Page 14 - OSCA Ethical Guidelines - 2009.pdf

Section B
of civil litigation exposure, especially if one of the students or the group suffers damage.
4. When counsellors become aware of information which indicates that there is imminent physical and/or emotional danger to the counsellee or others, they must report the fact to the appropriate authorities. Counsellors must be familiar with the Child and Family Services Amendment Act, (see Appendix A), and must continue to report subsequent information should it become apparent. The counsellee should be informed of the obligation by the counsellor to report, as soon as possible, and preferably before any disclosure takes place. (See Confidentiality, page 22)
Acceptable Cases
a) An18year-oldstudentwholivesalone,tellshiscounsellor that he has had occasional, intense, suicidal urges. After discussion, the counsellor is convinced that there is a definite danger that the student will harm himself. She persuades him to seek help from the Crisis Centre of
the city’s hospital since she trusts the capability of their personnel with problems of this type. She arranges an immediate appointment for the student and follows up to ensure that the appointment is kept.
b) A 15 year-old foreign exchange student reveals to a counsellor that she has been inappropriately touched by the man who is her “host” in Canada. The student is in Canada alone, and has no friends or family to turn to. The student does not want the police involved but the Guidance counsellor explains that there is no legal alternative but
to report the incident to the police and to the Children’s
Aid Society. The counsellor makes the calls immediately, following the law and her District School Board’s protocol for such reporting.
c) A student enters the counsellor’s office and begins to talk
in such a fashion that it is obvious she is out of touch with reality. The counsellor keeps the student calm and, as soon as possible, contacts the parents. Upon the parents’ arrival, the counsellor explains the situation fully and outlines some of the appropriate community resources available to help.
Unacceptable Cases
a) Several teachers express concern to an elementary counsellor regarding an 11 year-old student’s bizarre behaviour and preoccupation with death. The counsellor sees the student in order to investigate the concern. Although he is convinced that there is substance to the suspicions that the student requires psychiatric help, he leaves the decision regarding future counselling to the student. Neither the parents nor the administration are notified.
b) During a counselling session, a boy threatens to attack
the Vice-Principal. Although there has been a history of such outbursts in the boy’s background, in accord with the student’s wishes, the counsellor tells no one.
c) A counsellor notices bruises on the arms of a 14 year-old boy. The boy says that he was beaten by his father the previous night. The counsellor reports this to the principal and the principal refuses to take appropriate action. The counsellor does not personally report the matter to Family and Children Services. (See Child and Family Services Amendment Act, Appendix A.)
Legally Speaking
In terms of physical or emotional danger for a child under 16, the legislation is clear. Counsellors must inform their local Family and Children’s Services, or its equivalent, immediately. Many Boards have also established their own “in-House” procedures regarding such referrals. The Board policy may have as the first step reporting to the principal. However, counsellors should be aware that legally there is a personal obligation to report the matter and counsellors should not simply rely on the principal to report. For further discussion on matters related to this area of concern, please see the summary of the Child and Family Services Amendment Act, Appendix A.
What should counsellors do when confronted with students confessing suicidal or homicidal urges? Counsellors may face personal liability and/or negligence suits if they do nothing
to attempt to prevent the suicide or homicide after becoming aware of the intent. Obviously, reasonable counsellors would take preventive action although the nature of such action would vary depending on the circumstances. For the counsellors’ own protection, however, records of the counsellors’ actions should be kept. (See Confidentiality, page 22)
5. Counsellors take into account and show prudential regard for the social codes and moral expectations of
the communities within which they work and the ethno- cultural communities represented within that community.
Acceptable Cases
a) At the beginning of his first year at a school, a counsellor makes a point of becoming well acquainted with the community in which the school is located. He contacts people in the key community agencies, tours the area served by the school and asks school personnel about various facets of the school community.
b) A counsellor offers a small-group program in enhancing career awareness for girls. Since the school is part of a multicultural community, she invites parents to the school so that she might explain the program. She requests that the girls be assigned to her section of the alphabet so that she may continue to assist with their Annual Education Plans.
c) DuringaProgramAdvisoryTeamMeeting,whenthegroup is looking at Choices Into Action school-wide planning, the Guidance counsellor provides a list of the dates of major faith holidays of residents in their school community. The counsellor requests that as they develop their school-wide plans, the school value the school community faith diversity and asks that conferences, meetings, workshops, other professional events, co-curricular activities, and exams/tests not be scheduled on these dates.
14 ■ OSCA Ethical Guidelines for Ontario School Counsellors 2010 • www.osca.ca