Dr. George Small Ethical Case Study

Dr. George Small is currently a school psychologist at Irwin Elementary in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Not only is he employed at the school, he is also adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina- Pembroke. Dr. Small has worked with children in the educational setting thirty-three years; the initial ten were spent teaching, when he obtained his doctoral level degree he shifted into the counseling spectrum; still within the schools. Though he has spent a majority of his time in the school setting, Dr. Small, did experience the in a clinical setting while completing his degree. Thankfully, Dr. Small has not faced considerable cases of severe ethical dilemma in the school spectrum. So, Dr. Small was kind enough to provide me with two instances where ethical issues have arisen, one from the school setting and the other from the clinical setting. We will begin with the instance from the school setting.

According to our text every state has statutes mandating the reporting of child abuse or neglect by mental health professionals and educators (Welfel, 2016, p.124). And the ACA code B.2.a is an exception to confidentiality when it is done in the protection of the client. Any instance of neglect or abuse is to be reported to the proper authorities within 24 hours, with failure to report resulting penalties such as criminal sanctions (Welfel, 2016, p.125). I was shocked to read that nearly one-third of counselors fail to report suspected child abuse or neglect, many citing conflicts between maintaining client and client confidentiality and the welfare of the child. I understand the importance of maintaining client confidentiality, but, I also realize there is a limitation. In this case Dr. Small’s client was indeed the child, who was also the victim, so disclosure was ethically responsible and legally required. Dr. Small did contact Child Protective Services and an investigation was