Augusta State files response in lawsuit similar to EMU case involving student's refusal to counsel gay client
Augusta State University, facing a lawsuit similar to the one Julea Ward filed against Eastern Michigan University, has submitted a legal response that lays out almost exactly the same reasoning EMU cited in dismissing Ward from its program.
ASU said it was Jennifer Keaton's refusal to work toward counseling gay clients that could get her tossed from the school's counseling program, the Augusta Chronicle reports.
Keeton, a graduate student in the university's K-12 counseling program, wrote in a term paper that she would find it hard to counsel gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender clients. The school then asked her to participate in a remediation program and she sued, claiming the remediation plan "subjects her to aggressive ideological instruction" and asks that she "change her beliefs."
But the school said that wasn't the case, the Chronicle reported. "(T)he unethical part (was) applying your own personal beliefs and values on other people and not truly accepting that others can have different beliefs and values that are equally valid as your own," the school's response said.
In the Julea Ward case, EMU dismissed Ward from its counseling program after she refused to affirm a gay client’s relationship during a practicum. She said she believes homosexuality is immoral and being gay is a choice, therefore she could not in good conscience counsel the client.
A federal court recently upheld EMU's dismissal of Ward, but Ward and her lawyers have vowed to appeal.
Ward and Keeton are both represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal organization that works to uphold the rights of religious college students and faculty.
Comments
HaeJee
Wed, Aug 11, 2010 : 8:30 a.m.
@Amber, this program is for counseling students in an educational environment. It is different that being a therapist. A school counselor would changing class schedules, discussing issues with teachers, talking about personal issues like being gay, not fitting in at school, being picked on, etc.
HaeJee
Wed, Aug 11, 2010 : 8:25 a.m.
@Carl, it is obvious that you have not worked in the public school systems. A judge is a little different than a school counselor. A judge removes themselves to reduce the chance of a mistrial. Schools do not have the money to hire consultants because a counselor has conflict with their religious beliefs. The reasons are different. I find it more similar to a cashier who wont sell condoms because it is against their religious belief. That cashier would be told to find another job that is better suited for them.
HaeJee
Wed, Aug 11, 2010 : 8:17 a.m.
@bunny, this is not a therapist with a Ph.D degree. If I remember correctly when I was working on my master's in this program, it is gear specifically to counsel students in primary or higher education. This graduate program is through the college of education (COE) at EMU. She would typically get a job counseling only students. I would not want this women counseling children in public schools or public higher education. Children and young adults are very impressionable and her beliefs system do not belong in a room with a student. You are taught to listen and provide assistance. If she wanted to counsel students based off religious beliefs, then she should have attended a religious school. This is why private religious schools exist. Regardless, she promotes discrimination and covers it up with her religious belief. Hasnt she took any history classes? Her belief system is the reason why people have been in wars for thousands of years. We have worked too hard for equality. As a minority, I find it disgusting that she would display actions towards a minority group that is struggling to have equal rights that they deserve.
Matt Cooper
Wed, Aug 11, 2010 : 6:41 a.m.
@bunnyabbot: "wasn't that what she was trying to do, state that she would have a conflict of interest with those types of cases and then wouldn't handle them but pass them off to someone else?" No! Had this student had an issue with this one particular individual client, then yes, she could have made a 'professional' referral to another counselor and handed the case off to the new counselor. But her issue isn't with one particular individual client. It is with an entire class of people. Discrimination against an eltire class of people is not aceptable as a professional standard nor is it ethically permissible by the NASW Code of Ethics. Secondly, when you apply to any particular school, especially grad school, you cannot accept their student code of conduct and agree to abide by and uphold it and then attempt to deviate from it simply because you don't like the kind of (in this case) client you are faced with working with. Either you abide by the student code or you do not. If you do, you stay in school there. If not, you're out. Exceptions cannot be made lest you end up having to make exceptions for everyone that doesn't like whatever they don't like for whatever reason they don't like it. "I don't like black people, so I shouldn't have to counsel them". "I don't like Muslims so I shouldn't have to work with them". "I don't like lesbians so..." You get my point. One of the major tenets of the counseling/social work profession is that were are there to help the client. We are not there to preach. We are not there to judge. We are not there to convert. How can these young students possibly have their clients best interests in mind if they simply dismiss them and refuse to work with them in a therapist/client relationship based solely on their sexual orientation, or lifestyle?
bunnyabbot
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 10:57 p.m.
@Matt, you posted: And finally, (a) Social workers should be alert to and avoid conflicts of interest that interfere with the exercise of professional discretion and impartial judgment. Social workers should inform clients when a real or potential conflict of interest arises and take reasonable steps to resolve the issue in a manner that makes the clients interests primary and protects clients interests to the greatest extent possible. In some cases, protecting clients interests may require termination of the professional relationship with proper referral of the client. wasn't that what she was trying to do, state that she would have a conflict of interest with those types of cases and then wouldn't handle them but pass them off to someone else?
Charley Sullivan
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 7:10 p.m.
The whole notion that it's somehow OK for some Christians to be "against the gay lifestyle" and thereby not even be able to even work with them therapeutically or even counsel them is ridiculous. While there may be situations in which a particular counselor and a particular client may not be a good "fit," or where there may be a conflict of interest (does the counselor have a prior personal relationship with the client; is the client her niece, for instance,) then it is right for the counselor to recuse him or herself from work with that particular client. But to claim a conflict of interest with an entire group of people who should rightly be able to expect competent, professional and non-judgmental service when they walk into a counselor's office is absurd. (Imagine the 13 year old who screws up her courage to go talk to the school counselor about the growing knowledge of her sexual orientation only to find that she has to be "farmed out" to some other counselor because the professional thinks she's sinful... ) Doesn't the Bible call on us to love our neighbors as ourselves? I've always taken that to mean ALL our neighbors, and this general sense that somehow certain Christians can exempt themselves from dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered people because they "disagree" with our lifestyle shows a massive failure to understand the most basic message of Jesus Christ. Please stop dressing up your prejudice with my religion.
Speechless
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 6:34 p.m.
"... Here is the home page of the Alliance Defense Fund... www.alliancedefensefund.org" Yes, my earlier comment could stand to have a bit more clarification: The ADF began 15 years ago as a coalition of highly conservative Christian ministers and churches who push for official acceptance of religious expression in the public sphere. Primarily through legal advocacy, they wish to break down established barriers between church and state in public life. ADF interprets freedom of religious expression to also include the right of a person of faith to discriminate — in essence — against others whose actions or social beliefs contradict that person's conservative brand of Christianity. A full legal victory by ADF in the EMU and ASU cases would, I believe, open a Pandora's Box of future court challenges to anti-discrimination laws and regulations, in which "religious freedom" would act as the wedge issue. For example, a person of faith could subsequently argue that they should not have to provide services in a public setting to women who insist on working outside the home, a choice that offends this person's church group. From there, it is one more step to add racial issues to this unseemly mix. Since ADF places its focus on public expression of Christianity, they may or may not be in the vanguard of additional court challenges seeking to expand the scope of any major legal victory they might later achieve in the EMU and ASU cases. Whatever their future role, they would still hold the key as the ones who first opened the door.
Amber
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 6:09 p.m.
This is ridiculous as a counselor in a private practice you may pick and choose your clients. At least she was honest about her beliefs on the subject. Would a gay client really want this woman to counsel them? I do not think that she in any way was in the wrong for saying what she did. As far as the Augusta case did anyone actually read what they were asking her to do. "The remediation plan required Keeton to attend counseling workshops, read counseling journals regarding the GLBT community, increase her exposure to the gay population and write reflections on what she was learning. The university's legal filings did not directly address Keeton's contention that she was told to attend a gay pride parade as part of the remediation plan." Seriously if you are a Christian and are against a gay lifestyle what will this do but disgust you even more. I am not homophobic and am bi-sexual, and Christian.
Matt Cooper
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 5:45 p.m.
@Carl: "Steve: Judges recuse themselves all the time from court procedings in court rooms all the time. It is a professional and expected action to take when a conflict of interest or even potential conflict of interest arises." You've made this point on this subject before, and I gotta say, you're reaching. There is no comparison between a judge recusing due to conflicts of interests and a social worker/counselor refusing to work with an entire class of people simply because he/she doesn't agree with their lifestyle. In both cases, the student openly violated codes of conduct they agreed to uphold when they signed on to study the profession of social work/counseling at their respective schools. Secondly, in both instances, the students openly violated ethical standards which have been long held as standards of care, to wit: The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, which states, 1.02 SelfDetermination Social workers respect and promote the right of clients to selfdetermination and assist clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals. Social workers may limit clients right to selfdetermination when, in the social workers professional judgment, clients actions or potential actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others. The Code furthers states, 1.05 Cultural Competence and Social Diversity (a) Social workers should understand culture and its function in human behavior and society, recognizing the strengths that exist in all cultures. (b) Social workers should have a knowledge base of their clients cultures and be able to demonstrate competence in the provision of services that are sensitive to clients cultures and to differences among people and cultural groups. (c) Social workers should obtain education about and seek to understand the nature of social diversity and oppression with respect to race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, and mental or physical disability. And finally, (a) Social workers should be alert to and avoid conflicts of interest that interfere with the exercise of professional discretion and impartial judgment. Social workers should inform clients when a real or potential conflict of interest arises and take reasonable steps to resolve the issue in a manner that makes the clients interests primary and protects clients interests to the greatest extent possible. In some cases, protecting clients interests may require termination of the professional relationship with proper referral of the client. By refusing to work with this particular type of client, these two students 1. Made judgement calls about the lifestyles, life conditions and moral qualities of the clients, 2. Determined that these client's are unworthy of their counsel, and 3. Terminated those counselor/client relationships in a non-ethical and non-professional way, in clear violation of the Code. If these people can't help someone that has different belief systems than they themselves do, then the counseling profession is not the place for them. As social workers/counselors (both students and professionals) we are often times charged with putting our own moral code aside in order to be of best service to our clients. It is, after all, the client we serve. Not ourselves.
Carl Duncan
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 12:40 p.m.
Steve: Judges recuse themselves all the time from court procedings in court rooms all the time. It is a professional and expected action to take when a conflict of interest or even potential conflict of interest arises. Professional conduct demands professionals conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. An 'alternate counselor' could be as simple as an outside contractor contracted to a schoold system.
Steve in MI
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 12:07 p.m.
@Carl... I don't hold with most people's religious beliefs and practices. Were I to become a counselor, I'm not sure it would be reasonable for me to counsel only those people whose beliefs I agreed with. I think that's the point here - if the only people you want to counsel are those who already agree with you, you probably aren't cut out for this field. Keep in mind that this is a K-12 counseling program, for which most graduates are seeking public school employment. I wouldn't expect many public schools to have an "alternate counselor" on standby to accommodate the peculiar personal beliefs of their hired staff. If you can't service your assigned constituency, you're probably not qualified for the job, and so probably won't meet this program's graduation requirements. Shorter summary: you're studying for a job. It has requirements. Either meet the requirements or study for a different job.
Speechless
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 12:01 p.m.
The Alliance Defense Fund is a project which seeks to reintroduce sanctioned, socially-protected forms of discrimination into civil society through its recent court challenges at EMU and, now, Augusta State. They're looking for a legal back door to allow the reentry of homophobia into areas where it has been successfully banished under the law. Should they ever succeed, one can imagine that the partial return of Jim Crow will soon follow as well.
Carl Duncan
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 10:58 a.m.
How to counsel someone who is gay when the counselor has a conflict of interest: Your admitted homosexual preference conflicts with my personal beliefs. With your best interest in mind, I will assist you in finding a counselor with the sensitivity you deserve and require...!
Forever27
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 10:38 a.m.
@bunny, it's EXACTLY that she can't pass off clients. You can't pick and choose who you council in that job. As for discriminating against her beliefs, nobody told her what she had to believe. They told her she had to do her job. She has every right to choose not to do her job, she just has to be willing to deal with the consequences of her decision.
bunnyabbot
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 10:31 a.m.
I don't think she should have to go through "reeducation". Certainly someone who has traditional beliefs or religious beliefs can be a good therapist. It's not like she can't pass a client off to someone else. Additionally, someone could be a therapist and then have their beliefs change to reflect beliefs like hers, that wouldn't mean they should lose their license. also, I find it disturbing that someone with these beliefs would be discriminated against while seeking a degree.
Jay Allen
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 9:17 a.m.
I really hope this thread stays on topic. If you are an EMPLOYEE then you had better educate yourself on what may or may not happen BEFORE you take the job. In this specific case, you MUST know that counseling homosexuals could be in the cards. If you are not able or willing to do this, then DO NOT take the job. Refusal to perform your job is reason for dismissal. The person's private views are not open for debate IF THEY PERFORM THEIR DUTIES. We are all entitled to believe whatever we want to believe. But DO NOT take a job if your personals views are going to get in the way. That is my take on the issue at hand which is NOT Gay Rights.
Cash
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 9:15 a.m.
Why would you go into a field of study where you knew this would become an issue? Unless of course it's a setup for the "Alliance Defense Fund." Coincidence that it happened at two schools this year? I think not.
krc
Tue, Aug 10, 2010 : 8:52 a.m.
Surely this girl had these convictions before she began this training? What a waste of time for her. And money.