Book Club

Ethical Guidelines for Ontario School Counsellors
Ontario School Counsellors Association
www.osca.ca
Naylor Publications Co., 2003

The Ethical Guidelines publication developed by the Ontario School Guidance Counsellors provides a very informative and descriptive framework to assist School Guidance Counsellors in clarifying their professional, ethical and legal responsibilities.

The 50-page document is divided into several different sections including: Code of Ethics; Ethical Principles, Illustrative Cases, and Legal Comments; Confidentiality, Cyber-Ethics, Counsellors and the Law, Maintenance of Records, Ethical Guidelines for Teacher Advisors, and References/Resources.

Two sections in the Guidelines that are worth paying particular attention to include: the Ethical Principles, Illustrative Cases, and Legal Comments and Cyber-Ethics. Both sections contain examples of acceptable and unacceptable cases as well as a brief description of any legal implications associated with each topic.

For those interested in learning more about current legislation that may impact professionals working with youth, students, and families, take a look at the Counsellors and the Law section as well as the Appendices section. There are several different pieces of legislation described in these two sections: The Youth Criminal Justice Act and Freedom of Information Act, The Child and Family Services Amendment Act, and the Student Protection Act.

This resource was written with Ontario School Guidance Counsellors as the target audience; however, many of the scenarios and examples described in the Ethical Principles section may be relevant to other counsellors and career professionals as well.