Ethics Paper : School Counseling

School counseling has a unique ethical code that is listed on the American School Counseling Association (ASAC) website. The code starts with responsibility to students and supporting student development. This means school counselors have an obligation to the students, including treating each student with dignity and respect. Furthermore, respecting student and family values, beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identification, and cultural backgrounds. School counselors have a goal of supporting students and families in a short-term setting, then referring to outside services for long-term counseling. Additionally, the fundamental role of parents/guardians need to be recognized. School counseling is not designed to make diagnoses, but to be mindful of how a student’s diagnosis could affect academic success. School counselors have a responsibility to support student’s maximum development by having concern for academic, career, social, and emotional needs. School counselors must be knowledgeable of laws and regulations to protect and inform students of their rights. Lastly, appropriate boundaries must be maintained, including sexual and romantic relationships which are prohibited, regardless of the student’s age (ASCA, 2016, pp. 1-2).

At times, collaboration can lead to revealing information that the student revealed in counseling sessions. School counselors should be cautious when discussing students with other school personnel. They should educate school personnel about the role of the school counselor and the importance of confidentiality. School counselors should share only the information that is necessary and helpful to the care and education of the student (Baker & Gerler, 2008). They should share strategies to help students while keeping specific information disclosed during counseling sessions confidential. School Counselors also consult with one another at times to ensure that they provide the best counseling services. It is best for the counselor be honest with the student and tell them about plans to consult with another counselor and ask for their permission to discuss their

4/6 8:20 AM this worker went to a meeting at the Mac school for Zoey Emery's reentry into school. MS Yaw, Fran, Zoey and two of her teachers meeting. Ms Yaw started the meeting speaking about re-entering school from Lincoln Prairie. Yaw was concerned because Zoey refused to do her academics and therapy while at Lincoln Prairie. Ms Yaw stress that the therapy was helpful for Zoey. Ms Yaw asked how Zoey was doing on her new medication. Zoey told Ms Yaw that she was on Lexapro. The full results of the medication were going to be about five weeks. Ms Yaw questioned about how Zoey was eating and sleeping. Fran said that Zoey was not sleeping well due to anxiety because of returning to school. Ms Yaw then spoke about the expectations for peer interactions

Given the scenario at this point, Mary has gotten no confirmation from the boys that anything was ever said, but Kyle did admit, “Everyone knew that Mr. Bennett was gay.” This comment alone would motivate me to contact Kyle’s parents. I would invite them in to discuss this matter, along with Kyle and the Dean of Students after school. I would begin by giving Kyle’s parents general background information about Mr. Bennett, including that he is respected by his fellow staff members for his commitment to

The ethical issue presented in the scenario is Rod is a minor and maintain confidentially. Human service professional recognizes the healing power of a trusting relationship. Privacy entails a certain amount of complexity for those who have professional roles in clients’ lives (Sommers-Flanagan, 2015). Confidentiality refers to the ethical obligation not to disclose confidential information obtained during the client relationship (Sommers-Flanagan, 2015).) Trust is imperative in the cornerstone of the counseling relationship.” Human service professional informs clients of the limits of confidentiality before the onset of the relationship. The human service professional must protect the privacy of the client confidentiality.

Culture is a system of beliefs and values that individuals live by daily. Being a counselor in the human services field comes with ethical and unethical issues. One ethical issue is cultural sensitivity, which the counselor has to build a certain type of skills to understand the concept of diverse cultures. A counselor needs certain techniques, to have the understanding of their client’s problems. Certain issues will be brought to a counselor like gender, race, sexual orientation, class, and ethnicity. Therefore, being a counselor you would have to adapt to being a culturally sensitive “helper”. Which he or she has to adapt to traditional views of human development and functions well as communication.

Do I have a Duty to do something? In counseling, I believe we all have a Duty, but, sometimes, depending on the issue, the question becomes who do I have a Duty to ? myself, my God, or the client? This ?D? and the other ?D?s will be discussed forthcoming in the issue I have chosen to discuss.

It is ultimately the counselor’s responsibility to determine the appropriate response for individual students who put their trust in the security of the counseling relationship. Have you ever had to break the confidence of a student who begged you not to tell his or her parents?

As some of you know Ms. Leonhart is the counselor, but i'm here to tell you what you don´t know. So first I want to talk to you about her workload. The question was what do you do everyday us students? Her response was that she helped with student schedule, and sometimes even changes the schedule period. Then she said that if their not adjusting to the school they come talk to her, also if anyone just needs to talk. She told me that there's just no typical day when it comes to being a counselor. Next I asked how much work she did in a day. Her response was that she creates a large to-do list and tries to get everything done, but again there’s no typical day being a counselor.

This counselor was able to met with Tonya at school on 11/7 as she had the day off work. Tonya has not been to school in awhile as she has been working a lot at Meijer. When this counselor asked her how things are going she stated,

This comprehensive school counseling plan is designed for High Tech High School which is located in North Bergen, New Jersey. High Tech High School was built in 1991 and is one of the several schools in the Hudson County Schools of Technology school district. This school services students that live in Hudson County and are in grades 9-12. Hudson County is a very diverse county with the majority of the population being Hispanic or Latino and with a median household income of $47,377 a year as of 2013 (County Community Fact Book, 2013). High Tech is a very culturally and ethnically diverse school with a student population of about 620 students. The school culture is made up of about 36% Hispanic, 36% White/Caucasian, 19%

Nature and Dimension of Ethical Issue: the counselor doesn’t know what her client would say; however, that could influence the counselor clinical judgment while providing couples services.

When attempting to locate a School Counselor to interview, I decided to interview a counselor at a local middle school located in Coal City, West Virginia. This interview will familiarize you with a School Counselor by the name of James Payne. You will gain a better understanding of his counseling history, his theory on counseling in a school system, the beliefs he expressed regarding the counseling profession and finally how he assists students on a daily basis.

We discussed school, which quickly began to reveal personal self-disclosure from Russ. He shared that once the economy tanked in 2008 he was laid off, lost a few family members, and was on a downward spiral of addiction. When he decided that wasn't what he was going to become, he moved away from the town he was living in and began going to school full time. I shared a similar story with him about myself. Russ disclosed how happy he is attending Crafton Hills College and not only is he attending, but he is working at Crafton too. He is guiding students enroll in courses through Web-Advisor. This job has made him consider changing his degree because he gets great satisfaction out of helping people complete tasks they are unable to do on their own. Soon after revealing his reasoning for returning back to school and his growth, Russ shared his children with me. His daughter is fifteen years old and his son is twelve years old. They live in Escondido and are very good kids. He is a very proud father and wanted me to see pictures of his kids and this is where the noise was

07/28/15: Today, I completed my scheduled visit with Maria and Monica in the park. I check in with Maria to see if she followed through with her plans to go to OSH and get assistance finding a shelter. Maria said that she did not go to OSH and instead she has decided to stay home with her husband and work things out. I provided Maria with a handout from the Parents as Teachers curriculum that focused on control in relationships. I talked with her about finding a trusted person to talk to if she is being abused or is worried that abuse will occur; I also provided her with the number for the domestic violence hotline. Maria informed me that she was diagnosed with depression in the past and that she has spent some time in the hospital for attempting