Choices Model 

   Choices Model requires that persons make their own free and independent choices. Brandon Avery has the freedom to choose what he values, whether to go to the Counseling Center or not in order to get the treatment that he needs. He is not forced to choose something that he does not want and that's something his coach should respect. If Brandon Avery takes his coach's advice and shows good improvement by going to the counseling center during his undergraduate years, not only could it help him academically but also spiritually in raising his confidence. Brandon understands that his conditions are stress and anxiety and that the counseling center could give him benefits by helping him manage the triggers to his mental conditions. However, Brandon has a social group where he is unsure if his friends will support him to make a comfortable, fair decision that would not affect his personality nor academic and basketball performance. An adequate information must be given for Brandon to freely choose his decision. The strength of Choices Model is that Brandon Avery has his own choice whether to go to counseling or not by having good amount information to weigh the benefits and the costs. His coach also has the choice to decide if he wants to consult with someone else about Brandon's condition.  However, this also leads to the weakness in this model which says that choices can conflict. Brandon and his Coach each have the free will to do what they think is best for the given situation.

 

Virtue Model

   Virtue model deems that a decision is ethical if it manifests essential to human virtues and thereby enables healthcare professionals and individuals to be noble and humane. For Brandon Avery, he is struggling with whether to become a smart individual who seeks treatment for his mental health or let his pride take over and not seek counseling. If Brandon chooses to go to the counseling center, this situation cultivates the development of Brandon’s personal virtue by focusing on his mental health first rather than focusing on what other people would think of him. Furthermore, if Brandon's coach offers Brandon the necessary care in order for Brandon to improve his mental health, he is showing an example of a good professional coach. The strength of Virtue Model is that it can help individuals to become better individuals by making an ethical, moral decision. This can apply to the coach in a way that he is doing what he thinks is best for the situation. If in turn, Brandon does end up going to the counseling center, it can make him become a responsible individual who can take care of his own health. The counselors can provide Brandon with the best treatment to overcome his conditions, making them an ethical healthcare professional. However, the weakness of the Virtue Model is that some individuals could be flawed and do things for the wrong reasons. There are a number of weaknesses that could be used but one weakness is that, what if his Coach was using the information that Brandon gave him to use that against him from preventing him from potentially making it to the NBA. 

 

Utility Model

   The utility model focuses on the outcomes of a given situation and whether or not good is maximized while harm is minimized for a greater amount of people. The importance of this model is the benefits that arise from a situation or the burdens that are prevented. For Brandon’s situation, he has to take into account the potential benefits that would arise from him going to the counseling center and determining if those benefits outweigh the potential burdens that could come from his situation. His coach also has to take into account the benefits of speaking to the Counseling Center about Brandon’s health condition. In applying this model, the coach has to think about the benefits and repercussions of talking to the Counseling Center about Brandon’s situation without his consent and see which course of action best reflects a good potential outcome of the situation. Brandon also has to first think about all the alternative decisions he could make about his case. If Brandon decides to go to the counseling center to get help, what are the benefits of him making this decision? The benefits would be getting mentally better and be able to cope with his stress and anxiety more to the point where it wouldn’t affect his academics or his social career. After looking at the benefits, Brandon also has to look at the potential burdens that could arise from him making this decision. Another alternative action is if he decides not to seek help and just deals with the problem on his own. He wouldn’t have to deal with the potential judgments that could arise from his teammates. Brandon has to think about the benefits and burdens of this course of action as well. He then has to think about which action will benefit him the most and the people around him. If he does decide to seek help, the monitoring process would be to see how the counseling center actually ends up helping him out with his health. A strength of this model is that Brandon went to the Counseling Center to seek help and received proper treatment. A weakness of this model depends on Brandon. What if Brandon does go to the Counseling Center but is not active in his participation; that will defeat the purpose in seeking help.

 

Social Media Model

    The social media model focuses on the reaction one would have if their situation went viral. It takes into account how society would react to the decision Brandon were to make about his given situation. In applying this model, Brandon first has to think about how he would react if people knew about his situation. If his situation were to be publicized on Facebook or on Twitter, would people tell him to seek help or would people bully him and tell him that he has mental problems. Would they try to help him out or would they just ignore his situation? Also, if he decides to not seek help, would people tell him that he is wrong for doing so and judge him based on his decision for not seeking help, or would they try to help him find other ways to get help. In this model, Brandon has to think about what the public and society would think about him, which can be unnerving for him, to make a decision in such a broad way. Based on all of these potential decisions and opinions that could arise from the decision Brandon has to make an ethical decision of what he wants to do. If he makes the decision to go to the counseling center and made this decision from the help of social media, then he can monitor this decision by going to counseling and keeping his social media profiles up to date about the process and how it has helped him out. A strength of this model would be that he got help from society to make his decision because seeking help would be the most ethical thing to do given his case and when he works as a health professional, it would be better for his clients for him not getting his emotions in the way of his work. A weakness of this model would be that just because he is working on being better for his patients and to maintain his health in public doesn’t mean he is working to be better for himself and his personal life.

 

Justice Model

   The Justice Model deals with the distribution of fairness throughout the situation and how things should be treated equally in every aspect. From the situation, it can be assumed that Brandon’s teammates might like to talk about people for fun. James Madison University has in their Student Handbook as a right to report any kind of bullying that may alter a student’s emotional state. Brandon might struggle with reporting the case as bullying because those are his teammates. On the other hand, if it was someone who was not close to Brandon, he might have an easier time reporting them as bullying. A Strength of this model is that Brandon’s coach would not be violating his code of ethics since the role of his job is to support Brandon in order to provide him with a variety of resources. A weakness found within this model is commitment. Because Brandon has an equal opportunity to seek help from the counseling center, does not mean that he is going to utilize it. Also, Brandon going to the counseling center does not mean that he is going to be active in his learning; he could just be sitting there dozing off into space.  

 

Rights Model

   This model addresses the concept of whether something is a right or not. In applying this model, we first look at which rights are being upheld or violated. Does Brandon’s coach have the right to report on Brandon’s mental conditions when both discussed to keep it confidential? Brandon’s coach might have the right to report something if he believes that Brandon could potentially cause danger to himself. Brandon also has the right to decide what he wants to do for himself. If he decides to go or not to go therapy, it is his right to make a decision for himself. If Brandon decides to deal with his stress and anxiety on his own and not worry about his teammate’s judgment, then it is the coach’s job to respect his decision. This is where rights could conflict. In this case, it is important to decide which right takes precedence and results in the best course of action for the situation. A strength of this model is how it has respect for life and human dignity. It takes into account the value of each individual decision and the moral rights that each person has. The Coach is doing what he believes to be the best thing to do in this given situation and Brandon also is doing what he thinks is best for himself with or without the intervention of his coach. A weakness of this model is that the Coach could go to Counseling Center and disclose information to them without Brandon’s informed consent.

 

Common Good Model

   This model focuses on what is achieved when the burdens and benefits of function together to achieve a sustainable society. In applying this model, we need to first look at how Brandon’s teammates played a role in his situation. If they decide to help Brandon out with the recovery and management of his health, then the monitoring process would be how his teammates helped him improve his condition. If they decide to not help Brandon out and instead humiliate him because of a situation and condition they are not too familiar with, then how does that affect Brandon’s recovery and management? A strength of this model is that Brandon’s teammates can contribute to his health developments by being supportive after he told them of his disorder. The model also provides an important reality check. No matter how much Brandon contributes to his own success, this model reminds him that society also contributes and that existing institutions and ideologies enable him to carry on his activities. A weakness of this model is that it stands contrary to the idea of individualism and how people can deal with their own problems. What if Brandon becomes dependent on his teammates in helping him deal with his problems but in cases where he needs to act alone, he doesn’t know the right course of action to take for himself because he doesn’t have the intervention of his peers?

 

Exceptions Model 

    This model states the exception that is being made with the situation. It could be an exception for his Coach to be involved in Brandon’s situation, but unethical if he were to be involved in someone else’s situation if he isn’t as familiar with that person. In applying this model, the first step would be describing the general and specific issue that Brandon has. The general issue would be whether or not his Coach should intervene and consult with someone else about Brandon’s mental health concerns. The specific ethical issue would be whether Brandon should seek medical care for his mental issue and whether or not it would benefit him to go. If he does seek help, what will he do if counseling doesn’t benefit him? The exception, in this case, could be his Coach intervening into medical problems and trying to find the help that Brandon needs. If this happened in other similar situations, it could be beneficial for team players when their coach displays empathy for his team, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if it became the rule of law. In the end, Brandon can take his Coach’s advice and seek help and in monitoring this, we can see the progress he has made when he does. A strength of this model would be having everyone come to the same consensus that one does need to seek help for themselves in order to get better after looking at the exceptions and the consequences of them in the case. A weakness of this model is that ethical issues can be missed such as not looking at Brandon’s family history because mental conditions such as anxiety could run in the family.