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Upon completion of my Master of Education in Guidance and Counseling, I hope to be employed as an elementary school counselor. I prefer elementary school, but would be willing to go to a middle school if needed.

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Exploration 1: American School Counselor Association  (ASCA)

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Exploration 1: American School Counselor Association  (ASCA)

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The American School Counselor Association provides a wealth of information on legal and ethical issues school counselors face. Members are able to access publications and resources on legal and ethical issues.  One section is titled "Ethical Tips for School Counselors", this section gives many tips including Inform students of possible limitations on the counseling relationship prior to the beginning of the relationship (ASCA, 2018). This tip is important because many students expect complete confidentiality, but there are certain circumstances where reporting is required.

In the articles section, there was an interesting article on suicide and abuse reporting specifically suicide ideation. It stated that school counselors have the ministerial duty to report suicide ideation. Waiting until it is clear a person is a suicide risk is dangerous. School counselors should always notify parents (ASCA,2018). The law is minimal, but ethically it is required for school counselors to report.

References
Stone, C., Ed.D. (2018, July). Suicide and Child Abuse Reporting. Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/magazine/blogs/july-august-2018/suicide-and-child-abuse-reporting

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Home - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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Exploration 2: American Counseling Association (ACA)

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Exploration 2: American Counseling Association (ACA)

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The American Counseling Association is not just for school counselors but for all types of counselors. After exploring the website, an article was found that is in the confidentiality section of the ethical standards for counselors. The article is titled, "To tell or not to tell: The fine line between
minors’ privacy and others’ right to know". This article talks about gaining trust in children by establishing the confidentiality requirement. It discusses the dilemma of the students right to confidentially with the parents right to know. "What complicates the situation is that the legal right to confidentiality usually resides with parents and guardians, not with students,
although counselors have an ethical duty to maintain students’ privacy" (Carlson, 2017). It seems that there is a common issue in building trust with students due to the counselors obligation to follow district and school policy. Counselors have to follow the ethical model whenever possible.

References
Carlson, N. (2017, October). To tell or not to tell: The fine line between minors’ privacy and others’ right to know. Retrieved from https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/ethics/ethics-columns/ethics_october-2017_minor-privacy.pdf?sfvrsn=a25522c_6

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American Counseling Association | A professional home for counselors

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I chose confidentiality as my topic. It seems to be a common issue. School counselors want to build trusting relationships with their students. Ethically, confidentiality is a requirement to our best ability. It seems as though district and school policy require reporting of certain issues. There is also the parent's right to know. I think these all make confidentiality something hard to maintain.

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https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=124078927&site=eds-live

Reference
Akos, P., & Pizzolato, S. (2017). Defining the School Counseling Relationship: Confidentiality Revisited. Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, 10, 1–14. Retrieved from https://easydb.angelo.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=124078927&site=eds-live

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https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/legal-ethical

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Not-Found - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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Confidentiality

Confidentiality is important to school counselors as trust with students is often based on confidentiality.  Students will open up and share when they feel their issues will not be brought to the attention of their parents. Ethically school counselors need to maintain confidentiality and do no harm to students. Students will most likely feel more comfortable sharing sensitive information, setting goals, and working through issues with the counselor during counseling sessions since they know their feelings and thoughts will remain private (Akos & Pizzolato, 2017).  It is important to inform students the counselors’ limitations on what they can keep confidential and what they will have to report.

According the ASCA Ethical Standards, school counselors need to keep information confidential unless to prevent unforeseeable harm (ASCA, 2016).  If the school counselor believes the student is a harm to themselves or others, they have to report it. If the school counselor is unsure of a certain situation and what to do, they need to communicate with another school counselor or administrator for advice.  It is also recommended for school counselors to stay on top of laws and current court rulings when working minors.