Values Conflict With Patients

Therapy Values Challenge Fortunately for both patients and therapists alike, there is not usually a huge source of discord to the level that could impede a counselor's ability to do their job. However, it can and does happen every day. Whether it be a personal connection to the patient (or someone close to them), some other obvious ethical conflict of interest or whatever, there are times and situations where something arises that precludes (or advises against) the counselor continuing to treat the patient due to this discord.

A more common source of this discord, however, are situations where the values and beliefs of the patient and provider are so out of sync that it legitimately creates a real problem when it comes to the relationship between the two parties. This report will explore a hypothetical situation that would present precisely this situation and there will also be discussion of what could or should be done in reaction to this.

While differences in values and beliefs are not always a problem when it comes to a therapeutic relationship, there are absolutely scenarios where it will damage or break the relationship, at least from the provider's point-of-view. Analysis The client situation that will be discussed in this report is a difference of religion. Indeed, most people in this country are still Christian but there is a growing number of people that are agnostic or atheist.

Beyond that, there are many atheists that are openly and unapologetically hostile towards people that believe in religion and Christians are quite often a target of this enmity as they are indeed the dominant religion in the United States. To be sure, Catholics and Protestants make up a sound majority of the people in this country from a demography standpoint but, as noted before, non-religious people are growing in number and in voice (Lipka, 2015).

The theoretical situation that will be discussed within this report is a situation where the therapist is a Christian and the patient is someone who is not only atheist, they are also rather anti-Christian and anti-religious in nature. Generally, the provider would not generally disclose many personal details about their own beliefs and lifestyle. The religious beliefs and overall values and norms for the person would generally be part of that.

Even with that being the case, religious beliefs (or lack thereof) obviously has a definitive influence and effect on why people think the way they do and believe the way they do. This is not to say that people with no religious belief are always hedonists and without a care about ethics and values .. quite the opposite.

However, if a provider (unbeknownst to the provider or not) is religious and the patient is openly hostile (at least in therapy) when it comes to the same, this could create a problem for the patient/provider relationship even if the provider does not reveal their personal belief structure (Seltzer, 2016). Even with the above being something that can absolutely happen, it is not beyond the pale to remain dispassionate and detached when it comes to providing care. Indeed, the goal of the therapist should absolutely the well-being of the patient.

This is one of the best practices and it really is the most important practice, at least in the opinion of the author of this report, when it comes to doing one's job. Even if someone is a Satanist, areligious or otherwise in a belief structure or lifestyle that is against the therapist's, that should be immaterial to the therapy situation. Even so, the therapist should probably disengage if it is going to create a problem (Seltzer, 2016).

The second best practice that should be completed as part of this situation is getting to the root of why such an animosity exists. Indeed, it is not really normal or acceptable to have such a viewpoint about an entire group of people or about a certain subject.

Even if the person is him/herself atheist, this should not preclude them from being open to the idea that other people will be different, will have their own values/beliefs and that this is entirely normal and expected rather than being an acceptable source of disharmony. Indeed, Christians, Jews, Muslims and atheists or agnostics exist and live together in harmony all of the time. The subject may not always come up and these disparate groups will probably tend to run in their own circles.

However, this does not mean that they should or would hate each other even if they did know straight off the top. To be sure, different in worldview or religion, in and of itself, should not be a source of hostility or animosity (Seltzer, 2016). As it relates to this hypothetical patient, perhaps their parents were fundamentalist or otherwise extreme in nature and the patient has pushed back against that.

Perhaps the patient used to be a Christian (or of another religion) and a series of life events has led to them forsaking their belief in God. Regardless, the presence of hostility against religion is not all that normal. If the bias against religion was based more on personal opinion and less on outright anger, it may not be all that dysfunctional. However, if it creates obvious and irrational rage, it is something that not normal and should be treated.

Of course, the aim should be to reduce the animus and make whatever perspective exists.