Sometimes a solution can be found. For example, a professor may discourage a student from going to graduate school by reminding him that an academic career may not be an advisable way to support a family. In her autobiography, St. Edith Stein mentions such a case from her own academic life. She begged a philosophy professor who was annoyed by one of his students lack of talent not to tell the student bluntly that he should stop his philosophy studies altogether. She was afraid it would destroy the student psychologically.
Psychologists often face terrible problems of a similar nature.
There are times when this seems desirable, but there are also times when such revelations can have disastrous psychological effects. A friend of mine accidentally found out when she was in her early 20s that the man she believed to be her father was actually her grandfather. The discovery was a terrible blow. Thanks to her faith and courage, she recovered, but she no doubt went through a severe crisis. I personally do not believe there is an ideal solution that applies to all these difficult cases.