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Should school counselors uphold patient privacy or report students who might become unstable?
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| Private | 28% | 149 votes | Total: 524 votes | |
| Report | 72% | 375 votes |
Private
by Jan Castagnaro
Created on: August 08, 2007
Should school counselors uphold patient privacy or report students who might become unstable?
This question is a bit misleading. A school counselor should most definitely uphold patient privacy when they are engaged by a student who is at risk or displaying signs that they may become unstable; however, that does not mean they do not help and align this student with the proper channels for receiving the proper treatment for what they are displaying.
A school counselor needs to gain the trust of their students, and then respect the trust they gained, because if they do not, they will have less and less students wishing to seek out their assistance. Respecting the student's right to patient privacy does not mean they cannot bring the proper attention and light to the situation and head off a potential incident either. It just means they are not going to report the student in such a way that instead of them receiving help and treatment they will receive discipline actions and carry a stigma around because every one knows they may be having some mental instability issues. You might first cause the student to become unstable if you report them and discipline takes the place of actually helping them obtain the proper understanding and treatment for what they are experiencing.
Also, if school counselors start tracking every student who comes to them and deeming some as potentials for becoming unstable, how do we know they won't abuse it and misdiagnose a potential problem that was never there? It is better to help the student seek out further professional help and monitor them while they are receiving it.
Sure, if a student is really unstable in a threatening way, a school counselor may not be equipped or skilled enough to handle that situation or condition. Then, they may have to seek a more skilled professional or report them to the proper channels. There is a great difference between unstable and threateningly violent.
Do we want to start tracking every shy and introverted student that gets bullied and report every one of them because they might become unstable? Well unfortunately, this is happening in many of our public schools. Counselors are reporting the shy and introverted, while "Joey Jock and his clique" often get away with being the verbally and sometimes physically abusive student. It sounds like school paranoia is causing more pressure and harm to these shy and introverted students and sending out a wrong message.
In the majority of school violence cases in recent years, these students that have become unstable and violent were students that faced isolation and bullying from the popular kids. You know the popular kids who have mommy and daddy so involved in school politics that they are untouchable when it comes to anything they might do wrong. It is no excuse for these unfortunate ostracized students to act out in violence, but when they are often silently betrayed by school politics and have no where to turn or are told the wrong information to resolve the situations they often deal with daily, they are walking time bombs created by the very school system that wants the right to report them as unstable even though they may be wrong. I think that could open the door to more stigmas placed on students that happen to be different or not like the cool cliques.
Learn more about this author, Jan Castagnaro.
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Report
by Ganelle Davis
Created on: January 16, 2011
The acts of violence must be thwarted and curtailed in our schools. Privacy should never take priority over another person's safety. However, reporting these concerns to the correct authorities and avoiding the gossip mills that run rampant in our school system must be avoided at all cost. It is a school counselor's duty to guide a student and prevent them from making devastating and life altering mistakes. Consider this: these veiled threats or strange behavioral patterns could be a call for help by the mentally disturbed student.
A counselor must be cautious and only proceed with the facts and never rumors or innuendo. Other students nor their parents should be privy of any personal information. Only licensed school officials, or in some cases, the police department should be called if any threats of violence or weapons have been mentioned.
Often times, hostile behavior for no apparent reason are warning signs for a student encountering personal and psychological problems. He/she may just need someone to talk to or vent to in these complicated situations. A professional in mental health can determine if these rantings are indeed just mere talk or precursor to more serious problems ahead.
In recent headlines, it was reported the Tucson, Arizona shooter exhibited strange behavior and may have even threatened violence upon individuals. It has been speculated he could have been stopped if reported to the proper authorities. That fact remains to be seen. We do know he was denied admission to a city college in Arizona. This may have prevented a rampage of killings on that campus.
America is under siege of stressed out, mentally disturbed individuals freely walking the streets as walking time bombs. We must pay greater attention to these individuals. If reporting their behavior to authorities will stop them from committing these heinous acts, then we must proceed with the facts and caution to prevent these random killings.
Gun laws should be stricter, because a clean police record does not predict or determine a person's mental state. Some signals are not apparent. In the case of the Columbine students, it was reported they were anti social and preferred to wear black clothing to school. We can not single out students solely on their dress or anti social behavior. Direct threats and hostile behavior should be duly noted. lf hostile behavior is their usual way of behaving, then you can be assured there are more deep seated problems with this individual.
Sure people say things in a heat of anger. That unwarranted anger can reveal their mental unbalance. We must all pay close attention to these matters.
Learn more about this author, Ganelle Davis.
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