Yes, teachers and counselors are mandated reporters, but why would you discourage people from seeking help they may need from people they trust? It backfired in OP's case, but I've filed abuse reports and I know many students who were able to get help for drug, alcohol, or eating disorders because they talked to a guidance counselor or teacher. If you feel like you need help, but don't know where to go, you should absolutely talk to a teacher or guidance counselor.

It depends on what school counselor's education level or actual title is... if he or she is a psychologist, than generally the obligation is to report someone in cases of potential harm to others, or in the case of OP, self harm as a minor.. based on the reaction though, I doubt the counselor is a psychologist, so I don't think they have the same confidentiality law to uphold... either way, I don't think the counselor is obliged to tell OP that they are going to tell someone (although for the record, I do think the counselor handled this completely wrong)

I'm not really sure, I thought that was the case as well but I told my counselor I was suffering with eating disorders and she didn't report me or call my parents. Just talked to me regularly and helped me find a therapist and groups. And I was severely anorexic/bulimic, was close to dying and had been through cardiac arrest but my parents were in extreme denial and didn't get me help.

#32 I'm really glad you got help and support. I am so sorry about your parents and that you had to go through all that. How are you now?

You can't sue someone for not being silent if they have no obligation to be silent.. granted, the school counselor handled this terribly, but while counselors often take confidentiality very seriously, they do not have the same obligation to keep confidentiality that psychologists do

Confidentially can be broken if they think that someone is going to harm themselves or others. Since eating disorders pose a serious health risk to those who suffer from it, intervention is necessary. What they did sucks, but did not violate any agreements and is not illegal.

The thing about mandatory reporting is that you need solid evidence of actual or impending harm to self or others, for which this particular person had none - only a hunch that friend = self, which makes their actions unprofessional, were they an actual registered counsellor/psychologist that could get them unregistered and possibly banned from getting another licence for a long time, if ever.

55—I don't think you know the criteria for mandatory reporting. In the US, at least, if a teacher/counselor/school personnel has a *reasonable suspicion*, they are obligated to report it. They are never supposed to investigate or interfere with police/courts/medical professionals. Mandatory reporters are not required to provide evidence of any kind. Forcing teacher/counselors/school personnel to investigate and provide evidence would defeat the purpose that mandatory reporting is trying to achieve, as well as cause unnecessary legal complications.