For this assignment, Interview a licensed marriage and family therapist to gain an idea of how an ethical dilemma was handled in a real practice. The interview should be brief (schedule for no more than half an hour), focusing on the questions below.

Address the following questions to the marriage and family therapist or counselor in your interview (it is not necessary to present them word-for-word):

1. What steps did you take to become a licensed marriage and family therapist in New york?
2. What kinds of ethical dilemmas have you encountered in your practice as a marriage and family therapist? How do you handle the rise in technology (such as Facebook or technology-assisted services) in your ethical practice?
3. What steps did you take to handle this ethical dilemma?
4. What kinds of legal dilemmas have you encountered in your practice as a marriage and family therapist? Specifically, describe issues involving family law (such as divorce, custody, reunification, and parenting).
5. What steps did you take to handle this legal dilemma?
6. Looking back at the situation, would you do the same thing or would you do something different?
7. Did you consult the AAMFT Code of Ethics or the ACA Code of Ethics? If so, which one guided you to the best decision? If not, which personal values guided you?
8. As a therapist, how were you trained to deal with ethical dilemmas? Do you feel your training was adequate?
9. How does your personal value system, culture, and ethnicity impact your clinical practice with clients?
10. If you needed assistance in handling an ethical question or concern, what would be your likely course of action?
11. How have you been involved in advocacy for policies, programs, and services that are equitable and responsive to the unique needs of couples and families in your professional organization, state, and community? If you have not been involved, what areas of advocacy do you see are needed in the field of marriage and family therapy?
12. How do you incorporate technology in your practice? How does ethics play a role in using technology while doing therapy?

Be sure they conform to the ethical codes and laws you have been studying. Remember to preserve the confidentiality of both the therapist and any clients or other individuals involved in the ethical dilemma.

Paper

7 page reflection of the interview.

Summarize the dialog that took place, and explore an ethical dilemma your interviewee described. Be sure that names and other identifying characteristics of all parties involved in any real-life dilemmas are replaced or removed from the content of your paper. Do not provide the interviewee's name, address, or organization. You might describe your interviewee by his or her job title, mention his or her number of years in practice, or indicate the region of the country in which he or she practices, if these features are relevant. Remember to address all of the questions asked during the interview in your summary. If your interviewee has not been involved with advocacy, address this in your reflection and discuss how a therapist might be involved in advocacy.

As you describe your reactions to your interviewee's answers include the following:

• What was your impression of the interviewee's response to a given ethical dilemma? Were you surprised by anything?
• Would you have handled the situation differently? If so, how?
• Do you think that following a code of ethics makes a person a better therapist—or could the code be limiting to the therapist's work with the client?