Legal and Ethical Implications of Refusing to Counsel Homosexual Clients

In 2001, a federal appeals court upheld the job termination of a counselor who requested being excused from counseling a lesbian client on relationship issues because homosexuality conflicted with the counselor's religious beliefs (Bruff v. North Mississippi Health Services, Inc., 2001). This a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of counseling and development 2006-09, Vol.84 (4), p.414-418
Main Authors: Hermann, Mary A., Herlihy, Barbara Richter
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beliefs
Care and treatment
Civil rights
Civil Rights Legislation
Clients
Company legal issue
Conflict of Interest
Counseling
Counseling services
Counselor Attitudes
Counselors
Court Litigation
Courts
Discrimination in medical care
Employee Assistance Programs
Employees
Employers
Ethical aspects
Ethical dilemmas
Ethics
Federal court decisions
Federal Courts
Federal Legislation
Firings
Gays
Gays & lesbians
Health services
Homosexuality
Law
Legal Responsibility
Lesbians
Medical care discrimination
Mental health counseling
Mental health counselling
Mental health counselors
Presidents
Psychiatric counseling
Psychiatric counselors
Religion
Religious beliefs
Sexual orientation
Social Bias
Trust (Psychology)
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Description
Summary:In 2001, a federal appeals court upheld the job termination of a counselor who requested being excused from counseling a lesbian client on relationship issues because homosexuality conflicted with the counselor's religious beliefs (Bruff v. North Mississippi Health Services, Inc., 2001). This article provides the facts of the case and the legal reasoning of the court. The authors also explore the legal and ethical issues related to this case.
ISSN:0748-9633
1556-6676
DOI:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2006.tb00425.x