Holding Trust and Protecting Lives: Navigating Confidentiality in Mentoring and Supervision

We cover confidentiality when we are first getting to know a client, yet often it never comes up again. It is vital we and our clients know and keep in mind our role, our limits and our mandatory reporting laws in order to help reduce risk, a competency for all mentors/coaches or professional supervisors. 

At Verve Lead, our benchmark in our Healthy Christian Leaders Assessment (HCLA) for risk reduction is as follows: 

Reducing Risk—Assesses physical, emotional and spiritual vulnerabilities to minimise harm and maximise safety.

A healthy Christian leader can identify potential dangers, threats, and risks to oneself and others, sound the safety alarm and formulate contingency courses of action. They respond to emergencies with readiness, calm and confident leadership.

Legalities

There are also legal benchmarks a mentor/coach or professional supervisor should be well-versed in. These vary from country to country, state to state, city to city. See the legal expectations for Australia here:

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “What would cause me to break confidentiality?” In most cases, the answer is evidence of harm, either to the client or those around the client. Harm may be physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, coercion and exposure to family violence. If a client confides in you that any of these forms of harm are happening to them, to people around them, or they are inflicting this kind of harm on others, it may mean we are required, ethically and legally, to report this behaviour to authorities. 

We must consider, if we are asked to keep something quiet, will doing so put someone in danger? Concealing abuse or colluding to hide corruption makes us culpable. Safety is always the ultimate goal. What is our responsibility here? 

When we hear about potential harm, the first thing to consider is whether it is hearsay, a confession or first-hand evidence. 

Hearsay

This is something you have heard second-hand with no evidence that anything has happened or will happen. An example might be a client who confides that they heard a fellow employee telling about their intended inappropriate behaviour. There is no concrete evidence to act on here, but you could explore the situation with the client and address their fidelity and responsibility to their profession. Often, the best thing we can do is keep a clear mind and ask questions: Were you there? What did you see and hear? Could someone be in danger? 

Confession

This comes directly from the client. They might tell you that they have done something inappropriate, illegal or have intentions to harm themselves or someone else. Again, the best first step is to ask questions such as: “What are you planning? How are you planning to do this?” If there is an actual plan, for example, with suicidal ideation, it is your responsibility to take action immediately. Calling a help line is a significant next step.

First-hand

First-hand evidence of harm certainly needs action. You can begin by asking clarifying questions to your client, such as: “Where and when did this happen? How did you respond? Was anyone else present?” Then you need to follow the proper procedures to empower your client to take action. Ask them, “Who do you need to talk to about this?” “When will you do this?” Depending on how serious the matter is, I find it helpful to create a timeline with my client for these actions, and then a time for us to follow up to confirm that the action has been taken.

For example, if your client is experiencing workplace bullying, who should they speak to in their organisation? What are the protocols? What are the avenues to follow? Our lane is to walk with them and help them get the help they need. We can offer support by following up with them next session, or offering to come along as they speak to their boss. The most effective results come when we empower our clients to take action themselves. In cases where a person has been emotionally or physically harmed, they often feel powerless and unsafe: taking steps to regain control can help restore confidence and initiate transformation. 

As a reminder, if we are working with minors, or vulnerable people are involved in any way, what are your mandatory reporting responsibilities? Many jurisdictions require reporting in these situations, even if the information is hearsay. 

Reflection Questions: 

• Where have you noticed someone being harmed? 
• What action did you take? 
• Was it appropriate? 
• How do you go about having tough conversations? 

What’s next: 

Assess your competency in reducing risk, health of a Christian Leader by visiting us at https://vervelead.com/tools/#hcla  

Who could help you grow your competencies?