Counselors are responsible for abiding by codes of ethics. The American School Counselor Association (2010) outlines the ethical standards that are specific to the unique situations that school counselors come across. After review of the Nicole Eisel case study, it would be important to make sure to discuss the limits of confidentiality with the student again, standard A.2.a and A.2.b (ASCA, 2010). This would make sure that the student was aware of her rights and what could be kept confidential or shared. Additionally, it would be important for the counselor to consider the specifics of the case, such as she is a minor and there is foreseeable harm, when deciding to breach confidentiality or not, standard A.2.c (ASCA, 2010). The counselor must also take into consideration the …show more content…
Further, the counselor could provide the parents with thorough and relevant information regarding their child so that they could be aware of their child’s possible actions, standard B.2.d (ASCA, 2010). In addition, if the counselor was unsure of breaching confidentiality, an ethical decision-making model should be used, standard G.3 (ASCA, 2010).
Knowing what you do about how the case turned out, how would you have approached the case as Nicole's school counselor?
If I would have been Nicole’s school counselor, I would have first taken a few moments to build rapport with Nicole. Next, I would have reminded Nicole about the limits of confidentiality. Additionally, I would have expressed concern for the student’s well-being and assessed the student for risk of suicide by asking questions and gathering information