Counselors who work with children and adolescents:

• A. Must recognize that their client's choices are legitimate concerns of the parents.
• B. Must enforce parental decisions in all cases.
• C. Should avoid parental involvement in therapy.
• D. Should make all decisions for the client.

Answer: (A)

Working with children and adolescents involves balancing the developing autonomy of the client with the parents’ legitimate concerns about what’s best for the child. The best approach is to recognize that the choices the client makes are concerns that parents have a right to voice and should be acknowledged in therapy. This validation helps build trust with both the family and the client, supports collaborative goal-setting, and increases the likelihood that treatment plans will be supported at home, while still honoring the client’s voice and the ethical aspects of working with minors.

If you enforce parental decisions in every case, you undermine the client’s developing autonomy and the therapist’s professional role. If you avoid parental involvement, you miss essential support and safety considerations that are often necessary with younger clients. If you make all decisions for the client, you ignore the client’s growing capacity for input and fail to foster independence.