A professional school counselor is skilled and trained to use his/her best judgment when it comes to students’ rights and confidentiality. One should behave as a professional at all times and be mindful of their behavior. One not only have to be aware of professional values they should also be knowledgeable of applying these standards as they apply to the role of the school counselor. The professional school counselor is responsible for removing barriers to learning and to advocate for change for all students. In the case study assigned for review, I will examine ethical violation as it contains to student rights, confidentiality and professionalism relationships. The school counselor lives and works in a community where one socializes …show more content…
Keep information confidential unless legal requirements demand that confidential information be revealed.” (Ethical Standards for School Counselors) In this case there are no legal requirements that demanded the counselor to discuss the student information with the school teacher. Since the counselor works in the same community she lives in, she has to be aware of dual relationships. “School counselors have an ethical imperative to maintain a professional distance from students and parents. (Carolyn Stone, 2013)” Since the counselor worked in the community where it is probably hard for her to avoid duel relationships she should be extra careful to avoid ethical and legal issues. According to ASCA A.4.d, “Avoid dual relationship with school personal that might infringe on the integrity of the school counselor/student relationship. (Ethical Standards for School Counselors)” The counselor should have taken the appropriate steps and informed the teacher she was not at liberty to discuss student confidential information. The professional school counselor should, “Promote awareness and adherence to appropriate guidelines regarding confidentiality, the distinction between public and private information and staff consultation.” ASCA C.2 ( (Ethical Standards for School Counselors). The teacher and school counselor acted unprofessional and did not follow guidelines to the student confidentiality and they both violated policy by discussing student information in public setting. School related business should not be addressed in public
Professional counselors are confronted with ethical decision making on a regular day-to-day basis. This could be both nerve-racking and challenging. In order for a counselor to face these ethical decisions, it is important for them to have guidelines in place for when an ethical or legal situation occurs. The first step is to recognize there is an ethical dilemma, once this is recognized the process to resolve it can be started (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2008).
I believe the school psychologist was not acting ethically. According to Standard I.1.1, "parent consent is required if the consultation about particular child or adolescent is likely to be extensive and ongoing and/or if school actions may result in a significant intrusion on student or family privacy beyond what might be expected in the course of ordinary school activities." Since the counseling group would be considered "extensive", the school psychologist needs a formal approval or denial of the services she intends to provide. The school psychologist also decided to send a letter explaining what the counseling session. While the letter does seem to provide extensive information on the sessions, the school psychologist has no way to know if the parents received the letter, or if the
Huey, W. C. (1986). Ethical Concerns in School Counseling. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 64(5), 321.
The ASCA reminds school counselors that they are to guide and assist students who are victims by supplying appropriate services (ASCA, 2016). When abuse is suspected, a guidance counselor must personally report the abuse to child protective services (CPS). Cuff vs. Grossmont Union High School District reminds us how vital it is to follow all reporting procedures. In the state of Virginia, teachers, and those working in public and private schools, are mandated reporters and must report within 24 hours of the suspected neglect or abuse; even if the abuse occurred in the past (DSS.VA.GOV). Failure to report will result in criminal actions. Although school counselors are held to confidentiality terms, cases such as these warrant a duty to warn and an ethical obligation to protect. The American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) state that as Christian counselors, one should always disclose confidential information when a life is endangered, this includes events such as suicidal ideations, bullying, and abuse (AACC, 2014). Although the ASCA and the AACC provides guidance to crisis responses, there are still legal and ethical issues that may not be
The school setting makes this task quite daunting since “a culture of open communication regarding student information is quite common among educators in school settings” (ARTICLE P337). Even so, it is important to disclose only the most vital information so as to not jeopardize one’s job duties nor compromise one’s ethics. When taking in a situation in its entirety, a school counselor must dissect all of the information given and only release what is absolutely necessary in order to take action – if any action is needed. The relationship of trust between the school counselor and the minor student must be kept intact and remain unaffected at all cost. Releasing too much information would create mistrust and separation between the two, leaving the student with no one else to turn to.
Gaining consultation from appropriate sources could help the counselor gain knowledge that would support the decision-making process. However, it should also be noted that the counselor must protect the student’s confidentiality, yet, some information would need to be shared with consultants. Thus, the counselor would only provide information relevant to each consultant, standard C.2.e (ASCA 2010; Davis, 2015). Next, the counselor would record the needed information in order to make an ethical decision (Luke, Goodrich, & Gilbride, 2013). The counselor would write down the Japanese family experts information that was provided, write down all the applicable ethical codes, the school policies, and state laws. Next, the counselor would analyze the information from the previous step with the student’s CRW factors and list the CRW factors that support or conflict with the proposed action and associate the decision with ethical standards (Luke, Goodrich, & Gilbride, 2013). For instance, the counselor would list that breaching confidentiality to child welfare services would be ethically supported in this situation by school policy and ACA (2014) ethical standard B.2.a,
During this particular scenario, the major issue being raised is confidently. When working with middle school or high school students, trust is gained and is an important quality to them. In this case, the counselor is being asked to disclose information on a student without her knowledge.
School counseling has evolved over the years into a significant component of the educational system. School counselors are taking on new roles in schools as leaders, working with “school administration and staff in developing student attitudes and behavior which are necessary to maintain proper control, acceptable standards of self-discipline and a suitable learning environment within the school” (Secondary School Counselor 2012). Counselors work in “diverse community settings designed to provide a variety of counseling, rehabilitation, and support services” (Counselors, 2010). When working in a school district as a counselor, you can either be an elementary school counselor, middle school counselor or a high school counselor. This essays explores a recent interview with a high school counselor.
The topic of this paper focuses on the battles school counselors face as the law and ethical standards collide. School counselors face a number of legal and ethical issues and recognizing a clear decision isn’t always easy. School counselors have to work with a large number of students, parents, and administrators while conforming to ethical codes, state laws, and school board guidelines. This topic is of great relevance to me as I will be going into the school counseling profession. It is also a meaningful topic to me because life-changing decisions are made every day in reference to legal and ethical issues. Researching this topic has shed some light on the difficulty for school counselors to fulfill both legal and ethical requirements. The main reason for this is that laws and ethical codes may sometimes provide differing and contradictory messages regarding the same subject. This can lead to legal ramifications, even while following ethical norms as we will look at in the example case of Woodlock v. Orange Ulster B.O.C.E.S. (2006/2008).
The comprehensive school counseling program is a program designed to provide all students with an equal opportunity to obtain their education. To be comprehensive, a school counseling program must be holistic, systemic, balanced, proactive, infused into the academic curriculum and reflective ( Dollarhide & Sagnik, 2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs are critical to students success. Each CSCP must be established based off of the schools mission. The CSCP must be well organized, comprehensive as well as systemically implemented. It is accountable through evaluations. The CSCP must also be reflective and infused into the academic curriculum. It is prevention and intervention focused. The focus of the CSCP is on the domains: academic development, social/personal development and career development. Academic development is the area of learning for the students. The career development is the area of learning to work- jobs to careers. The personal/social development is the area where the students learn to live and function daily.
When I was born, my family had just migrated to California from Mexico. In a new country, my father worked in landscaping earning less than $4 dollars an hour, while my mother relied on public transportation to take her newborn child to and from doctor visits. In the land of opportunity, my family struggled to put a roof over our heads. But never discouraged, my parents sought to achieve their goals and worked tirelessly to raise my younger brother and I. From a young age, I was taught the importance of education; this became a major catalyst in my life. My desire to excel academically was not for self-gain, but my way of contributing to my family’s goals and aspirations.
The school counselor would need to be upfront with the teaching staff about confidentiality. Furthermore, be willing to engage in personal conversations with teachers about the ethical value so there is no misunderstanding. Having an open line of communication can deepen the teacher and counselor relationship without breaking student confidentiality. Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan further discuss general guidelines for school counselors from the American School Counselor Association (ASCA). One of these guidelines is, “Have a primary obligation to all students.
HS 43 Term Paper 4 Core functions of a Substance Abuse Counselor By Roslyn Smith Introduction This paper will discuss the following 4 Core Functions of a Counselor: Case Management, Client Education, Crisis Intervention, Referral and their primary purposes. Discussion Case Management According to IC & RC, Case Management is defined as, “activities intended to bring services, agencies, resources, or people together within a planned framework of action toward the achievement of established goals.
Counselors have large shoes to fill. They not only administer assessments, but are also involved in group counseling, individual counseling, and have to plan and implement comprehensive school guidance programs. A counselor must know and be competent in all realms of their position. School counselors work with all children, including children with disabilities in various settings within the school (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Kendrick (2005 p 449). As stated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), school counseling services must be made available to all students in special education programs as part of their right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) (Bowen & Glenn, 1998; Clark, 1998). School counselors are to take on this role in the educational and personal-social well being of students in special education programs. Federal law does require that children, who receive special education services, and do not display appropriate behavior have a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) team (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Kendrick (2005) p 449). This team constructs a BIP. Since counselors should be active on the FBA team, there is a need here that must be addressed because this article defines a lack of knowledge present with practicing counselors. With that, counselors do receive relevant training throughout their program. There are only so many classes and hours of instruction that the pre-counselors receive. The curriculum that is generated encompasses what counselors need, but could their be a few gaps and missing pieces? This study was conducted to determine counselors awareness, knowledge, and role in the Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) process (Villalba, Latus, Hamilton, & Ken...
Professional ethical conduct is essential to the success of any client, whether it is in individual counseling or in a group setting. Professional psychologists, therapists, counselors, social workers or others in the field of human service or help have the duly responsibility to continuously become aware of their professional responsibilities, and manage their practice based on areas of ability. This paper will research ethics within groups and individual counseling, and compare their similarities and their differences.