Is it ethical for a school social worker to see a child for behavior problems that is currently in therapy with a social worker at a local mental health center?
This is more of a practice issue than an ethical one. Certainly, the school social worker should not be involved with a child who is in therapy elsewhere without the consultation and consent of that therapist. In many cases, the mental health center social worker may be working on family or historical issues not readily addressed in the school setting. However, the emotional symptoms related to these underlying intra psychic issues, (e.g., anger, aggressive behavior, etc.) are frequently expressed in the school setting. Symptom control/eradication could be the therapeutic focus for the school social worker (i.e., in a group setting) to augment the mental health center social workers treatment plan for this child and the family.
