Running head: Ethical Analysis of dennis reynolds 1

Character Ethical Analysis: Dennis Reynolds of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Brittany Pierdolla
Texas A&M University - Kingsville

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Abstract
Dennis Reynolds has put himself in the position of a mental health professional and has taken on
the roles and responsibilities of a licensed professional counselor. Dennis has a limited and
dysfunctional support group, whom he mistreats regularly. Additionally, his lack of education
and qualification, along with his extensive unethical opinions and actions show that he is not
only ineffective, but harmful in this position. A comparison with both Koocher and KeithSpeigels common themes of mental health ethics codes and Mearas six basic moral principles
for an ethical counselor both support this claim. It is recommended that Dennis remove himself
from the position of therapist and attend therapy for himself. If he wishes to proceed and
continue acting as a counselor it is strongly suggested that Dennis gain the proper education and
licensures in order to do so.

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Ethical Concern
The primary issue of Dennis Reynolds is that he has proclaimed himself as a deputy
therapist, which has caused harm to most people he encounters. The aim of this analysis is to
demonstrate that Dennis is unfit to act as a therapist, as the majority of his social actions go
against all of the common themes of mental health ethics codes (Koocher and Keith-Speigel,
2008). Additionally, there are clear examples of how Dennis does not possess the six basic moral
principles that are the standard for the highest ethical level professionally (Meara, 1996). This
also means that as he continues to fulfill the role of counselor to anyone, he is in severe violation
of ethics codes.
There is very high risk for him causing considerable harm to not only those close to him,
but almost everyone he comes in contact with. Dennis makes his view on the self-appointed role
hes taken clear in a statement he made to a licensed therapist: Its interesting, our thing, isnt it?
To be in someones mind, to have complete control. Its like the thrill of being near the
executioners switch, knowing that at any moment you could pull it, but knowing you never will.
But you could. Never isnt the right word, because I could. And I might. And I probably will.
(Lofaro, 2005). Many of the interactions described were recorded by an actual counselor, as the
group at one point went to therapy and took turns having individual sessions.
History
Dennis grew up in a white, upper class family with his twin sister Dee. His mother,
Barbara, is known for her distant, cold demeanor and lifelong alcoholism. Frank, his father, at
times has reported symptoms of manic-depressive episodes. He was a successful businessman,
and often used ruthless business schemes to support the Reynolds upscale lifestyle. Dennis
shared a stories of the so-called life lessons that Frank would create for himself and Dee,

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which were often intentionally cruel. For instance, every Christmas Frank would purchase the
gifts that the twins wanted the most, and then on Christmas morning either completely destroy
them or keep them for himself and enjoy the gifts in front of them (Lofaro, 2005). Apart from
these supposed lessons, Dennis did not receive much emotional attention from his father, as
Frank showed his affection with money and material possessions. This likely had a large effect
on how Dennis interacts with others, since he was never provided with the experience of having
someone truly care for him. These interactions are almost always unethical in some way, even
when involving his own family. At one point he plans to take out a life insurance policy on Frank
with intention to murder him and keep the money for himself.
Current Life Situation
Dennis has a degree from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in veterinary
science and a minor in psychology, however rather than using his degree toward a career in one
of these areas, he is the co-owner of a dive bar. He does not have many interactions with anyone
outside his support system, which in itself is limited to Frank, Dee, and their two other friends,
Mac and Charlie. The four of them spend almost all of their time together because in addition to
being each others primary support system, they also co-own and work in the same bar. Dennis
tends to take for granted that the only reason he can maintain his higher-class lifestyle is due to
Franks supporting him, since the bar brings in almost no profit (Lofaro, 2005).
Although Dee is Denniss twin sister, he torments her relentlessly. It is on a regular basis
that he demeans and insults her, calling her ugly, making fun of her dreams and aspirations, and
telling her she looks like a bird. He shows little interest in her life and pursuits and encourages
the others to partake in the bullying.

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Dennis considers Mac to be his best friend, with whom he also shares an apartment and a
severely codependent relationship. Mac and Dennis do everything together, from errands, to
work, to tormenting Dee. During the time that they are not together, they make frequent calls
back and forth to check in, sometimes multiple times an hour. Mac is diagnosed by a therapist
with reverse body dysmorphia, and made it clear to her that he wants to be seen as a fat
monster by others. Dennis has taken responsibility for Macs body and started giving him what
he calls size pills, which are actually Mexican ephedra. This causes Mac to gain and lose 60
pounds over the course of three months (Lofaro, 2005). Dennis does not even try to hide this
action, rather he was proud of himself as he admitted to the therapist, Calling them size pills
was an elegant solution. The guy was gross, he was disgusting. He was fat as shit, he smelled
like shit, he sounded like shitit was repulsive.
Dennis treats Charlie as more of an employee than a friend. While Charlie is always a
participant in the ventures of the group, Dennis uses him for Charlie Work, or the dirty work
that he wants to avoid. These tasks consist of all the custodial work in the bar, some of which are
unique and potentially dangerous. As Charlie puts it, Charlie work is like, basement stuff,
cleaning urinals, blood stuff, your basic slimes, your sludges, anything dead or decaying...I dont
like being told what to do, everyones always telling me what to do. He is not provided with the
proper supplies to properly do janitorial work, but is forced to anyway, usually by Dennis
(Lofaro, 2005). He has expressed his struggle with the emotional toll that comes with this work,
however Dennis tells him that he has the freedom to choose to work somewhere else if he has a
problem with it. Charlie has a severe learning disability and while he realizes hes being
exploited, he doesnt know what to do about it.
Ethical Lapses

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As previously mentioned, the group had undergone individual sessions in secession with
the same therapist. Dennis attempted to put himself on the same level as the therapist and have
her breach confidentiality by talking about her interactions with the other members of the group.
He even goes as far as to tape the lock on the doorknob so that he can barge in and interrupt the
others sessions as he felt necessary.
Most of Denniss ethical lapses are in relation to the treatment of his friends. He often
makes decisions that affect them in a psychologically negative way. At one point, the group
believes that Charlie may have been molested as a child and Dennis takes it upon himself to
address the issue. Rather than asking him in confidence, he puts together an intervention, to
which Dennis did not only invite Charlies family and close friends, but seemingly everyone with
whom Charlie had ever had even the slightest acquaintance. This gathering involved the room
full of people bombarding him about the supposed molestation, after which it was clear that the
results were mentally catastrophic. Charlie says to Dennis, everyone thinks I got molested, so
Im going to go to the back office and cry and cry and cry and drink for a while. Dennis takes
this as a success and exclaims, Emotional release! Another giant step forward! (Lofaro, 2005).
This is not the only intervention that Dennis has negatively affected mental health of one
of the other members of the group. Frank started exhibiting signs of another manic episode, with
heavy emphasis in the areas of heavy drinking and reckless behavior. At first, Dennis encourages
this behavior, mostly for his own entertainment. For instance, he tells Frank I feel like youve
been standing on the edge of a cliff for a while now, I say hop off! Lets see where you land!
However, after a while his actions become too much for the group to handle and they plan
another intervention, this time with the help of a licensed therapist. Dennis has conflicting views
with the therapist in relation to way in which the intervention should be handled. She tells him

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that Frank needs to know that the group is coming from a place of love and concern, and Dennis
feels that her suggestion is too soft and that they should come at him with an iron fist and
crush him into submission. The therapist sticks with her ethical approach, so the group
dismisses her and plans the intervention on their own, this involves gathering at the bar, getting
drunk, and attacking Frank both physically and verbally upon his arrival (Lofaro, 2005).
Potential for Client Harm
If any of the described actions occurred in a mental health setting with actual clients, they
would undoubtedly lead to client harm and potential lawsuits. Comparing Denniss actions to
both the Koocher and Meara models will support the claim that his ethical lapses would greatly
compromise treatment of potential clients.
The Koocher and Keith-Speigel list of common themes in ethics codes starts with being
interested in the welfare of clients (2008). The way that Dennis treats the people that he has
taken therapeutic responsibility for is almost always to satisfy a twisted curiosity, or for his own
entertainment. Next, Dennis does not practice within the scope of his competence. His
psychological education is limited to a minor in psychology, and no legal qualifications. Rather
than avoiding harm and exploitation, Dennis encourages and utilizes it on a daily basis with not
only strangers, but the people closest to him. He does not respect clients confidentiality, which
was shown when he shared his suspicion of Charlies childhood abuse with multiple people,
causing Charlie intense psychological harm. All of the interactions previously described prove
that acting ethically and responsibly is also not a part of how Dennis carries out his interpersonal
interactions. He does not avoid discrimination of others, since he views his high-class position
as superior to his less fortunate friends, and often uses his position to force others to do things he
does not want to do. Last, it is clear that if Dennis entered an actual mental health profession, he

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would not uphold the integrity of the profession or strive for aspirational practice, as he does not
possess the drive to even strive for a positive, aspirational life.
The six basic moral principles of an ethical professional are as follows: autonomy,
nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, and veracity (Meara, 1996). Again, Dennis
violates every characteristic, which would translate into potential harm to clients, all of which are
covered in what I consider to be one of his most unethical actions; the drugging of Mac. Dennis
denies Mac the autonomy of his own body and knowingly goes directly against what Mac would
have chosen for himself. Dennis showed no trace of nonmaleficence by giving his best friend
dangerous illegal drugs, the reason behind it being for his own comfort and not wanting to have a
disgusting fat friend. Denniss ethical choices are not in accordance with any of the other
principles, due to their self-serving, deceptive, and manipulative nature. These actions in addition
to his seemingly infinite ethical code violations undoubtedly uphold that Dennis is currently
unable to be an effective or ethical counselor.
Correction and Prevention
In order to resolve this, Dennis must cease and desist all actions and remove himself from
the role of therapist that he has placed himself in. It is recommended that the entire group return
back to therapy with a qualified therapist in order to attempt to reverse some of the mental
damage that Dennis has most likely inflicted. In order to prevent further damage in the future, I
suggest that if he wants to continue posing as a mental health professional, he goes back to
school to get properly educated and certified. It is highly unlikely that Dennis would be able to
sufficiently complete counseling and ethics training, and if he were to pass the program,
supervisors should be advised of and looking out for potential cheating and manipulation.

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I also recommend that Dennis participate in therapy with a licensed counselor. Self-care
and mindfulness are both important facets of being an effective counselor, because of the proven
benefits to the clients and the counselor (Corey & Corey, 2015). It is important that Dennis
confront and be willing to resolve his own personal issues before he continues to attempt to
help anyone else. Denniss behavior and thought processes are indicative of a potential
personality disorder, specifically with sociopathic tendencies.
It should also be considered that due to the fact that he has performed multiple illegal
activities, if one of the group or one of the therapists he disclosed these actions to chooses to
report him, he could be facing lawsuits and jail time. I would recommend that the counselors he
shared his indiscretions with report him since he is clearly a danger to others, and based on his
personality, it is highly doubtful that Dennis will retire from his self-appointed position willingly.
If I were to put my recommendations for Dennis in the simplest form and speak to him as a
colleague, I would say: Stop. Everything. Immediately.

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Works Cited
Corey, G., Corey, M. S., Callanan, P., & Corey, C. (2015). Issues and ethics in the helping
professions (9th ed.). Stamford, CT: Brooks/Cole.
Koocher, G. P, & Keith-Speigel, P. (2008). Ethics in psychology and the mental health
professions: Standards and cases (3rd Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Lofaro, T. (Producer), & Shackman, M., & Savage, F. (Writers). (2005, August 4). It's Always
Sunny in Philadelphia [Television series]. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: FXX.
Meara, N. M., Schmidt, L. D., & Day, J. D. (1996). Principles and virtues: A foundation for
ethical decisions, policies, and character. The Counseling Psychologist, 24(1), 4-77.