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Confidentiality, School Counseling & Collaboration �A Complex Balancing Act

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Agenda

Introductions

Confidentiality & its limitations

Collaboration & information sharing

Parents & information sharing

Records & information sharing

Case studies

Final tips & takeaways

Resources

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Introductions��Introduce yourself in the chat, include your name, school and role.

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Confidentiality

What is confidentiality in counseling?

Why is confidentiality important?

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Confidentiality: The what & the why

What is confidentiality in counseling?

ASCA defines confidentiality as: “the ethical duty of school counselors to responsibly protect a student’s private communications shared in counseling.”

Why is confidentiality important?

“Counselors make explicit and implicit promises to clients (students) that they will actively work against disclosing clients’ secrets, except under agreed upon conditions. Without this assurance, most students would be hesitant to seek the help they need to improve their mental health.” (Glosoff & Pate, 2002)

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What are the limits to confidentiality?

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What are the limits to confidentiality?

Reflection questions as a decision-making tool:

Is the student experiencing harm or abuse?
Is the student posing a danger to themself?
Does the student pose a danger to others?
Has a student disclosed knowledge of a serious crime?
Has a student disclosed that they are aware of significant harm of another person?
Is there is a court-ordered disclosure?
Have you become aware of the improper conduct of a staff member or other adult?
Is it in the best interest of the child to consult with other professionals, such as colleagues, supervisors, treatment teams and other support personnel, in support of the student?
Where students are participating in group counseling, have you explained confidentiality, and its limits, to all group members.
Would you be in breach of state (local) laws and guidelines were you to maintain confidentiality?

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When do we need to break or limit confidentiality?
Educators (& particularly counselors) have a duty to act in loco parentis—to protect children from harm and to respond whenever there is a concern or risk of harm or abuse.
Is the student experiencing harm or abuse (e.g. the student discloses abuse or that someone has threatened to harm them)?
Is the student posing a danger to themself (e.g. the student is self-harming, indicates suicidal ideation, substance misuse, an eating disorder, a plan to run away or other dangerous and risky behavior)?
Does the student pose a danger to others (e.g. anti-social and extremist views)?
Has a student disclosed knowledge of a serious crime?
Has a student disclosed that they are aware of significant harm of another person?
Is there is a court-ordered disclosure? (i.e. a court directs that records, reports, or testimony be provided by the school)
Have you become aware of the improper conduct of a staff member or other adult?
Is it in the best interest of the child to consult with other professionals, such as colleagues, supervisors, treatment teams and other support personnel, in support of the student (applicable information only will be shared, protecting private information as much as possible)?
Where students are participating in group counseling, have you explained confidentiality, and its limits, to all group members? (i.e. You cannot guarantee that group members will maintain confidentiality).

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When a counselor limits confidentiality, what principle’s we should consider?�

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Best Interests of the Student

Minimum Necessary Disclosure

Transparency with the Student

Need-to-Know Basis

Respect for Privacy & Dignity

Documentation

Consultation & Supervision

Legal & Ethical Standards

To ensure that the school counselor can fulfill both the ethical obligations to maintain privacy and their duty of care obligations, the school counselor is advised to:

Best Interests of the Student

Always ask: Does sharing this information protect the student’s safety and wellbeing?

Minimum Necessary Disclosure

Share only what is relevant, specific, and essential. Avoid unnecessary details.

Transparency with the Student

Where possible, inform the student in advance that information must be shared. Involve them in deciding how and with whom information will be shared.

Need-to-Know Basis

Disclose information only to those directly responsible for safety, wellbeing, or duty of care (e.g., child protection officer, school leadership, relevant professionals).

Respect for Privacy & Dignity

Even when disclosure is required, protect the student’s dignity. Avoid gossip or casual sharing.

Documentation

Record what was shared, with whom, when, and why (access log).

Consultation & Supervision

If uncertain, seek guidance from supervisors, child protection officers, or professional peers.

Legal & Ethical Standards

Be aware of relevant country laws, child protection policies, and professional ethical codes (e.g., ASCA, ISCA, APS).

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Collaboration & Whole-school Culture

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What challenges do school’s face when balancing student confidentiality & student support?

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Student Perceptions of Confidentiality & its Impact on Counselor Collaboration

The actual and perceived confidentiality of a counseling service is a crucial component of student help-seeking behavior with studies showing that students highly value a confidential school counseling service. Thus, a school counselors decision to collaborate or not collaborate may be influenced by their perception of how their collaboration is perceived by students. For instance, where student perception is that confidentiality is not highly regarded, school counselors may be less willing to collaborate with school colleagues which is why student confidentiality needs to be a whole-school value.

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Collaboration & Whole-school Culture

Principles for staff collaboration:

Shared value of safe collaboration that honors confidentiality
Student-centred collaboration that centres the best interest of the child
Student-informed collaboration
Open communication & participatory engagement
Mutual respect for roles

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What challenges do school’s face when balancing student confidentiality and student support?

Thielking, M., Skues, J., & Le, V. (2018) Swinburn Uni. Collaborative Practices Among Australian School Psychologists, Guidance Officers and School Counselors: Important Lessons for School Psychological Practice.
Shared value of safe collaboration that honors confidentiality: Collaboration is more likely where all parties are aware of the need to maintain confidentiality and are aware of the boundaries of information sharing. When counselor’s feel confident that sensitive information will be handled with care and that the right to privacy of students and their families will be maintained, counselor’s will have more confidence to participate collaboratively. When working within a team, a helpful question the counselor might ask themselves before sharing a student’s information might be, “How will knowing this help the team make decisions that facilitate the student’s educational progress?”
Student-centred collaboration: Keeping students and their wellbeing at the centre of collaboration builds trust within teams that the collaborative process is in the best interest of the student and that any information shared will be done so thoughtfully and sensitively.
Student-informed collaboration: Counselor’s are important collaborators with various school stakeholders such as multidisciplinary teams or child protection teams. Sharing pertinent non-sensitive information about a student does not breach their commitment to confidentiality. Furthermore, in the process of support as well as protecting the counselor-student relationship. advising a student about the information that they will share with other school support staff can result in the student feeling empowered
Invite and offer collaboration: Open communication and collaboration with relevant staff are important features of the school counselor’s role in managing individual and school-wide wellbeing objectives. School counselors will thus have regular discussions with members of the senior leadership team, attend staff meetings and meet with teachers and other relevant staff to bring their expertise to bear on individual and school-wide issues. Disclosing confidential material would not be appropriate in these forums, but the school counselor should play a role in issues such as educational attainment, student wellbeing, mental health, social and or behavioral concerns, school policies, and the like.
Common values and mutual respect for roles: Shared professional values and goals were found to be a driver of collaboration as was mutual respect and understanding for each professionals role in supporting student outcomes.

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Parents, Students & Confidentiality

Information sharing principles:

Students: Should be informed of how their information will be recorded, who can see it, and when it may be shared. Older adolescents should increasingly be given agency to consent to or refuse disclosure, unless overridden by safety concerns.

Parents/Guardians: Generally, have the right to access educational records, but not the counselor’s confidential notes. Counselor’s should balance parental rights with the student’s right to confidentiality, guided by developmental stage and school policy.

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Records & Information Sharing

2-part Record:

Confidential Counseling Notes:
Private reflections or sensitive information maintained by the counselor for therapeutic purposes.
Do not form part of the official educational record
Only to the school counselor

2. Student Service Records (Educational Records)

This less sensitive part of the student file contains administrative material such as demographics, attendance records, behavior management plans, Individual Learning Plans, and documentation of services provided.
It may also include correspondence with external health providers when relevant and with parental consent.
This record should be accessible on a need-to-know basis. Develop an access log.

Privacy policy:

The role of a school Privacy Policy is to clearly outline how the school collects, uses, protects, and shares personal information about students, families, and staff. It sets expectations for confidentiality and data handling, while also ensuring compliance with legal requirements.

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Case Study’s

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Self-harm concerns

Physical abuse (parent)

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Final tips & takeaways

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Promote a whole-school commitment to confidentiality
Clarify counselor role & responsibilities
Communicate limitations to confidentiality (safety & duty of care) & include students when confidentiality needs to be breached
Adhere to local & international ethical & legal obligations
Develop Counseling Policy/Handbook
Develop a Privacy Policy
Promote student-centered and student-informed collaboration
Develop 2-part student record
Develop record keeping checklist and data access log
Ensure counselor support & supervision

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Resources

ICMEC Education Portal: Local & International Law
ISCA Publications: ISCA International Model for School Counseling Programs
American School Counselor Association Ethical Standards
American School Counselor Association, 2018, The School Counselor and Confidentiality. See: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/Standards-Positions/Position-Statements/ASCA-Position-Statements/The-School-Counselor-and-Confidentiality