Legal and Ethical Issues Involved When Counseling Minors in Nonschool Settings

Lawrence, Gabrielle; Kurpius, Sharon E. Robinson

doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.2000.tb02570.x

Cited by 35 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…There has been little guidance in mental health literature about ethical issues that may arise in counselling minors outside a school setting. Even popular ethics textbooks mention issues related to treating minors only briefly, with the exception of breaking confidentiality to report child abuse (Lawrence & Kurpius, ). Yet the potential legal and ethical issues when treating children in families are numerous.…”

Section: The Intertwining Of Ethical and Legal Issues With Child Counmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Informed consent ‘is the formal permission given by a client that signals the beginning of the legal, contractual agreement that allows treatment to be initiated’ (Lawrence & Kurpius, , p. 133). Clients need to give informed consent freely, after being appraised of the risks and benefits of treatment.…”

Section: Informed Consent To Treat Minorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Lawrence and Kurpius point out, one cannot apply an understanding of adult issues to children's problems. ‘Because minors are a special, diverse client population, ethical practice mandates distinct education, training, and supervised practice before commencing independent practice that includes minors’ (Lawrence & Kurpius, , p. 133). (See Sori for an in‐depth discussion of the training necessary to prepare counsellors to work with children and families.)…”

Section: Special Ethical Issues When Working With Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ethical and Legal Considerations When Counselling Children and Families

Sori

Hecker

2015

ANZ J of Family Therapy

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There are numerous unique legal and ethical concerns that clinicians should consider when counselling children, adolescents, and their families. These, however, are not generally emphasised in most ethics courses in graduate training programs. While ethical codes vary among professional organisations (e.g., marriage and family therapy, counselling, social work, psychology), this article addresses many subjects that are common across disciplines, such as (1) informed consent, (2) types of confidentiality, exceptions, and reporting issues, (3) sharing information revealed to the practitioner to parents, and (4) subpoenas. Other important topics are the importance of counsellor competencies, multicultural considerations, and special topics including the use of touch and the role of the professional in divorce situations. Additionally, the role of computing and social media can enhance relationships for children, or be sources of stress or trauma. Lastly, laws, which typically supersede ethical codes often vary from state to state and nation to nation, and it is imperative that clinicians are cognisant of those in their jurisdiction.

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Section: The Intertwining Of Ethical and Legal Issues With Child Counmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Informed Consent To Treat Minorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Special Ethical Issues When Working With Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ethical and Legal Considerations When Counselling Children and Families

Sori

Hecker

2015

ANZ J of Family Therapy

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“…McCurdy and Murray () highlight the dilemmas that arise during family therapy, when minors are often seen alone for some sessions and may reveal private information during this time that is pertinent to the family situation. Several authors have also noted the ambiguity of professional codes and laws regarding confidentiality with adolescent clients specifically (Isaacs & Stone, ; Lawrence & Kurpius, ; McCurdy & Murray, ; Mitchell, Disque, & Robertson, ; Moyer & Sullivan, ; Sealander, Schwiebert, Oren, & Weekley, ).…”

Section: Adolescents Confidentiality and Psychological Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescents, Risk Behaviour and Confidentiality: When Would Australian Psychologists Breach Confidentiality to Disclose Information to Parents?

Duncan

Williams

Knowles

2013

Australian Psychologist

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The protection of confidentiality in psychological practice is vital. However, confidentiality is not absolute and psychologists are permitted to breach confidentiality under particular circumstances. Ethical challenges surrounding confidentiality are complex with adolescent clients, as assessments often consider the risk that adolescents pose to themselves in addition to the risk posed to others. The current study documented situations in which Australian psychologists would breach adolescents' confidentiality to disclose information about risk behaviour to parents, with a focus on situations where adolescents posed a risk to themselves as opposed to other people putting adolescents at risk. A total of 264 Australian psychologists were surveyed online. They were each presented with 68 variations of a vignette about a 15-year-old boy who was engaged in risk behaviour and were asked whether they would breach confidentiality in each case. The vignettes covered six behavioural domains (smoking, sexual behaviour, drinking, drug use, suicide, stealing) and varied in behaviour intensity, frequency and duration. Consensus was reached about breaching confidentiality in 16% of cases (related to sexual behaviour, drug use, and suicide). Consensus was reached about not breaching confidentiality in 41% of cases (relating to smoking, sexual behaviour, drug use, suicide, and stealing). In the remaining 43% of cases, significant disagreement occurred (relating to all six behavioural domains). The findings suggest a high degree of variation in opinion about confidentiality with adolescents, emphasising the importance of transparent communication and informed consent. The findings also raise questions about how important consistency of psychological practice is across Australia.

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“…Confidentiality is often assured to participants through the process of informed consent. The limits to confidentiality are also outlined in this process (Cameron, 2005;Lawrence & Robinson, 2000). While limits are outlined, if it is made clear that confidentiality will be broken under particular circumstances, the bond of trust between researcher and participant may never develop.…”

Section: The Question Of Mandated Reportingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The moral consequences of studying the vulnerable

Fisher

2009

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Qualitative researchers studying children through the use of narratives face a particular set of ethical challenges as they relate to the need to report issues of abuse and neglect. These challenges are compounded by the lack of a court mandate to report abuse, for without such a mandate researchers are left to decide whether a case merits reporting and, if so, whether they are the ones responsible to do so. While researchers may be reluctant to support a mandate, citing issues of confidentiality, lack of training, harm to research outcomes, and social and political ramifications, it is argued herein that they have a moral imperative to report. Thus, to remain a silent bystander to suspected abuse ultimately results in complicity to the injustice. More generally, it is also argued that the role of the dispassionate researcher, committed to his or her data alone, must be suspended in order to protect vulnerable populations. The Story of MarisolMarisol walked into the conference room of eleven girls as an awkwardly shy tenth grader who excelled academically in middle school but who then saw her grades plummet in high school. Marisol was a participant in a research study in which the agenda was straightforward: to uncover whether this sort of academic slump was due to the transition from middle to high school or to something more complex involving the intersection of gender, race, and class. These students Requests for further information should be directed to Ericka Fisher,

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Legal and Ethical Issues Involved When Counseling Minors in Nonschool Settings

Cited by 35 publications

References 13 publications

Ethical and Legal Considerations When Counselling Children and Families

Ethical and Legal Considerations When Counselling Children and Families

Adolescents, Risk Behaviour and Confidentiality: When Would Australian Psychologists Breach Confidentiality to Disclose Information to Parents?

The moral consequences of studying the vulnerable

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