The principal and teachers at Cargill Academy appreciate her hard work with the students. She often puts in long hours.

CASE STUDY
Hannah and Adara
Hannah, a 36-year-old African American woman, moved to Riverbend City ten years ago. She loves her work as a school counselor and, although she does not have children of her own, she says that “children are my life.” The principal and teachers at Cargill Academy appreciate her hard work with the students. She often puts in long hours.

Hannah is working with Adara, a 15-year-old Muslim-American. Her parents immigrated to Detroit, Michigan from Iraq in 1999. She and her siblings were born and grew up in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit. They moved to Riverbend City when Adara was 11 years old.
Adara is feeling depressed but isn’t sure why. Lately, she has been wishing she wasn’t alive. She decided to talk to Hannah.
She talks about feeling “different” from others in the school. She has friends at school, with whom she spends some time outside of school; however, she is acutely aware that she is the only Muslim-American among all the people she knows. She is the only person to wear a headscarf that her parents require her to wear, following their cultural and religious traditions. She often feels other kids staring at her, and sometimes they make rude comments. She has been bullied on social media, with other kids accusing her of being a “terrorist.”
She has enjoyed her conversations with Hannah and feels better after she leaves her office. Hannah has encouraged her to talk with her parents about seeing a therapist. Adara has resisted, and says her parents will not support her seeing a therapist.
During their last visit, Adara told Hannah that she wishes she was dead. Hannah called her parents to let them know. Now Adara is angry with Hannah and feels her trust has been violated. She says, “My counselor told my mother about everything. Now I feel like I can’t trust her. Doesn’t she have to keep what I say to herself?”
Consider the individual, family, societal, cultural, and ethical issues that Hannah must think about as she interacts with Adara and her parents.
Resources
Codes of Ethics
The following codes of ethics from professional organizations in psychology, healthcare, and school counseling can serve as a foundation to guide your ethics application and analysis in the case you selected.
American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (with 2017 amendment). http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx?item=3
To gain an understanding of the principles that guide psychologists, you may review the following principles:
Principle E: Respect for people’s rights and dignity.
Principle D: Justice.
Principle C: Integrity.
Principle B: Fidelity and responsibility.
Principle A: Beneficence and nonmaleficence.
American School Counselor Association. (2016). ASCA ethical standards for school counselors. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/Ethical-Legal-Responsibilities/ASCA-Ethical-Standards-for-School-Counselors-(1)
National Association for Healthcare Quality. (2018). NAHQ code of ethics for healthcare quality professionals and code of conduct. https://nahq.org/about/code-of-ethics
This resource provides an example of current research related to the application of ethical principles to larger societal problems. Use the Capella University Library or Google Scholar to find scholarly articles relevant to the case study you chose.
Seegobin, W., Canning, S., & Bufford, R. K. (2016). Ethics and multicultural contexts: Understandings and applications. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 35(4), 296–309.
Resources: Ethical Decision-Making
Fostering the ethical sensitivity of beginning clinicians. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 8(4), 229–235.
Schwartz, M. (2016). Ethical decision-making theory: An integrated approach [PDF]. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(4), 755–776.
Palacios, J., Adroher, S., Brodzinsky, D. M., Grotevant, H. D., Johnson, D. E., Juffer, F., Martinez-Mora, L., Muhamedrahimov, R. J., Selwyn, J., Simmonds, J., & Tarren-Sweeney, M. (2019). Adoption in the service of child protection: An international interdisciplinary perspective. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 25(2), 57–72.