“Are conversations between student and social worker confidential? ”
My son talked with his school social worker about being bullied, but I wasn't informed by the social worker or the school that this was happening. I feel like I have a right to know that these things are going on with my son. Are conversations between a student and social worker always confidential?
7 Answers
Jeffrey Yarvis
Social Work
Yes unless the student intends to harm themselves or someone else.
They will do their best to keep things confidential unless safety is an issue. It's a way to build and maintain trust and rapport. There is nothing that says you cannot being up your concerns with the bullying, as opposed to the communication, to the social worker to make sure everyone is on the same page. I would highly encourage discussing that with your son prior to talking with the social worker however so that you also can build and maintain trust with your son.=20 Respectfully,=20 Brienna Thompson, LCSW, MSW (619) 368-1774
Shana Rackmill
Social Worker
Due to laws, ethics, and best practice conversations between a student and licensed clinical social worker are confidential unless the child is at risk to themself or others. This helps students feel safe to open up to someone, since many children have no other resource to confide in. However, the counselor should be encouraging the student to go home and communicate with the parent if possible. Unfortunately, school counselors are often very overworked and underpaid and simply do not have time to communicate with every parent or they would not have time to see every student in need.
-Written by a licensed clinical social worker in CT and MA who also holds school social worker licenses in both CT and MA.
-Written by a licensed clinical social worker in CT and MA who also holds school social worker licenses in both CT and MA.
Yes! At certain ages & state regulations determine ages when information can be shared!
There isn't enough information to determine exactly what is happening. Also, the age of the student is reported. At times school personnel will intervene and family will not be involved. It really depends on the situation. In general, if a child is to participate in ongoing counseling or social work a parental consent would need to be completed. However, yes overall anything a child says to a therapist/counselor/social worker is confidential unless it is against the law. Those situations would be things such as abuse or neglect.
James Todd Hawkins
Social Work
Yes the conversations are confidential, unless, your child reveals intention to harm himself or others. There is reason to believe that there is child abuse, neglect or exploitation happening. these are reasons that a social worker can break confidentiality. that said, most school social workers will call parents if they think that this is a neighborhood issue and happening outside of school. I would often ask the student if they mind if I called their parents to get their help, and 9 times out of 10 they would say yes. rarely did I have a student that said no. I would then go into the reasons why with the student. some times they felt that they could handle it on their own and just needed to tell someone about it.
Eletta Cameron
Social Worker
Hello and thank you for your question. Confidentiality is dependent on the content of the conversation. However, it is best practice for the Social Worker to always contact the parent(s) to let them know they spoke with their child and here were the concerns. I suggest requesting a meeting or phone call to discuss with the social worker his or her practices and make them aware that you would like to know if they speak to your child about things pertaining to their mental health and wellness and/or emotional and physical concerns. Sometimes, student do just drop in for basic conversation about their day or a frustration with a class. Those types of topics are not considered "confidential." I hope this helps. Best Regards.
