Blog 11 Ethical Scenarios

Blog 11 Ethical Dilemmas For this blog I first reviewed the ASCA’s Ethical Standards for School Counselors and then compared those standards to the scenarios in Thompson’s article, “Best Practices for Working in the Schools”.  I will share each scenario and then discuss the most ethical and professional way of navigating each situation.
 The first scenario I examined was, (20) “A new professional school counselor is eager to facilitate a group on self-injury, since that has become a problem in the school.  The professional school counselor has gone to one workshop at a regional conference and has decided to start a group at her school.  She did not get informed consent.  Three students in her group are self-mutilating and are already seeing a therapist” (Thompson, 2010, p.477).
 In scenario (20) the counselor is not qualified to be running this group. One workshop is not sufficient training to effectively manage such a topic.  School counselors should develop professional competencies and acquire appropriate training (ASCA, 2010).  If this counselor is interested in learning more about self-injurious behavior he/ she should research evidence-based practices.  Secondly this counselor needed to obtain parental consent.  According the ASCA Ethical Standards, counselors need to be respectful of the rights of parents and guardians, including providing clear goals, rationale and practical applications of the group (ASCA, 2010).   Lastly the counselor needs to not interfere or cause harm to the work that is already been accomplished between the professional therapist and each student.  Truly this topic, falls under self-harm and an exception to confidentiality.  Self-injurious behavior should have prompted the counselor to report and refer., therefore let the professional continue to work with these students and find other ways to support or wrap-around them. The next scenario (16) describes,  “A well-know football coach from a university is interested in one of the school’s student- athletes.  He convinces the professional school counselor to allow him to look at the student’s academic record informally, along with test scores and grades, to make sure that the potential athlete meets NCAA eligibility criteria, without a release form” (Thompson, 2010, p.476).This is a clear violation of FERPA.  Student information is protected under federal law (ASCA, 2010).  Student information can only be released if the student fills out a consent form. Also the counselor should advocate for the student by including the student and/ student’s guardians in this discussion. The final scenario (11)  “A middle school counselor is meeting with an eighth grade student who had had two previous suicide attempts and has been hospitalized twice.  The student seems distraught and doesn’t want to go home.  The counselor views it as another effort to get attention, so the counselor gives the student a suicide hotline number and tells her to hurry so she does not miss her school bus ride home”  (Thompson, 2010, p.477).
 First this counselor needs to stop everything and very sensitively break confidentiality.  According to ASCA, a counselor is a mandated reported and is ethically and legally obligated to report to the proper authorities when the possibly of self-harm exists (ASCA, 2010).  The counselor should already have a collaborative relationship with this student’s parents and mental health professionals.  The counselor should immediately help the student reach to his/ her support network and stay with the student until help arrives.  Also if this counselor believes that children who make suicide attempts are just trying to get attentions she has an ethical responsibility to the profession to resign.
 American School Counselor Association. Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2010). Thompson, R.A. (2012).  Professional School counseling; Best practices for working in the schools.  New York: Routledge.