Counseling Center Observation

Words: 985
Pages: 4

I was called to the counseling center of the school I offer my services as a social worker to the students and the general public. When I entered the office, I immediately recognized the hysterical mother crying, because both of our families attend the same church. The mother Mrs. Lewis was crying, because her daughter Jenny 13 year old, has told her counselor that her uncle, mom’s brother used to touch her private parts when she was around 6 year old, but just recently rape her while she sleep over at his house for his daughter’s birthday party.
This information surfaced during the counseling session that Jenny’s teacher referred to Jenny, because she has been sad in class and lately she cries without any reason. Jenny told her counselor
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The perpetrator volunteers in our church, he teaches piano classes and he always helps in church’s activities. Jenny is a “normal” teen, she is a good student and has never been in trouble at school. Mrs. Lewis asked me not to tell the church’s administrators or any other church’s member. Mrs. Lewis thinks that her daughter might be lying. She whispered “Jenny is a just mad, because I took her cell phone away, she wants attention”, “I will appreciate if you don’t mention to the police that we know each other from church especially about his volunteering job, you know” she said.
At this point I was not worry about this case at the school setting, because the school’s administrators had already contact the police and I knew that they will be open an investigation. I was mostly concern on how should I pursue with this case and keep the confidentiality of this family from the church members, but at the same time work on harm reduction to possible victims at my
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Am I going to tell the church’s administrators about what happened in the school? If I do, my friendship between our families will end because of it? If I withdrawal from the case, Am I going to lose the respect from the organization I work for? Should I talk with Mrs. Lewis and knew for a fact that it was not going to easy for me to decide and I needed to reasoning and reflect in order to choose the best of many options I had.

Should I tell the police or not? If I decided to tell the police about the perpetrator’s volunteer job at church. The police most likely will start an investigation with the church members or at least with the ones that had received his piano classes and find more possible victims. If I don’t say anything, the case will focus at school only and no members of the church will be involucre and it might or not lead to church.
Telling the church administrators or not? If I inform the church’s administrators about what happened at school, they might be able to find others victims and remove the perpetrator from the volunteer. If I decide keeping the case only at school and let the police follow an investigation, most likely they will be lead to our