When dealing with a situation that involves legality issues, my first step, as a counselor, would be to consult with a legal professional. Since I am not entirely educated on how the legal system works and what my obligations are in this particular situation, I feel the best solution would be to get the advice of a lawyer. I would also seek advice from a supervisor and other professional counselors who have been down this path before to gain more of an understanding of the path that lies ahead of me. Unfortunately, I understand that Sheila may not want me to respond, but when it comes to a subpoena, a counselor must respond. I will inform Sheila of my intentions and I will keep her updated and supported through the entire time. I will try to keep her privacy and communications as private as I can and release only what is legally necessary as guided by my lawyer. According to the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics A.1.a, the primary responsibility of counselors is to respect the dignity and promote the welfare of clients. As a counselor, I will always protect my clients and always maintain the trusting relationship that we have built and do what's best for them. To add on, the ACA Code of Ethics B.1.c states that counselors protect the confidentiality of prospective and current clients. Counselors disclose information only with appropriate consent or with sound legal or ethical justification. This is what I promise my clients, I will never release any of their information unless legally obligated and always get guidance as to how much information I need to release. My priority is and always will be to my clients. Lastly, with the guidance from my lawyer, I would prepare a response to the subpoena and give as minimal amount of records to protect the well-being of my client. All in all, this is how I would handle a situation like this that arises.

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