Ethical Dilemmas in High School Counseling: Dual Roles

Introduction and the Dual-Relationship Dilemma

Faced with the dilemma of entering into a dual relationship with a 14-year-old freshman member of the cheerleading squad who approached me for counseling regarding sexual abuse at the hands of her father, I decided to resign my position as coach of the cheerleading squad and continue only in the role of counselor. I reached this decision after carefully weighing the ethical and legal aspects of the situation, including a consultation with a colleague, to ensure that I had taken all issues into consideration and remained objective in my analysis of the case. The professional ethical principles considered, the legal aspects involved, and the method of reasoning used were also documented as a matter of professional practice and record.

Conscious of the fact that I was dealing with a minor, I began by examining the legal requirements involved in counseling a minor who was being sexually abused by a parent. I also assessed the counselee's motives in seeking professional help. It was reasonable to assume that the child had developed a degree of trust and confidence in me through our interaction on the cheerleading team — and that very trust made the dual-relationship question both urgent and ethically complex.

Legal Requirements for Reporting Child Abuse

United States law decrees that all counselors and other professionals must report cases of suspected child abuse to a governmental agency. The statutes protect "reporters from liability as long as reports are made in good faith… defamation of character… would not prevail," which straightaway resolved any doubt about my own professional standing and the school's interests in handling the case. It was also clear that such a report would have to be filed immediately, both with the appropriate government agency and with the high school authorities (Remley & Herlihy).

While there was no ambiguity as far as the legal aspects were concerned, I still had to consider that counselors must "exercise their professional judgment before and after making such reports. They should have several goals in mind, which include (a) maintaining, to the extent possible, any counseling relationship… (b) being concerned about the welfare of the alleged victim before and after the report (Remley & Fry, 1993); (c) helping the parties deal with the process that follows reports; and (d) fulfilling their statutory legal obligations" (Remley & Herlihy).

The first ethical principle confronting me was therefore a conflict: obeying the law and immediately filing a report with school and governmental authorities might be construed by the child as a betrayal of trust, whereas not reporting could endanger the child's safety and future welfare. If the counselee perceived my actions as a betrayal of trust, the future success of any counseling relationship would be endangered.

References

Remley, Theodore P. (Jr.) & Herlihy, Barbara. (2001). Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues in Counseling. Prentice Hall. New Jersey. pp. 151–156; 176–183.

Ethical Standards for School Counselors. American School Counselor Association. http://www.schoolcounselor.org/content.cfm?L1=103

Gottlieb, Michael C. Avoiding Exploitive Dual Relationships: A Decision Making Model. Psychotherapy, Volume 30, No. 1, pp. 41–48, 1993. http://kspope.com/gottlieb.html

Hayes, Laurie L. (1997). School counseling consent forms can be a help and a hindrance. Counseling Today, Volume 39, No. 12.

Pope, Kenneth S. & Bajt, Theresa Rose. When Laws and Values Conflict: A Dilemma for Psychologists. American Psychologist, Volume 43, No. 10, p. 828. http://kspope.com/research8.shtml

Younggren, Jeffrey N. (May 2002). Ethical Decision Making and Dual Relationships. http://kspope.com/younggren.html