Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You explain that they must make that decision themselves.
This is the real-life decision made by David Kaplan. He says that marriage
and family counselors must allow couples and families to make
such private decisions on their own. "I will not tell them if they should
stay together," he says.
As a counselor, you should allow the couple to decide the fate of their
own marriage. If you advise the couple to stay together, you should realize
that your decision could be the wrong one for that couple, and could end up
being a mistake that could adversely affect your professional reputation.
Counselors help empower families and couples to make healthy, appropriate
decisions about their relationships on their own, without undue interference.
To advise the couple on whether to stay together could be seen as unethical
and crossing the boundaries of your role as counselor.
"My decision is based on the ethical code which states that marriage and
family counselors respect the autonomy of families, and do not make decisions
which rightfully belong to the family," Kaplan explains.