The administration, faculty, and staff of Henry ford in partnership with parents and community will successfully teach all children regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds, or gender so they can become economically independent contributing members to our global society
Counseling Guidelines
Professional school counselors are advocates, leaders, collaborators and consultants who create opportunities for equity in access and success in educational opportunities by connecting their programs to the mission of schools and subscribing to the following tenets of professional responsibility:
Each student has the right to be respected, be treated with dignity and have access to a comprehensive school counseling program that advocates for and affirms all students from diverse populations regardless of ethnic/racial status, age, economic status, special needs, English as a second language or other language group, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, family type, religious/spiritual identity and appearance.
Each student has the right to receive the information and support needed to move toward self-direction and self-development and affirmation within one’s group identities, with special care being given to students who have historically not received adequate educational services: students of color, low socio-economic students, students with disabilities and students with non-dominant language backgrounds.
Each person has the right to understand the full magnitude and meaning of his/her educational choices and how those choices will affect future opportunities.
Each person has the right to privacy and thereby the right to expect the counselor-student relationship to comply with all laws, policies and ethical standards pertaining to confidentiality in the school setting. of acceptable counselor practices and expected professional behavior.
A.1. Responsibilities to Students
The professional school counselor:
a. Has a primary obligation to the student, who is to be treated with respect as a unique individual. b. Is concerned with the educational, academic, career, personal and social needs and encourages the
maximum development of every student. c. Respects the student’s values and beliefs and does not impose the counselor’s personal values.
d. Is knowledgeable of laws, regulations and policies relating to students and strives to protect and inform
students regarding their rights.
A.2. Confidentiality
The professional school counselor:
a. Informs students of the purposes, goals, techniques and rules of procedure under which they may receive
counseling at or before the time when the counseling relationship is entered. Disclosure notice includes
the limits of confidentiality such as the possible necessity for consulting with other professionals,
privileged communication, and legal or authoritative restraints. The meaning and limits of confidentiality
are defined in developmentally appropriate terms to students.
b. Keeps information confidential unless disclosure is required to prevent clear and imminent danger to the
student or others or when legal requirements demand that confidential information be revealed. Counselors will consult with appropriate
c. Protects the confidentiality of students’ records and releases personal data in accordance with prescribed
laws and school policies. Student information stored and transmitted electronically is treated with the same
care as traditional student records.
d. Protects the confidentiality of information received in the counseling relationship as specified by federal
and state laws, written policies and applicable ethical standards. Such information is only to be revealed
to others with the informed consent of the student, consistent with the counselor’s ethical obligation.
e. Recognizes his/her primary obligation for confidentiality is to the student but balances that obligation
with an understanding of the legal and inherent rights of parents/guardians to be the guiding voice in
their
children’s lives.
A.3. Counseling Plans
The professional school counselor:
a. Provides students with a comprehensive school counseling program that includes a strong emphasis on
working jointly with all students to develop academic and career goals.
b. Advocates for counseling plans supporting students right to choose from the wide array of options when
they leave secondary education. Such plans will be regularly reviewed to update students regarding critical information they need to make informed decisions.
A.4. Dual Relationships
The professional school counselor:
a. Avoids dual relationships that might impair his/her objectivity and increase the risk of harm to the
student (e.g., counseling one’s family members, close friends or associates). If a dual relationship is
unavoidable, the counselor is responsible for taking action to eliminate or reduce the potential for harm. Such safeguards might include informed consent, consultation, supervision and documentation.
b. Avoids dual relationships with school personnel that might infringe on the integrity of the
counselor/student relationship
A.5. Appropriate Referrals
The professional school counselor:
a. Makes referrals when necessary or appropriate to outside resources. Appropriate referrals may
necessitate informing both parents/guardians and students of applicable resources and making proper
plans for transitions with minimal interruption of services. Students retain the right to discontinue the
counseling relationship at any time.
A.6. Danger to Self or Others
The professional school counselor:
a. Informs parents/guardians or appropriate authorities when the student’s condition indicates a clear and
imminent danger to the student or others. This is to be done after careful deliberation and, where
possible, after consultation with other counseling professionals.
b. Will attempt to minimize threat to a student and may choose to 1) inform the student of actions to be
taken, 2) involve the student in a three-
way communication with parents/guardians when breaching confidentiality or 3) allow the student to have
input as to how and to whom the breach will be made.
A.7. Student Records
The professional school counselor:
a. Maintains and secures records necessary for rendering professional services to the student as required by
laws, regulations, institutional procedures and confidentiality guidelines. b. Keeps sole-possession records separate from students’ educational records in keeping with state laws. c. Recognizes the limits of sole-possession records and understands these records are a memory aid for the
creator and in absence of privilege communication may be subpoenaed and may become educational
records when they 1) are shared with others in verbal or written form, 2) include information other than
professional opinion or personal observations and/or 3) are made accessible to others.
d. Establishes a reasonable timeline for purging sole-possession records or case notes. Suggested guidelines
include shredding sole possession records when the student transitions to the next level, transfers to another school or graduates. Careful discretion and deliberation should be applied before destroying sole
-possession records that may be needed by a court of law such as notes on child abuse, suicide, sexual
harassment or violence.
A.8. Technology
The professional school counselor:
a. Promotes the benefits of and clarifies the limitations of various appropriate technological applications.
The counselor promotes technological applications (1) that are appropriate for the student’s individual
needs, (2) that the student understands how to use and (3) for which follow-up counseling assistance is
provided. b. Advocates for equal access to technology for all students, especially those historically underserved. c. Takes appropriate and reasonable measures for maintaining confidentiality of student information and
educational records stored or transmitted over electronic media including although not limited to fax,
electronic mail and instant messaging. d. While working with students on a computer or similar technology, takes reasonable and appropriate
measures to protect students from objectionable and/or harmful online material. e. Who is engaged in the delivery of services involving technologies such as the telephone,
videoconferencing and the Internet takes responsible steps to protect students and others from harm.
B. Responsibilities to Parents/Guardians
B.1. Parent Rights and Responsibilities
The professional school counselor:
a. Respects the rights and responsibilities of parents/guardians for their children and endeavors to
establish, as appropriate, a collaborative relationship with parents/guardians to facilitate the student’s
maximum development. b. Adheres to laws, local guidelines and ethical standards of practice when assisting parents/guardians
experiencing family difficulties that interfere with the student’s effectiveness and welfare. c. Respects the confidentiality of parents/guardians. d. Is sensitive to diversity among families and recognizes that all parents/guardians, custodial and
noncustodial, are vested with certain rights and responsibilities for the welfare of their children by virtue
of their role and according to law.
B.2. Parents/Guardians and Confidentiality
The professional school counselor: a. Informs parents/guardians of the counselor’s role with emphasis on the confidential nature of the
counseling relationship between the counselor and student. b. Recognizes that working with minors in a school setting may require counselors to collaborate
with students’ parents/guardians. c. Provides parents/guardians with accurate, comprehensive and relevant information in an
objective and caring manner, as is appropriate and consistent with ethical responsibilities to the
student. d. Makes reasonable efforts to honor the wishes of parents/guardians concerning information
regarding the student, and in cases of divorce or separation exercises a good-faith effort to keep
both parents informed with regard to critical information with the exception of a court order.
C. Responsibilities to Colleagues and Professional Associates
C.1. Professional Relationships
The professional school counselor: a. Establishes and maintains professional relationships with faculty, staff and administration to
facilitate an optimum counseling program. b. Treats colleagues with professional respect, courtesy and fairness. The qualifications, views and
findings of colleagues are represented to accurately reflect the image of competent professionals. c. Is aware of and utilizes related professionals, organizations and other resources to whom the
student may be referred.
C.2. Sharing Information with Other Professionals
The professional school counselor: a. Promotes awareness and adherence to appropriate guidelines regarding confidentiality, the
distinction between public and private information and staff consultation. b. Provides professional personnel with accurate, objective, concise and meaningful data necessary
to adequately evaluate, counsel and assist the student. c. If a student is receiving services from another counselor or other mental health professional, the
counselor, with student and/or parent/guardian consent, will inform the other professional and
develop clear agreements to avoid confusion and conflict for the student. d. Is knowledgeable about release of information and parental rights in sharing information.
D. Responsibilities to the School and Community
D.1. Responsibilities to the School
The professional school counselor: a. Supports and protects the educational program against any infringement not in students’ best
interest. b. Informs appropriate officials in accordance with school policy of conditions that may be
potentially disruptive or damaging to the school’s mission, personnel and property while honoring
the confidentiality between the student and counselor. c. Is knowledgeable and supportive of the school’s mission and connects his/her program to the
school’s mission. d. Delineates and promotes the counselor’s role and function in meeting the needs of those served.
Counselors will notify appropriate officials of conditions that may limit or curtail their
effectiveness in providing programs and services. e. Accepts employment only for positions for which he/she is qualified by education, training,
supervised experience, state and national professional credentials and appropriate professional
experience. f. Advocates that administrators hire only qualified and competent individuals for professional
counseling positions. g. Assists in developing: (1) curricular and environmental conditions appropriate for the school and
community, (2) educational procedures and programs to meet students’ developmental needs and
(3) a systematic evaluation process for comprehensive, developmental, standards-based school
counseling programs, services and personnel. The counselor is guided by the findings of the
evaluation data in planning programs and services.
D.2. Responsibility to the Community
The professional school counselor: a. Collaborates with agencies, organizations and individuals in the community in the best interest of
students and without regard to personal reward or remuneration. b. Extends his/her influence and opportunity to deliver a comprehensive school counseling program to all
students by collaborating with community resources for student success.
E. Responsibilities to Self
E.1. Professional Competence
The professional school counselor: a. Functions within the boundaries of individual professional competence and accepts responsibility for the
consequences of his/her actions. b. Monitors personal well-being and effectiveness and does not participate in any activity that may lead to
inadequate professional services or harm to a student. c. Strives through personal initiative to maintain professional competence including technological literacy
and to keep abreast of professional information. Professional and personal growth are ongoing throughout
the counselor’s career.
E.2. Diversity
The professional school counselor: a. Affirms the diversity of students, staff and families. b. Expands and develops awareness of his/her own attitudes and beliefs affecting cultural values and biases
and strives to attain cultural competence. c. Possesses knowledge and understanding about how oppression, racism, discrimination and stereotyping
affects her/him personally and professionally. d. Acquires educational, consultation and training experiences to improve awareness, knowledge, skills and
effectiveness in working with diverse populations: ethnic/racial status, age, economic status, special
needs, ESL or ELL, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, family
type, religious/spiritual identity and appearance.
F. Responsibilities to the Profession
F.1. Professionalism
The professional school counselor: a. Conducts herself/himself in such a manner as to advance individual ethical practice and the profession. b. Conducts appropriate research and report findings in a manner consistent with acceptable educational and
psychological research practices. The counselor advocates for the protection of the individual student’s
identity when using data for research or program planning. c. Clearly distinguishes between statements and actions made as a private individual and those made as a
representative of the school counseling profession. d. Does not use his/her professional position to recruit or gain clients, for his/her private practice or to seek and receive unjustified personal gains, unfair advantage, inappropriate relationships or unearned
goods or services.
School Information
Principal- Dr. Layne Hunt Address- 20000 Evergreen Road, Detroit, MI 48219
Office: 313. 494. 7567 Fax: 313. 494. 7565
