Objective: To investigate the ethical decision-making process of breaking confidentiality when counselors dealing with self-inflicted injury and suicide issues in college situation. Methods: A semi-structural interview was addressed to 10 counselors from 7 college counseling centers in Beijing, among whom with (10 ± 8) years of experience on average in this field. Content analysis method was used to transcription of the interviewing data. Results: Totally 8 counselors had received ethical training more or less, and attached great importance to ethical codes. There were still some conflicts between school regulations and confidentiality rules in 7 university counseling centers. Different counselors varied greatly in decision-making on breaking confidentiality when facing college students' self-inflicted injury and suicide. Faced with conflicts between college demands and confidentiality principles, counselors could take the professional standpoint and consider more of the interests of students. Conclusion: The decision-making process on self-inflicted injury and suicide confidentiality breakthrough needs to be standardized. College's attention and support to the counseling work should be strengthen and enhance ethical awareness.

Under the current legal framework， living will， as an important legal tool for safeguarding patients’ autonomy and dignity， have been widely recognized and implemented in many countries and regions. In China， the promotion of living will also has a solid legal foundation， with their legitimacy reflected in several provisions of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China. One of the highlights of the Medical Regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone （revised in 2022） is the clarification of the legal effect of living will. To ensure that patients’ living will can be accurately implemented at critical moments， the rights and obligations of patients， family members， and healthcare professionals should be clearly defined within the legal framework， and clear guidance should be provided at every stage of implementation.