This case study examines how a school counselor should respond when a 17-year-old female student discloses she was sexually assaulted at a party and begs the counselor not to tell anyone. Applying Corey, Corey, and Callanan's eight-step ethical decision-making model, the paper works through each stage — from identifying the dilemma and relevant ethics codes to consulting colleagues and choosing a course of action. The analysis integrates the American Counseling Association's 2014 Code of Ethics, Florida mandatory-reporting statutes, and the six core moral principles of autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, and veracity. The paper concludes that the counselor must file a mandatory report with the central abuse hotline while minimizing harm to the counseling relationship.
A 17-year-old Jewish female student advises her counselor that she attended a party the previous weekend with a 17-year-old African-American male student and ended up passed out in an upstairs bedroom. She was awakened by the boy forcing himself on her. She protested loudly but says no one came to help her. The client claims the counselor is the only person she has told about the rape. For the past five days she has endured the snickering and sneering of the alleged perpetrator and his friends in the hallways "as they smugly march around with their worlds intact" while she "dies a little more inside each day." She has been having trouble focusing on school and blames herself for drinking too much, even though she does not believe she had very much to drink. She wonders aloud whether she could have been drugged, and she begs the counselor not to tell anyone — especially her parents.
The decision-making model applied here is Corey, Corey, and Callanan's eight-step model, which employs six essential moral principles for ethical decision-making: autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, and veracity (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011, p. 24). This model is widely acknowledged as an effective tool for ethical decision-making because it does not leave the counselor adrift in his or her own values and sometimes arbitrary assessments (Cottone & Claus, 2000, p. 279). The six moral principles are highlighted throughout the following eight steps: (1) identify the problem or dilemma; (2) identify potential issues involved; (3) review the relevant ethics codes and sections; (4) consider relevant laws; (5) consult with colleagues; (6) consider possible and probable options; (7) list the implications of the various options; and (8) choose the apparently best course of action (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011, pp. 24–26). In addition, the counselor must document his or her work at every step — both to practice more effectively and to create a record for colleagues and other professionals, thereby avoiding negative outcomes in any subsequent malpractice matters.
At this step, the counselor gathers as much information as possible and determines whether the situation poses a dilemma that is ethical, legal, clinical, professional, or moral (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011, p. 24). Briefly, a 17-year-old Jewish female student claims she was sexually assaulted by a 17-year-old African-American male student while she was in various states of incapacity at a party — first passed out, then unable to effectively stop the attack due to alcohol consumption and possibly being drugged. Her cries for help were ignored. Now that she is back in school, the alleged perpetrator and his friends have reportedly been snickering and sneering at her in the hallways "as they smugly march around with their worlds intact" while she "dies a little more inside each day" and has trouble focusing in school. The counselor is the only person she has told; she does not want the counselor to tell anyone else; and she at least partially blames herself for drinking, though she asserts she did not have much to drink and may have been drugged prior to the assault.
This situation poses an ethical problem regarding confidentiality, a possible legal problem involving professional reporting requirements for a sexual assault and possible illegal drugging, and a professional problem. On a personal level, if the counselor were to observe the alleged perpetrator and his friends snickering and sneering at the victim in the hallways, the impulse to intervene personally would need to be consciously set aside.
By examining the information and involving the client as much as possible, the counselor identifies the critical issues and sets aside the irrelevant ones (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011, pp. 24–25). Diversity is an especially important facet at this stage, as the counselor must consider the rights, responsibilities, and welfare of everyone involved. Diversity issues are woven throughout the situation: the victim is a Jewish-American teenage girl whose cultural background may carry particular attitudes about teenage sex, sexual assault, a girl's responsibility when attending a party and consuming alcohol, and attitudes toward African-American teenage males. The alleged perpetrator is an African-American teenage male whose cultural background may similarly shape attitudes about these same issues from a different perspective.
The critical issues are client confidentiality — she has asked the counselor to tell no one about a criminal assault and possible drugging — and the counselor's legal responsibility as a mental health professional to report certain crimes perpetrated against certain individuals. Personal feelings about what the alleged perpetrator and his friends have done, and about what should happen to them, must be recognized and then set aside as inconsequential to the professional decision-making process.
In this step, the counselor identifies and considers the applicable ethics code(s) and specifically pertinent sections for the defined issues (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 2011, p. 25). The American Counseling Association (ACA) is a not-for-profit professional and educational organization that exclusively represents professional counselors and periodically issues a code of ethics to guide practice (American Counseling Association, 2016). The most recent revision is the 2014 Code of Ethics (American Counseling Association, 2014). Several sections are applicable to this case.
A.1.a — Primary Responsibility: Throughout the entire counseling process, the counselor must remain mindful that the primary responsibility is to respect the client's dignity and promote her welfare (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 4).
A.2.d — Inability to Give Consent: The client is a minor and is legally incapable of giving consent. In addition, the counselor must consider the rights and responsibilities of her parents or family to protect her and make decisions on her behalf (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 4).
This section of the Code — several provisions of which are applicable — guides the counselor regarding the confidentiality of client information (American Counseling Association, 2014, pp. 6–8). In this situation the counselor must especially attend to the following provisions:
B.1.a: Respect the client's rights, taking into consideration the cultural meanings (here, Jewish-American) of confidentiality and privacy, and repeatedly discuss with the client how and to whom information is shared in the course of treatment (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 6).
B.1.c: Protect the client's confidential information and disclose it only with appropriate consent or sound legal or ethical justification (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7).
B.1.d: Explain the limitations of confidentiality and the situations in which confidentiality would have to be breached (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7).
B.2.e: Advise the client ahead of time about any required disclosure and then disclose only essential information (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7).
B.3.c: If disclosure is required in consultation with colleagues and other professionals, ensure that confidential information is disclosed in settings that preserve as much privacy as possible (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7).
B.5.a: Since the client is legally a minor, she lacks the capacity to give voluntary, informed consent to release confidential information; consequently, the counselor must be guided by law, written policies, and ethics (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7).
B.5.c: Particularly in view of the disclosure laws addressed below, and since the client is a minor, the counselor must seek permission from a third party to disclose, inform the client of that requirement, and continue to safeguard her confidentiality as much as possible (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7).
B.7.a: Since consultation with colleagues may be necessary, the counselor must limit disclosure to only the information relevant to the consultation and continue safeguarding the client's identity and other personal details as much as possible (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7).
B.7.b: The counselor must reveal only the information covered by consent, only that which is germane to the consultation, and continue to safeguard the client's identity and other information (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 7).
C.6.b: If the counselor must report to third parties under the law — for example, about the sexual assault and possible drugging — the counselor must ensure that the report is accurate, honest, and objective (American Counseling Association, 2014, p. 9).
"Florida statutes on mandatory reporting for minors"
"Colleague consultation and two possible courses of action"
"Final decision to report and rationale"
You’re 58% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 3 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.