Research indicates that eating disorders tend to emerge in adolescence to young adulthood. Considering this age of onset, many affected individuals who become affected by this disorder are spending most of their time in school with their peers and school faculty. This places school counselors in a very important position to detect student eating issues in the early phase and take steps to meet the students’ needs. School counselor plays a critical role in assessment, support, referral, and follow-up services to the students, while in consultation with parents or guardians, teachers, and community agencies. The school counselor is able to take on an expanded role when it comes to working with students who are affected by eating-related problems
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It touches on the importance of confidentiality from an ethical and legal standpoint but goes on to further discuss how the process is further complicated when dealing with minors. Research by the above author found that the two leading causes of breach of confidentiality to consider when working with minors involve 1) age of client/maturity level- autonomy, and 2) seriousness of the behavior (Isaacs, 2001). Isaacs & Stone (1999) discuss confidentiality with minors especially the students who disclose information, as being one of the most challenging dilemmas school counselors face. Confidentiality is detrimental to the counseling relationship that if it is breached, then students may be less willing to seek support and share information. The dilemma of when to break confidentiality is very difficult for school counselors because they must also consider the other stakeholders involved such as the administration, families, and especially the parents who have rights to their child’s information (Isaacs & Stone, …show more content…
Education for middle school students have programs to prevent eating side orders but they found that educational interventions with peers learning how to identify the signs have lead to a reduction of full-blown eating disorders among the students in a school setting.
In a school, the setting is where most eating patterns and social interactions can take place. Peers can be educated on the signs and on ways to seek help from a supportive adult when they recognize the signs within themselves or the peers around them. Some challenges that students face include the loyalty they have with their friends and their inability to want to “get them in trouble”. Also, some students may fear negative influences on their relationships if they disclose information to another adult. The program that is discussed in this article discusses a comparison to that of the suicide prevention in schools. Identifying the signs and understanding the dangerous precautions may perpetuate an increase of peers being willing to seek help from adults and report risky behaviors (Cordiano & Anderson-Fye,
It touches on the importance of confidentiality from an ethical and legal standpoint but goes on to further discuss how the process is further complicated when dealing with minors. Research by the above author found that the two leading causes of breach of confidentiality to consider when working with minors involve 1) age of client/maturity level- autonomy, and 2) seriousness of the behavior (Isaacs, 2001). Isaacs & Stone (1999) discuss confidentiality with minors especially the students who disclose information, as being one of the most challenging dilemmas school counselors face. Confidentiality is detrimental to the counseling relationship that if it is breached, then students may be less willing to seek support and share information. The dilemma of when to break confidentiality is very difficult for school counselors because they must also consider the other stakeholders involved such as the administration, families, and especially the parents who have rights to their child’s information (Isaacs & Stone, …show more content…
Education for middle school students have programs to prevent eating side orders but they found that educational interventions with peers learning how to identify the signs have lead to a reduction of full-blown eating disorders among the students in a school setting.
In a school, the setting is where most eating patterns and social interactions can take place. Peers can be educated on the signs and on ways to seek help from a supportive adult when they recognize the signs within themselves or the peers around them. Some challenges that students face include the loyalty they have with their friends and their inability to want to “get them in trouble”. Also, some students may fear negative influences on their relationships if they disclose information to another adult. The program that is discussed in this article discusses a comparison to that of the suicide prevention in schools. Identifying the signs and understanding the dangerous precautions may perpetuate an increase of peers being willing to seek help from adults and report risky behaviors (Cordiano & Anderson-Fye,