Family counseling is a psychological treatment therapy that includes each family member. The main aim is to address issues affecting the health and functioning of the family, such as communication (Spindel, 2020). Counseling a whole team, such as a family, presents many problems. This is because it involves two or more persons with contradicting opinions and desires. Meeting the needs of every while and ensuring the other one is not compromised can be very challenging.
One major counselling challenge encountered when dealing with family is maintaining confidentiality. As a caregiver, every detail the client provides is private, and no other person should be allowed to access such information. Professionals, therefore, are bound to promote confidentiality as per their code of ethics (Ekleberry et al., 2014). However, in family therapy, shared issues are common; to effectively address them, there should be openness. Therapists find it difficult to address a problem affecting both parties whose details cannot be shared. Some of the relatives sometimes prefer to hold any details they have, fearing exposure (Ekleberry et al., 2014). Such cases limit the rights of the people and can be harmful in incidents like abuse or violence.
As a professional, however, one has to establish a way of maintaining their client’s confidentiality and solving the issue. One can consider holding a meeting with one member of the family at a time (Rivett & Street, 2009). Such an approach will provide the privacy one needs to express themselves. The individual issues of each member are first addressed privately. They should also be informed on the importance of facing the problem as a family, and if the client agrees, the details can be shared only with their consent, but if they insist, one should uphold their ethical standards. However, a counselor should assess the danger posed to other family members and address it immediately (Rivett & Street, 2009). After separately handling them, joint meetings can be arranged to resolve any common problem.
References
Ekleberry, S. C., Schmal, M. S., & Hendrickson. (2014). Treating co-occurring disorders: A handbook for mental health and substance abuse professionals. The Haworth Press.
Rivett, M., & Street, E. (2009). Family therapy: 100 key points and techniques. Routledge.
Spindel, P. (2020). Working with families: A guide for health and human services professionals (2nd ed.). Canadian Scholars.