What ethical dilemma does the school counselor face in each case study?
In the first case, the counselor is faced with a confidentiality dilemma. School counselors ought to fabricate trusting relationships with their clients are the students in this case. Confidentiality in discussions and communications helps cultivate that trust. The main dilemma is breaching confidentiality. The principal has come in with Lela’s mum, and they want to discuss Lela’s meetings with the counselor. In the second scenario, the school counselor is in a dilemma on whether to provide the non-custodial father the progress reports and grades. The counselor is fully aware that Maxton’s parents should be involved in his studies and progress at school, but here is a father who divorced the mother several years ago. Most states will give custodial and non-custodial parents equal rights, but some have limited the non-custodial parents. The counselor is not able to quantify the amount of information to disclose to the parent. The third case has a massive dilemma: a counselor from a neighboring school is involved with a student in what seems like an unprofessional relationship. Counselors ought to maintain only a professional relationship with students as they are still minors. The counselor is twisted since a colleague in the profession is breaching the code of conduct, and they are not sure how to address the issue.
What ethical and legal factors should the school counselor consider in each situation?
In the first case, the counselor ought to look at several factors before deciding on whether to breach the confidentiality standard or not. They should assess the compliance, dangerousness of the student behavior, student characteristic, and protecting their trusted relationship with the student. Whether or not to breach the confidentiality trust with students and disclose their personal information to parents will be dependent on these factors. As for the second case, the counselor will consider factors such as whether the non-custodial parent is granted the right to have access to the child’s school progress and grades. The counselor will also assess whether the parent has a stable relationship with the student to know the amount of information to give the non-custodial dad. As for Bo’s stepmother, the counselor will look at the intent and the relationship between the student and the stepmother. They will then know what kind of information to withhold and what to give the parent.
What resources would guide the school counselor in analyzing the ethical issues to best address each situation?
Resources the counselor would use for the first case would be top books and blogs for school counselors. They could look for books such as College Counseling for School Counselors and Professional School Counseling. These are books that will provide insights on how they can deal with student confidentiality at school. PDFs are available such as Privacy and Confidentiality in School Counseling. For the second scenario, the counselor can use PDFs such as Using an Ethical Decision-Making Model to Address Ethical Dilemmas in School Counseling and Exploratory Study of Common and Challenging Ethical Dilemmas Experienced by Professional School Counselors. Another useful post would understand the School Counselor-Parent Connection. They could also check for a solution from the ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors. For the third case, the counselor could source guidance on addressing the situation from the ASCA or the state ethics committee. Some many books and articles would help address this issue, such as Fulfilling the Promise by Mandy Savitz-Romer and A Systems Approach to School Counselor Consultation.
What might be the most ethical course of action for the school counselor to be in the situation, and why?
The school counselor should first assess whether Lila is doing well with the parent. Do they get along? Does she listen to her parent more? Would she feel okay talking about her issues with the principal around? Would she shy away and hide her problems due to the many people around her currently? These are some of the questions they should ask themselves, and then the answers will determine what he should do. If the main issue eating up Lila is maybe suicidal thoughts, they can decide to share the information with the parent and even a third party since it is a significant issue. For the second case, the counselor will first determine whether the non-custodial parent has the right to access the child’s progress in school and the grades. They will then give the custodians a professional disclosure form to exclude any miscommunication. They should then assess the student-parent relationship and know the extent to which they can share the information. The counselor should then provide alternatives on how they can engage and help the kid while at home. In the third scenario, the counselor needs to consult on the way forward with colleagues and other relevant parties. They could even try to talk it out with the afflicted counselor, but they could look for the state ethics committee if it does not work. If the issue is still a problem, they can ultimately go to the ASCA ethics committee to get assistance.