nt may not feel comfortable with the situation. Other counselors’ view that in order to keep things ethical, they must make it clear with the client that client treatment is not to continue into meetings. In my eyes, that is an excellent stand to make, but what if the client doesn’t respect that boundary? Is it then still ethical? I personally feel one of the best ways to handle it is to do what some counselors said at a NAADAC conference: “I don’t avoid talking to former or current clients at meetings, I will, however encourage them to talk to other A.A. members.” There is apparently no clear-cut procedure to follow, except that all chemical dependency professionals agreed that counselors should never, under any circumstances, be an A.A. sponsor for a client. It would then be a relationship that could not be separated. “I try to avoid meetings my current clients attend, since I feel it is a boundary violation for both of us.” This statement may be ethical, but it still remains questionable. If someone goes to meetings to stay sober, will they be able to stay sober without going? If the counselor in recovery doesn’t go to their meetings, they may be making their recovery very vulnerable. According to one book, counselors should keep A.A. separate from professional and personal life. This may be ethical, but is it possible? What is one to do if they live in a small community and don’t have another meeting to go to? One may also look at this statement and say, you can still go to any meeting you want, but you have to keep it separate from everything. That is difficult to follow as alcoholism is a disease that affects every part of our life, and so in dealing with that disease how can you separate different aspects of your life? I would guess that someone in this predicament has to look at what is more important, remaining sober or helping people? Not going to A.A. o...
