Chapter 9
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:
• Because laws reflect the value of a society and codes of ethics reflect the values of a
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 guardians?
Points instructors may want to make:
• Because the law assumes that children do not have the capacity to make rational and
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:
• A particular client’s maturity, past history, and family circumstances should be taken
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:
• Counselors are professionals and should be given the right to make clinical judgments
In-Class Activity
Title: Difficult Encounters Related to Counseling Minors
Learning
Goal: To become more comfortable in facing difficult encounters related to counseling minors by practicing
dealing with potential 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.
Discussion
Questions: What worked for you in the role plays?
What didn’t work for you?
Point/Counterpoint (Debate) Topics
Title: Confidentiality of Adolescent Clients who are Sexually Active
Learning
Procedures: Assign (or allow students to volunteer) 2 groups of students (preferably 3-5
students in each) 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.
Allow the groups to confer for 2 minutes and then have each group present its rebuttal
to the other group’s argument. Have the class members who served as the audience
vote for which side was most persuasive.
Title: Mandatory Reporting of Child and Elder Abuse
Learning
Goal: To consider the complex issues involved in legally mandatory reporting.
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 no–
school setting and were asked to develop a training workshop for teachers and/or parents on a
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), when the
Short Paper or Oral Class Presentation Topics
1. Our State Suspected Child Abuse/Elder Abuse/Vulnerable Person Abuse Reporting
Statutes