Counselor Roles and Functions
Roles and functions questions ask what counselors actually do, in which setting, and where the legal and ethical lines sit. Expect items on the moral principles, confidentiality and its limits, mandated reporting, informed consent, the Tarasoff duty, supervision and gatekeeping, and the difference between direct and indirect services.
What counselors do
Direct services: individual and group counseling, assessment, crisis intervention, psychoeducation. Indirect services: consultation with teachers or parents, coordination and case management, referral, advocacy, program evaluation, documentation. Settings shape the mix - school counselors emphasize academic, career, and social/emotional development and deliver classroom guidance; rehabilitation counselors address work adjustment and accommodations under the ADA; community mental health counselors carry caseloads involving severe and persistent mental illness.
Ethical foundation
The ACA Code of Ethics (2014) rests on autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, and veracity. Informed consent covers purpose, procedures, risks, costs, confidentiality limits, and the right to withdraw. Confidentiality yields to danger to self or others, suspected child or elder abuse, and court orders. Tarasoff v. Regents (1976) established a duty to protect; most states permit warning the intended victim or notifying police, but statutes vary. FERPA governs education records; HIPAA governs health information. Dual relationships are avoided when they risk exploitation, not merely because they exist. Gatekeeping means addressing impaired or incompetent trainees and colleagues.
Professional identity
Licensure (LPC) follows supervised hours and an exam such as the NCE; NBCC offers national certification; CACREP accredits preparation programs. Vicarious traumatization and burnout are occupational hazards managed through supervision, consultation, and self-care.
Worked example
A 15-year-old client discloses that an adult neighbor touched him inappropriately and begs you to tell no one. Reason: minors hold limited confidentiality; suspected child abuse falls under mandated reporting to child protective services. You do not investigate, do not promise secrecy, explain in age-appropriate terms what you must do, report, and document. A parent's consent does not override the mandate.
Traps
- Believing a parent's consent waives a minor's confidentiality entirely.
- Treating Tarasoff as a uniform warning requirement - it is a duty to protect, and state law controls.
- Confusing FERPA (education records) with HIPAA (health information).
- Thinking consultation with a colleague breaches confidentiality.