Social Worker Ethics Ethical dilemma:

Privacy and Confidentiality

One of the most difficult situations for a social worker is when he or she must deal with confidentiality issues regarding a minor. For example, if a social worker is counseling an adolescent girl with an eating disorder in the context of a family intervention, the girl's understandably concerned parents may wish that the social worker disclose what the girl says during private therapy sessions. However, the adolescent must feel as if he or she can speak freely, to fully benefit from the sessions.

At the beginning of the session, the nature of the private counseling sessions should be defined, according to the social worker's code of ethics: "(f) When social workers provide counseling services to families, couples, or groups, social workers should seek agreement among the parties involved concerning each individual's...

Social workers should inform participants in family, couples, or group counseling that social workers cannot guarantee that all participants will honor such agreements."
Parents may not have a right to know the content of the sessions, but they do have a right to know the rationale and why privacy must be maintained, and assured that the social worker will intervene if the girl is in medical danger. Presumably, given the girl's condition, she will also be monitored by medical personnel with experience in treating eating-disordered patients, to ensure her vital signs are monitored.

The girl should also understand the parameters of confidentiality regarding therapy. For example, she should understand that if she says: "I hate my mother," the social worker will not report on…