A review of the cases by the West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling (2017), relating to “disciplinary actions,” “case decisions,” and “actions taken by the board” depicted numerous licensure board actions against professional counselors. The most common alleged violations pertained to failure to set and maintain professional boundaries, failure to set and maintain professional boundaries by entering into a dual relationship with a client, and failure to maintain professional boundaries by engaging in sexual contact with a client. The disciplinary actions included reprimand, reprimand with stipulations, and disciplinary surrender of license, voluntary surrender of license, probated suspension, and suspension.
As we have learned, boundaries in therapy identify the therapist-client relationship or its therapeutic framework. They differentiate treatment from familial, social, sexual, professional and numerous other forms of relationships. Some boundaries are depicted by the therapeutic relationships which involve session fees, concerns regarding time and location of sessions, and also privacy or confidentiality. Boundaries
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To alleviate some of these ethical challenges, counselors should explain the limits of student confidentiality at the start of each counseling session. Also, it is helpful that the counselor and parent(s) discuss the significance of student confidentiality to ensure trust within the counselor-student relationship and the counseling process. Furthermore, parents are reassured that significant information will be disclosed. Optimistically, a balance between parental rights and student confidentiality will transpire (Froeschle & Crews,