Children and adolescents

The highest risk in this scope, and treated as such.

A client under 18 cannot consent in their own right. The member may be the first adult a child discloses abuse to. Parental conflict can pull a counsellor toward legal territory this scope expressly excludes. So this work requires the field of practice, and carries conditions above the ordinary supervision requirement.

Who may supervise it

Supervision of a member’s child work must be provided by a supervisor HICS has authorised in child and adolescent work. A member may hold a different supervisor for the rest of their practice, but the child caseload must be supervised by someone authorised in the field.

This binds HICS as well as the member. The Approved Supervisor Directory has to carry child-authorised supervisors before anyone is admitted holding this field, because a member cannot comply with a requirement HICS has not yet made it possible to meet.

A member counselling clients under 18 must:

  1. Review their child caseload in supervision each quarter.
  2. Report any disclosure or reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect, in accordance with the applicable law and these rules. This duty applies whether or not a statutory reporting duty attaches to the member. It is immediate, is not subject to supervision, does not require the supervisor’s agreement, and may not be delayed for any purpose.
  3. Bring the case to supervision before their next session with that client where any of the following arises:
    • A disclosure or reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect. In addition to reporting, and never in place of it.
    • Any indication of risk of harm to the child, or by the child to themselves or another person.
    • A request for any report, assessment, recommendation or opinion concerning the child, a parent or caregiver, or the child’s care arrangements. Confirming factual matters only, such as attendance or session dates, does not require consultation, but remains subject to the rules on consent and disclosure.
    • Any indication of a care, contact, custody or other legal dispute.
    • Any indication that the child’s needs may fall outside the member’s scope of practice.
    • Any uncertainty, concern or difficulty the member has about the case.
  4. On service of a subpoena, court order or statutory request for information or records about a child client: seek supervision and legal advice immediately, and do not respond to the request before doing so.
  5. Where they cannot consult before the next session: either postpone the session, or consult an alternative approved supervisor. If postponing would not be in the child’s best interests, proceed, record why, and consult at the earliest opportunity.

Consent follows the Children’s Act: parental or guardian consent together with the child’s assent, appropriate to their age and understanding.

Whose decision it remains

A member counselling a client under 18 remains responsible for their own decisions in that case, including the decision whether to report. Supervision informs that judgement. It does not replace it, and it does not transfer it to the supervisor.

This section is a working draft, under review with practising supervisors, and is published in that state rather than withheld. Two items remain open: the applicable reporting legislation has to be named, and HICS has to recruit the child-authorised supervisors the rule depends on.

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