consent is abridged when withdrawal would place clients in a seriously compromised legal position.

9. Process Issues: • Confidentiality and Privileged Communication • Explain the issues of confidentiality on an ongoing basis. • The degree to which privilege applies in a group varies from state to state. • Research the law in your state.

10. Process Issues: • Child and Adolescent Groups • Group facilitators working with minors may have to disclose some information to parents. • Know the local and state laws. • It is a very tenuous balance to respect the rights of parents and maintain the trust of minor clients.

11. Process Issues: • Maintaining Privacy of Records • Write case notes for group counseling separately for each individual in the group. • Information about other group members should not be included in these files.

12. Process Issues: • Mandated Clients and Involuntary Groups • Confidentiality cannot be assured because facilitators are usually required to report to a third party. • Have mandated clients sign a waiver of their privacy rights. • Explain your obligations to fulfill reporting requirements.

13. Process Issues: • Managing Boundaries • There is no single correct answer regarding where therapeutic boundaries should be drawn. • Read the boundary issue chapter in the third edition of Remley and Herlihy’s Legal, Ethical, and Professional Issues in Counseling.

14. Process Issues: • Bartering • Bartering arrangements, both for services and goods, can be problematic for group counselors. • Although the ACA’s Code of Ethics does not explicitly prohibit bartering arrangements, it does provide guidelines to help you determine whether a potential bartering arrangement might be acceptable.

15. Process Issues: • Social Relationships with Clients and Former Clients as Group Members • Group facilitators are discouraged from developing friendships with group members and from admitting friends into their groups. • Problems can arise when groups are comprised of some members who had been in individual counseling with the leader and some who had not. Members who do not already know leader could feel jealous.

16. Process Issues: • Socializing among Members and Self-Disclosure • The issue of socializing among group members is complicated because the facilitator has limited control of interactions that occur outside the group. • Facilitator self-disclosure should be done for the benefit of the group rather than for the benefit of the facilitator. It should be limited.

17. Process Issues: • Minimizing Risks • Informed consent • Impact of behavioral changes • Scapegoating • Confrontation • Undue pressure • Physical injury • Physical touching • Close peers or work associates • Vulnerable members • Facilitator bias and values

18. Process Issues: • Other Issues to Consider • Practicing with sensitivity to diversity • Premature withdrawal from the group • Terminating and follow-up