| Course | PAC 310 Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Ethical dilemma analysis |
| Length | About 1,042 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 310 Module 2
Seven Steps Through a Hard Request: Applying an Ethical Decision-Making Model When a Client Asks Her Counselor to Leave Something Out
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 310: Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Healthcare
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Seven Steps Through a Hard Request: Applying an Ethical Decision-Making Model When a Client Asks Her Counselor to Leave Something Out
Three months into outpatient treatment at Ridgeline Recovery Services, a composite client on probation for a drug possession charge told her counselor that she had used methamphetamine twice the previous weekend. She was frightened. Her probation officer receives monthly treatment updates under a consent she signed at intake, and she asked the counselor not to write the use in her notes. She promised it would not happen again. This paper applies a seven-step ethical decision-making model to the counselor's dilemma, showing how a structured approach leads to a decision that can be explained and defended.
Why Use a Model
Ethical decisions made on instinct can be right, but they are hard to explain and easy to rationalize. Kitchener (1984) argued that intuition should be checked by critical evaluation grounded in ethical principles. A decision-making model provides that check by moving the counselor through a sequence: define the problem, identify the principles and standards involved, generate options, weigh consequences, consult, decide and review. The steps below follow that sequence.
Step 1: Identify the Problem
The facts are clear: the client used a substance, disclosed it in session, and asked that it not be documented because her probation officer reads updates. The problem is whether the counselor can honor the request, and, if not, how to respond in a way that protects the client and the therapeutic relationship. The dilemma is ethical as well as practical, because important principles point in different directions.
Step 2: Identify the Principles in Tension
Respect for the client's autonomy supports her wish to control what others learn about her. Fidelity cuts both ways: the counselor owes the client trust, but has also committed, through the consent the client signed, to provide accurate updates. Avoiding harm matters because a report might lead to a sanction, but so might a false record if the use later comes to light through a drug test. Beneficence, doing good, asks what response would most help the client stay in treatment and recover.
Step 3: Consult the Code and the Law
The NAADAC code requires counselors to maintain accurate records and to be honest in professional communications, and it gives clients the right to know how their information will be shared (NAADAC, 2021). Federal confidentiality rules for substance use disorder records allow disclosure to a probation officer only as the client's written consent permits, and a client may revoke consent in many circumstances, though consent given as a condition of criminal justice supervision can be irrevocable for a stated period (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024). The counselor must check the consent form to learn exactly what information it covers and whether it can be revoked.
Step 4: Generate Options and Weigh Consequences
The table sets out the options the counselor considered.
| Option | Likely consequences | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Leave the use out of the notes | Protects the client now; falsifies the record; risks the counselor's certification and the client's trust if discovered | Not acceptable: violates honesty and record standards |
| Record the use and send the update without discussion | Accurate; client may feel betrayed and drop out | Acceptable legally, harmful to the relationship |
| Record accurately, review the consent with the client and help her prepare to discuss the use with her probation officer | Accurate and transparent; supports the client's agency; may reduce the sanction if she discloses first | Preferred |
| Record accurately and advocate in the update for a treatment response rather than a sanction | Accurate; frames the use clinically | Combine with the preferred option |
Step 5: Consult
Before deciding, the counselor consulted her clinical supervisor, a step both codes and good practice recommend. The supervisor confirmed that the consent covered attendance, drug test results and clinical progress, and that the client could not revoke it while on probation. She also noted that probation officers in their county generally responded to self-reported use with increased treatment rather than jail when the client remained engaged.
Step 6: Decide and Implement
The counselor decided to document the use accurately, explain the reason to the client, review the consent form with her, and offer to help her tell her probation officer herself before the monthly update. In the update, the counselor would describe the use in clinical terms, the client's honest disclosure and a revised treatment plan with an additional weekly group. She told the client plainly: I cannot leave this out, but I can stand with you while you handle it.
Step 7: Review
Two weeks later, the counselor reviewed the decision. The client had called her probation officer herself, who increased drug testing and required the added group but imposed no other sanction. The client was angry at first but remained in treatment and later said that being told the truth made her trust the counselor more. The counselor noted one lesson: explaining at intake exactly what probation updates would contain might have prevented the surprise.
What the Model Added
Without the model, the counselor might have acted on sympathy and omitted the use, or on rule-following and sent the update without talking to the client. The model forced her to name the competing principles, check the actual consent and law, consider more than two options and consult before acting. The result was a decision she could explain to the client, her supervisor and, if necessary, a certification board.
Culture and Context
The model also asks the counselor to consider the client's context. This client's fear came partly from a previous probation violation that had led to a short jail stay, and partly from her community's distrust of the courts. Recognizing that history helped the counselor respond with patience rather than judgment and shaped how she framed the conversation about disclosure.
Conclusion
A client's request to leave a return to use out of her record set autonomy, fidelity, avoiding harm and doing good against one another. A seven-step model, informed by the counselor's code and the federal confidentiality rule, led to accurate documentation combined with support for the client's own disclosure and clinical advocacy. The outcome was not painless, but it was honest, lawful and protective of the relationship, which is what ethical decision-making aims for.
References
Kitchener, K. S. (1984). Intuition, critical evaluation and ethical principles: The foundation for ethical decisions in counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 12(3), 43-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000084123005
NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals. (2021). NAADAC/NCC AP code of ethics. https://www.naadac.org/code-of-ethics
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2024, February 16). Confidentiality of substance use disorder (SUD) patient records (Final rule). Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/02/16/2024-02544/confidentiality-of-substance-use-disorder-sud-patient-records
Reading the PAC 310 Module 2 assignment instructions
Dilemmas with practical advice are how Aspen's PAC 310 approaches professional issues, and a decision-making model is the usual tool for working through them. The Module 2 wording is available to enrolled students, so this example applies a model to one realistic dilemma. Choose a dilemma in which respected principles genuinely conflict, not one with an obvious answer. State the facts, then identify the principles in tension using a named framework. Check both the professional code and the relevant law, including the actual documents involved, such as a consent form. Generate more than two options and weigh their consequences. Show consultation, the decision, how it was carried out and what happened afterward.
How the PAC 310 Module 2 example is put together
The analysis opens with the client's disclosure and her request. It explains why intuition should be checked by a model, then works through seven steps. The principles section shows autonomy, fidelity, avoiding harm and doing good pulling in different directions. The code and law section notes accurate record requirements and that consent tied to criminal justice supervision may be irrevocable for a period. A three-column table rates four options, from omitting the use to documenting it while supporting the client's own disclosure. A supervisor confirms what the consent covers and how local probation officers tend to respond. The decision, a two-week review in which the client stayed in treatment, the role of her history with the courts and a reflection on what the model added close the paper.
Where the marks sit in the PAC 310 Module 2 rubric
Dilemma analyses are graded on a clearly stated dilemma, accurate identification of principles, correct use of the code and law, thoughtful options, consultation and a defensible decision. This example shows each element and follows the model step by step. Its three APA sources are Kitchener's foundational article on ethical principles in counseling, the NAADAC/NCC AP code of ethics and the federal Part 2 regulation as revised in 2024. The options table weighs consequences honestly, including for the preferred choice. Reviewing the outcome afterward and naming a lesson for future practice shows the reflective habit instructors value. Considering the client's history with the courts demonstrates attention to context, not only rules.
PAC 310 Module 2 help from the desk
The most common weakness is a dilemma that is not really a dilemma, where one option is plainly wrong. Choose a case where good principles conflict. Another is skipping steps, especially consultation and review, which are what make a model more than a list. Check the actual documents your case depends on, such as a consent form, rather than assuming what they say. Generate at least three options. State the consequences of each for the client, the counselor and the relationship. Describe how you would carry out the decision, including what you would say. If you use a real case from your workplace, change identifying details. A tutor can help you test whether your chosen dilemma has enough tension to analyze.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More PAC 310 and Psychology and Addiction Studies sample papers
- PAC 310 Module 1: Ethics, Law and Professionalism
- PAC 310 Module 3: Confidentiality of SUD Records
- PAC 310 Module 4: Court Involvement and Legal Requests
- PAC 310 Module 5: Boundaries and Dual Relationships
- PAC 310 Module 6: Scope of Practice and Competence
- PAC 310 Module 7: Colleague Impairment and Reporting
- PAC 310 Module 8: Self-Care and Sustainability
- PAC 415 Module 3: Beneficence and Client Goals
- PAC 115 Module 8: Plain-Language Interpretation
PAC 310 Module 2 questions, answered
What does PAC 310 Module 2 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 310 presents typical dilemmas followed by practical advice, so applying an ethical decision-making model to an addiction counseling dilemma is a typical second assignment. Follow your classroom prompt.
Can a counselor leave a client's substance use out of the record?
No. Codes require accurate records and honest professional communication; the counselor can instead support the client, review what the consent allows and advocate for a treatment response.
Can a client on probation revoke consent to share treatment information?
Consent given as a condition of criminal justice supervision may be irrevocable for a stated period, so the counselor must check the actual consent form.
Where can I find a free PAC 310 Module 2 sample paper?
The full paper is above, working through a seven-step ethical decision model for a client who asks her counselor to leave a return to use out of her record.
What are the steps of an ethical decision-making model?
Identify the problem, identify the principles involved, consult the code and law, generate options and consequences, consult colleagues, decide and implement, then review the outcome.