Introduction
Case Description
Chelsea, a 34-year-old school counselor, has been working at Riverbend City Elementary for five years. She is currently assisting Chen, a quiet, small, nine-year-old adopted from China. Chen had surgery at six to correct a cleft palate, paid for by her loving adoptive parents, the Clarks. Despite being a good student, Chen struggles with self-confidence and social interactions. When asked to give a book report in front of the class, she became overwhelmed and ran out crying, prompting her teacher to refer her to Chelsea.
Case Issues
Chen’s case presents several issues for Chelsea as a school counselor. The first set of issues is Chen’s background, as several factors complicate her situation. Chen is part of an adoptive family, and she comes from an entirely different culture; she also had to go through a complicated surgery, which left her with a visible scar that might be affecting her confidence. She also must consider the girl’s personality and how society’s expectations for a child’s academic performance might go against her temperament’s particularities. The main ethical issue here, however, is the issue of confidentiality, as it can be challenging to maintain a girl’s trust when working with her. The teacher and the parents might expect to know the details that Chen might not want to share, so it is essential to analyze the situation from an ethical standpoint and construct an action plan.
Applied Ethical Principles and Standards
The ethical issue here is maintaining the girl’s privacy while ensuring that she receives the appropriate care. Chen’s teacher and her parents will be involved in the process as they are interested in the best outcome for her. Therefore, Chelsea must consider beforehand how to approach all the process participants and examine some alternatives.
On the one hand, Chelsea might consider a more collaborative approach. This is because her adoptive parents can provide more details regarding her behavior and past experiences (Cottone et al., 2021). This might be particularly important due to the specificity of Chen’s situation: adoptive families might need to present more details as some part of Chen’s childhood was surrounded by an entirely different ecological environment (Verbovaya, 2015). Therefore, it might be more effective and productive considering the circumstances.
Alternative Solutions
On the other hand, Chelsea might not be sure whether the teacher and her parents will respect Chen’s autonomy if she shares intimate details with them. Therefore, another alternative is to maintain strict confidentiality and not involve the parents or the teacher. In this case, however, they might deem the counselor untrustworthy due to not receiving progress details. The third alternative would involve the parents and the teacher but establish clear boundaries regarding Chen’s autonomy. This alternative is the most beneficial one for both the adults and Chen.
Action Plan and Supportive Research
The course of action will be based on the partial involvement of the teacher and Chen’s parents while explaining to them what boundaries will be set and what details will not be revealed. This option, on the one hand, uses collaboration in the girl’s interests while also maintaining the integrity of her privacy. American Psychological Association’s Applied Ethical Principles and Standards emphasize the importance of informed consent and confidentiality, which will be respected in this course of action (Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, 2017).
Chelsey, as a counselor, must also discuss the principles of the work with her colleague, Chen’s teacher, beforehand, as her role in the process will differ from that of Chen’s parents (Cottone et al., 2021). This is examined in the research of Cottone et al. (2021) and Zyromski et al. (2018), who focus on the collaboration between the counselor and the teachers. It was found that the outcomes are the most beneficial when both discuss the work process sharing the essential details, which do not break the child’s trust (Cottone et al., 2021; Zyromski et al., 2018). Therefore, Chelsey should build her work with Chen based on these principles. As a methodology, these works are qualitative studies based on existing literature and approaches based on evidence-based practices.
Conclusion
Chen’s situation is complex, and Chelsey must consider all factors when developing her course of action. She is an adopted child coming from a different culture who has gone through significant medical procedures, which have affected her mental state. The ethical dilemma here is respecting the girl’s privacy, which Chelsey can solve by implementing a collaborative approach with clearly established boundaries for the teacher and the parents.
References
Cottone, R. R., Tarvydas, V. M. & Hartley, M. T. (2021). Ethics and decision making in counseling and psychotherapy (5th ed.). Springer Publishing Company.
Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. (2017). American Psychological Association. Web.
Verbovaya, O. (2015). Theoretical explanatory model of international adoption failure: Attachment and ecological systems perspectives. Adoption Quarterly, 19(3), 188–209. Web.
Zyromski, B., Dimmitt, C., Mariani, M., & Griffith, C. (2018). Evidence-based school counseling: Models for integrated practice and school counselor education. Professional School Counseling, 22(1). Web.