THE COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENTAL
GUIDANCE PROGRAM
The four components are:
Guidance Curriculum, Responsive Services, Individual Planning, and System Support. The responsibilities of each area can be found below.
GUIDANCE CURRICULUM
Guidance lessons on a variety of topics; large-group consultations with students
RESPONSIVE SERVICES
Individual counseling sessions; parent consultations regarding individual student needs; coordination with outside referral sources
INDIVIDUAL PLANNING
Academic and career guidance; parent and student consultation regarding planning and goal-setting; interpretation and analysis of assessment instruments
SYSTEM SUPPORT
Community outreach; parent education programs; teacher consultation; school improvement planning
COUNSELORS AND CONFIDENTIALITY
While it is important that a student’s conversations with a school counselor be kept confidential, confidentiality does have its limitations. According to the American School Counselor Association’s Ethical Standards for School Counselors, counselors must “keep information confidential unless legal requirements demand that confidential information be revealed or a breach is required to prevent serious and foreseeable harm to the student” (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2010).
The most frequent type of breaches include a student verbalizing the following:
Verbal, Physical or Sexual Abuse
Neglect
A desire to harm him/herself
A desire to harm someone else
An unreported sexual assault