Anna is a 17 year old student in Year 12 who has come to counselling because she is not coping with the stress of her final year. Anna is from a culture where academic success is highly important and she is under intense pressure from her parents to get good grades and go to university. She does not want to disappoint them but is constantly tired and anxious.

The next time you see Anna, her demeanour has improved significantly. She confides in you that she found a website where she can pay someone to write her assignments for her. Since using this system she has received “A’s” and her parents are pleased. She feels this has solved her problems and says that she does not need to come to counselling anymore.

In this situation, what should you do as the counsellor? Would you consider breaking confidentiality to inform her parents?