1.

Engage yourself in research about the most rampant and timely ethical issue in the field
of counseling and psychotherapy in the current times. Among the issues you discovered,
choose 1 and discuss why this issue is considered as the most extensive, pertinent, and apt
in today’s generation. Moreover, discuss an idea of yours on how the identified issue can
hypothetically be resolved.

Countless ethical violations can possibly occur in psychotherapy; however, in today’s

time, the most extensive and pertinent issue is not setting and maintaining boundaries. This
problem has the potential to give rise to various other problems. The most obvious problem of
not setting boundaries is the inadvertent development of relationships that are social, communal,
business-oriented, and sexual in nature. The formation of such relationships can lead to
attachment and adversely impact the therapy’s progress. Another potential consequence is
becoming too comfortable, leading the therapist to be more subjective rather than objective. This
can result in the therapist revealing their authentic or real self leading the client not receiving the
desired help. Failing to establish boundaries can also cause clients to feel uncomfortable or
unsafe, hindering their ability to confide with the therapist and trust issues may arise. This can
also cause the clients to feel confused. Contrarily, clients can also be overly dependent on the
therapist for emotional support resulting in a decrease in autonomy and self-efficacy. On the
therapist’s end, they can also experience burnout. Being too immersed into the client’s lives can
have too much emotional burden on them.

When working with clients, it is important for the therapist to set and maintain clear
boundaries. In order to do so, therapists should mentally prepare themselves before conducting
the session. It is important to constantly remind themselves that they are there to help
professionally, not talk to a friend. Setting clear expectations from the beginning of each session
and establishing a treatment plan can help the therapist and the client to stay on the intended path
and ensure that both the client and therapist understand their roles and responsibilities. Lastly,
therapists should continuously reevaluate boundaries to ensure that the session is still appropriate
and effective. By following these approaches, therapists can effectively set and maintain
boundaries in psychotherapy.
2. Hypothetically think that you will become a psychotherapist in the near future. Among
the psychotherapy approaches we have discussed in class, choose 1 and comprehensively
narrate using three main reasons why the chosen approach will be the main
psychotherapy methodology you shall use as a practitioner

Cognitive psychotherapy revolves around logical thinking and it focuses on how one’s
thoughts can tremendously affect one’s emotions. This type of psychotherapy is the approach I
want to use as a practitioner because it focuses more on the present than on the past. Compared
to other approaches, cognitive psychotherapy does not need to include one’s past experiences and
baggages but rather focus on how the person thinks and how it affects him/her in the present.
Additionally, cognitive psychotherapy focuses on changing negative or irrational thought
patterns that may contribute to emotional distress. This approach encourages us to acknowledge
one’s thoughts and replace the irrational thoughts with rational ones. With that, I believe that
thoughts are difficult to control and I would want to help individuals to stop overthinking and
have the ability to control their thoughts more. Lastly, this approach provides long-lasting
benefits. By learning how to control one’s thoughts with this approach, even long after the
session, one can still continuously apply it to their thoughts, leading to better outcomes.