In counseling and psychotherapy, the relevance of confidentiality cannot be overstated. It is important to note that as Welfel (2015) observes, “clients expect that the private material they reveal to a professional will not be shared without their consent” (p. 111). As a matter of fact, there are legal protections in place that seek to protect the confidentiality of information shared between a therapist/counselor and a client. As Ford (2006) points out, the ethical duty of a practitioner to sustain the confidentiality of a client has both federal and state backing. As the author further observes, in order to reveal intimate details about themselves, clients ought to have reasonable assurance that the therapist will not reveal the information that they disclose in the course of their engagements to outsiders.
In the case of Janine, who has been undergoing depression treatment, there are several unique factors that ought to be taken into consideration. Janine, who happens to be 14 years old has been seeing me in the presence of her parents, as well as individually. During our last engagement, she revealed that she was pregnant and was thinking of procuring an abortion. She does not want to discuss the issue with her parents. I face a unique, but frequent,...
This would limit the therapist’s ability to propose workable interventions. However, in instances where a client threatens their own personal safety, the therapist ought to report the same. From a legal standpoint, when rendering services of a mental nature to minors, I am permitted to, with or without the consent of the minor, provide an advisory to a minor’s parent regarding the services being rendered (Bernstein, and Hartsell, 2004). However, I am not permitted, without the express authority of the minor, to reveal confidential details concerning the actual deliberations made and advice rendered. In Janine’s case, there is no evidence that procuring an abortion would be injurious to her health. Although some states laws stipulate that parents be involved in abortion decisions, some allow minors who have attained some cut-off age to make independent decisions regarding routine medical consultations. The cut-off age is generally 16 years. In that regard, therefore,…
