Question

question 9 (2.5 points)
james and mary attended counseling for marital problems. the counselor decided to meet each partner in an individual session before meeting them as a couple. james confided that he was hiv positive and was not going to tell his spouse because she would know that he had been unfaithful. the counselor decided to break confidentiality after their attempts to encourage james to inform his wife of his condition were unsuccessful. the counselor’s action ______.

was unethical but legal
was legal and ethical
was ethical and meets the american counseling association standard regarding contagious diseases, which states that practitioners must report when a client is hiv positive
may be considered ethical, but the practitioner could be in violation of a legal standard

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the counselor's action:

1. Ethical Aspect: The counselor tried to get James to disclose first (ethical step), then broke confidentiality to protect Mary from a contagious disease (HIV) which is an ethical duty to prevent harm.
2. Legal Aspect: In cases where a client’s condition poses a serious threat to others (like HIV transmission risk), breaking confidentiality is often legally permissible (e.g., duty to warn laws).
3. Option Analysis:

• "was unethical but legal" is wrong—action was ethical.
• "was legal and ethical" fits: Legal (due to duty to warn/protect others from serious harm) and ethical (preventing harm to Mary).
• The third option is incorrect because ACA standards don’t mandate “must report” HIV status; they focus on preventing harm (counselor tried to get James to tell first, then acted to protect).
• The fourth option is wrong—action is legal (due to harm prevention laws) and ethical.

Answer:

B. was legal and ethical