When faced with an ethical dilemma, school counselors and school counseling program directors/supervisors use an ethical decision-making model such as Solutions to Ethical Problems in Schools (STEPS) (Stone, 2001):
You are a school counselor at a rural high school. You have been counseling a student, and he confided in you that one of his friends has recently engaged in sexual relations with one of the teachers daughters. (She is a friend of yours.) He does not divulge the name of the other student and refuses to talk any further about the issue.
Address the following:
- What ethical considerations must be considered in this situation?
- How does confidentiality affect your considerations and actions?
- What options might you have to address the situation?
- Ethically, since this is hearsay, are you legally obligated to address?
- Using appropriate citations and references, explain how the empirical research, theoretical models, and ethical standards presented in the assigned resources suggest the importance of applying ethical decision-making strategies to scenarios such as these.
