Assignment task: You are a counselor educator working in a counseling graduate program which prepares both master's and doctoral students. As a part of their required internship, doctoral students serve as university individual supervisors for master's students who are enrolled in either practicum or internship. During this particular semester, you are one of the faculty members running the doctoral student supervision group -- the scheduled weekly group meeting during which doctoral students consult with their peers, receive feedback from both peers and the faculty member, problem solve challenges or concerns, and provide updates regarding the status of their masters-level supervisees. One of these doctoral students is working with two individual supervisees and leading one group. One of her two individual supervisees, an attractive male student, is nearing the end of his internship and is getting ready to graduate. Lately, you have noticed a significant shift in this doctoral student's defensiveness regarding her male supervisee's behavior, activities on his internship site, and generally, any time a question arises regarding their relationship. In addition, this defensiveness has extended into times when she receives feedback about her own choices, comments, and interpretations as a supervisor, particularly in regard to this late-stage internship student.
On numerous occasions, this supervisor has shared with you her struggles with setting limits, becoming involved in others' lives, and the tremendous care she maintains for her students' experiences in supervision. Informally, you have learned that she recently experienced the ending of a long-term intimate relationship and you have noticed a marked reduction in her presence in group and overall level of attentiveness.
Case Study Discussion:
As a counselor educator, what would you do? What should you do? What should you not do? What are your responsibilities? What do you suppose is going on? What are significant pieces of information that stand out to you? To what extent and how might you involve your fellow faculty -- or would you? Which ACA ethical standards might apply in this situation?