Counseling Sexually Active Clients with Hiv Essay examples

Lethal Sex: Conditions of Disclosure in Counseling Sexually Active Clients with HIV Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D. The present HIV pandemic presents challenges for mental health practitioners who, in the course of therapy, sometimes become privy to confidential information about potentially lethal sexual relationships ongoing between the client and one or more uninformed partner(s). In this lecture I will discuss the current professional/legal status of making disclosure in such cases, and my work as an applied professional ethicist in the development, drafting, and defense of a limited rule of disclosure. State statutes typically make it a crime for a person who knows that he or she is HIV positive to engage in unprotected sex†¦show more content†¦In 1995, when the ACA was in the process of revising its code of ethics, I proposed a model rule based on the Hatherleigh article. The ACA adopted the proposed rule with minor changes. This rule, which set precedent for state laws (such as the Florida statute mentioned above) and other professional codes of ethics in c ounseling and psychology (such as the American Mental Health Counselors Association code), permitted disclosure under certain conditions. This rule, which I named the â€Å"Contagious, Fatal Diseases† rule, states, A counselor who receives information confirming that a client has a disease commonly known to be both communicable and fatal is justified in disclosing information to an identifiable third party, who by his or her relationship with the client is at a high risk of contracting the disease. Prior to making a disclosure the counselor should ascertain that the client has not already informed the third party about his or her disease and that the client is not intending to inform the third party in the immediate future. (ACA, B.1.d) In developing and defending the provisions of this rule, I used broad standards of moral conduct from two venerable traditions in ethics: (1) Kantian Ethics and (2) Utilitarian Ethics. According to the Kantian tradition, moral propriety req uires that persons be treated as ends in themselves and notShow MoreRelatedEthical Dilemma in Hiv Counselling Cases951 Words   |  4 PagesI have a client whom I know to be HIV positive. I also know that he is sexually active and has not told any of his partners about this. Isn’t it my ethical responsibility to inform someone that he is, in effect, dangerous to others? Even if I am not a counselor, I would not be able to live with the fact that I have such an information and am putting some other life at risk. As a medical doctor, I was also bound by my Hippocrates oath to serve and bring no harm to others, â€Å"I will apply dieteticRead MoreEpidemiology Nur/4081540 Words   |  7 Pagesrespiratory papillomatosis. Human papillomavirus infection is most common among young, sexually active individuals, and it is so prevalent that approximately 75% to 80% of sexually active individuals will become infected in their lifetime (Weaver, 2006). At any given time, approximately 20 million people are infected with genital HPV in the United States. It is estimated that approximately 75% to 80% of sexually active men and women have been exposed to genital HPV (Weaver, 2006). Individuals aged 15Read MoreHepatitis : Symptoms And Symptoms1103 Words   |  5 Pagessustaining immune from further HAV infections, the infections in many cases can be mild. A great majority of people in the world who live in a poor area where there is impoverished sanitation have been infected with this virus. Hepatitis B virus (HBV), a sexually transmitted disease, disseminated by contact with infected body fluids, semen, and blood. 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As a result of discussing sexually related topics with college females, I realized the need for early sexual education. This was a research project that showed how young, sexually active women, were not conversant on how to protect themselves sexually; they were most apprehensive about pregnancy. I wanted to know the how, what,Read MoreTeenage Pregnancy Among Urban Adolescent Women1115 Words   |  5 Pagesdisturbances. Method: The methodology of the study was a correlational research study. The participants used for the study were recruited from a larger research experiment that focused on HIV prevention. The study consisted of (n=264) adolescent females between the ages of thirteen and eighteen who were sexually active. To be eligible for the study, participants had to have a participating parent and between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. The participants had to receive mental health services, eitherRead MoreStd Std Prevention1489 Words   |  6 PagesSexually transmitted infections are a major health problem amongst college students in todays society. Each year, at least 3 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections are reported among people in the United States who are under the age of 25. Within the United States, fifteen million new cases of sexually transmitted infections are annually reported. Out of these fifteen million cases reported, four million are teenagers. Over the last few years, the annual number of new STI/HIV infectionsRead MoreEthical Dilemma of Hiv Disclosure in Intimate Relationships5638 Words   |  23 PagesHIV Prevention with Positives in Thailand: Ethical Dilemma of HIV Status Disclosure in intimate relationship. Abstract Every year, there are about ten thousand new HIV infection cases in Thailand. The majority of new HIV transmissions in Thailand have changed from commercial sex to intimate relationships while HIV prevention generally focuses on self protection and universal precaution. In 2003, Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommend to integrate HIV preventive measure into routineRead MoreAnalysis of the Psychologys Duty to Warn Essay1960 Words   |  8 Pagesgets noted. A psychologist has a role to play in every client’s life. An example is when a person threatens to transmit HIV and other diseases. It may be illegal in many countries for a person to infect other people with a disease knowingly especially HIV. However, a clinical psychologist should not be obligated to tell the other people of the risk of transmission. The client has a right to confidentiality. Duty to warn got developed when Tarasoff got murdered by a person who had threatened to doRead MoreHIV/AIDS and Women4590 Words   |  19 Pages1. Introduction : 2 2. HIV/AIDS : 2 3. HIV/AIDS and women : 2 4. Special signs and symptoms of HIV/AIDS in women : 3 5. Vulnerability of women to AIDS : 3 6. The challenges that HIV/AIDS infected women faced : 4 7. Transmission of HIV to women : 5 8. Global distribution of HIV/AIDS among women : 5 9. The impact of HIV on women : 7 10. Prevention : 9 11. HIV treatment : 9 12. Prevention Challenges : 11 13. The Global Response to HIV/AIDS : 11 14. The Global