Читать книгу Counseling the Contemporary Woman - Suzanne Degges-White - Страница 67

Despite the exercised independence that adolescents show in many realms of life, it is important to remember that adolescents are still minors. Informed consent, confidentiality, reporting, and counselor competence are four issues of concern when counseling children and adolescents (Lawrence & Kurpius, 2011). Informed consent gives formal permission for treatment, and parents need to give consent for treatment. It is also recommended that counselors obtain adolescent verbal or written consent, but the parents enter into the contract by their consent. Juvenile court can order counseling for adolescents (e.g., give permission to treatment without parents’ or minor’s consent). At sixteen, adolescents are considered mature minors, and that gives them specific rights under special circumstances. Such circumstances or exceptions from parental consent include emancipation, birth control, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, treatment for drug use, and alleged sexual assault of a minor over twelve. Confidentiality is limited, and parents or legal guardians have a right to be informed about treatment and any assessments that are being administered. Counselors working with young girls need to be aware of their responsibility, as highlighted in the ACA Code of Ethics (ACA, 2014) as they are ethically obligated to obtain adolescent permission to release information. Every clinician working with adolescents walks a fine line here to ensure that their clients do not lose trust in the counselor. Trust can be jeopardized when personal information is disclosed without informing the client beforehand. However, by informing the parent, the counselor is obeying the laws of the state in which they practice. Mandatory reporting is related to reporting child and adolescent abuse and neglect. Counselors are obligated to report any suspected negligence or abuse; otherwise, they fail to obey the law and follow ethical standards. Bean, Softas-Nall, and Mahoney (2011) reported that 27 percent of clients dropped out of therapy after their counselor broke confidentiality for mandatory reporting. Thus, it is important to ensure that adolescent clients are made aware of your intent to disclose and the ways this might influence the client’s life.