The School Counseling Profession, Part 3

Question 1: Discuss effective and appropriate means to include parents in counseling sessions with minors.

Answer 1: The ideal situation regarding a minor student is if a student readily accepts and invites his or her parents to participate in the session(s). However, if this is not the case, there are steps counselors can take to ease the disclosure. Counselors should discuss confidentiality with students at the initial session, and let them know the legal parameters. Students may be hesitant to let parents know about their problems, for fear of the parents’ reactions. Also, when broaching the subject of disclosure, counselors should be sensitive to the possibility of family secrets, sensitive information, cultural issues and other factors that could be problematic when including parents in counseling session. Counselors can work students to get them comfortable with the idea of including their parents, and can discuss reasonable boundaries before the parents are invited to participate. However, if minor students refuse to include their parents or to give permission to disclose information, counselors may be obligated to inform the parents without the student’s permission.

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Question 2: Define the circumstances for which confidentiality may be breached.

Answer 2: There are certain circumstances, as outlined in the ACA Code of Ethics, whereby a counselor may break, and in some cases is obligated to break, student confidentiality. Generally, counselors may break confidentiality if a student is in danger of harming himself or herself or others, if there is indication of abuse, or if there is any other life-threatening situation. There are other circumstances for which confidentiality may be breached:Counselors may disclose confidential documents with subordinates in the regular course of business.Members of treatment teams, consultation groups, families, and third-party players may break confidentiality through regular verbal interaction.Parents may be legally informed of the counseling discussions held with their minor children.Parents or family members may be justifiably informed if they could contact a life-threatening disease through association with the student.Court-ordered disclosure by way of a subpoena may require the counselor to share information, although that information can be restricted to what is necessary.

Question 3: Define the scope of minor consent laws.

Answer 3: Minor consent laws are mandated at the state level and define the circumstances under which counselors may protect the confidentiality of a minor student. These laws fall under the federal regulation that prohibits the breaking of confidentiality for patient recovery, regardless of the patient’s minor status. Generally, minor consent laws allow confidentiality regarding issues such as substance abuse, mental health, and reproductive health areas, without releasing information to parents or guardians. There is some controversy regarding the interpretation of these laws, but a common implementation is a school-based student assistant program (SAP) comprised of teams that include a counselor, a counselor or a nurse, a teacher and possibly substance abuse assessors from local agencies. School staff can refer students to the SAP team who will collaboratively determine best action for the student. Counselors should be well informed about the state mandates and local interpretations of the minor consent law.

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