978-0135183816 Chapter 11

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Chapter 11

Counseling Children and Vulnerable Adults

FOCUS QUESTIONS

1. How do you think legal and ethical requirements might come into conflict with each

other when counseling minor clients?

Points instructors may want to make:

2. Why do you think minors under the age of 18, in the United States, are not able to

assert their legal rights on their own but, instead, are required to assert their legal

rights in court through their parents or legal guardians?

Points instructors may want to make:

3. How can a counselor determine whether an adolescent client’s risk-taking behaviors

present a sufficiently serious risk for harm to warrant breaching the client’s

confidentiality?

Points instructors may want to make:

adolescent’s risk-taking behaviors, the counselor runs the risk of violating the

parent’s or legal guardian’s legal rights.

4. What is your opinion of laws that make it a crime for a counselor to fail to report

cases of suspected abuse of a child, elder, or vulnerable adult?

Points instructors may want to make:

IN-CLASS ACTIVITY

Title: Difficult Encounters Related to Counseling Minors

Learning

Goal: To become more comfortable with facing difficult encounters related to

counseling minors, by practicing how to deal with potential clinical issues and

observing how other students handle such issues.

Procedures: Groups of students can be assigned to prepare and present the following role

plays during class:

Tell parents that their child is at risk for suicide.

Convince a child to tell a parent information that was revealed in a session that

warrants parental notification (i.e.: non-suicidal self-harm, an eating disorder, etc.).

Explain the benefits of confidentiality to a minor client’s parent.

Explain the counseling relationship to a student seeing a school counselor for the first

time when the counselor is also the student’s coach.

Address a teacher’s request for information about counseling sessions with a student

who was referred by the teacher for acting out in class.

Discussion

Questions: What worked for you in the role plays?

What didn’t work for you?

Would you have handled any of the situations differently?

Which strategies would you use in similar situations?

How might having a proactive plan for addressing future issues allow you to

feel more confident and/or calm under challenging circumstances?

Point/Counterpoint (Debate) Topics

Title: Confidentiality of Adolescent Clients who are Sexually Active

Learning

Goal: To explore the complex and multiple considerations when counseling

adolescents who are sexually active.

Procedures: Assign (or allow students to volunteer) 2 groups of students (preferably 3-5

students per group) to each take one of the positions described below and

prepare a 5-minute argument in favor of that position. Have each group present

its argument. Next, allow the groups to confer for 2 minutes and then have each

group present its rebuttal to the other group’s argument. Lastly, have the class

members who served as the audience vote for which side was most persuasive.

Point: In most instances, counselors should respect the confidentiality of minor

clients who disclose that they are sexually active, if the clients insist that their

parents/guardians not be told.

vs.

Counterpoint: Counselors should inform parents/guardians when minor clients

disclose they are sexually active, due to the potential risks to the client and counselor

when information is not shared with parents.

Title: Mandatory Reporting of Child and Elder Abuse

Learning

Goal: To consider the complex issues involved in legally mandatory reporting.

Point: Counselors should be considered to be legally mandated reporters when they

learn that a minor or dependent elder client is the victim of abuse.

vs.

Counterpoint: Counselors should be allowed to use their professional judgment when

deciding whether or not to report the abuse of a minor or dependent elder client.

OUTSIDE CLASS ACTIVITY

Title: Reporting Suspected Child Abuse

Learning

Goal: To become familiar with the state law on reporting suspected child abuse.

Procedures: Locate your state statute related to reporting suspected child abuse and analyze

the statute according to the guidelines set forth in the chapter.

Topic for Self-Reflection/Journaling

Topic: If you were a counselor working with children and adolescents in a school or non-

school setting, and were asked to develop a training workshop for teachers and/or

parents on a topic of particular concern related to today’s children or adolescents,

what topic would you choose? (Examples might include school violence, relational

aggression or bullying, cyberbullying, adolescent social media habits, assisting

LGBTQIQ students, counseling for academic success, preparing students for career

and college readiness, etc.) What are the main points you would want to convey

through your workshop?

CASE STUDY

Leanne is 16 years old. During a counseling session, she tells you that her father sexually

abused her from the time she was 8 until she was 12. She currently lives with her father and

stepmother. What considerations must be made in reporting the abuse?

Case Study Discussion

In responding to this situation, students should consider the language of the state reporting

statute, especially whether the statute addresses past abuse. Other considerations include the

legal mandates related to who must make the report (the counselor or a supervisor), the stipulated

timeframe for filing reports (24 hours, 48 hours, etc.), whether the oral report must be followed

by a written report, and what information must be included in the report. Additionally, whether

there are young children in the home who might be experiencing current abuse should also be

considered, as well as the policy of the school or agency regarding making suspected abuse

reports. Furthermore, a supervisor should be informed immediately. Information such as the

time, date, person spoken to, and a summary of the report made should be documented and

included in the counselor’s records. Other goals include: taking reasonable steps to safeguard and

maintain the counseling relationship with the minor client, helping the client deal with the

process of reporting suspected abuse, and determining whether or not to tell the alleged

perpetrator about your report.

SHORT PAPER OR ORAL CLASS PRESENTATION TOPICS

1. Our State Suspected Child Abuse/Elder Abuse/Vulnerable Person Abuse Reporting

Statutes

2. Exploring Whether Adolescent Marijuana Use, Relational Aggression (Bullying), and

Other Risky Behaviors Should Be Disclosed to Parents

3. Summaries of Current Journal Articles Related to Topics in the Chapter