Ashley is an MFT trainee who has been working at her practicum
Ashley is an MFT trainee who has been working at her practicum site for three months. At her site, she frequently counsels low-income clients from the inner city.
One afternoon, she completes an intake with Marcy, a middle-aged African-American woman. Marcy reports that she is “barely making ends meet,” and only gets up out of bed in the morning because she has to take care of her dog and go to her part-time job. Marcy also discloses that she has recently had thoughts of hurting herself, and potentially taking her life, and took about 15 aspirin yesterday morning.
As Ashley hears this information, she quickly realizes that she hasn’t gone over the informed consent paperwork, including limits of confidentiality.
In addition, after she has already begun the suicide assessment, Marcy pleads with Ashley to promise not to tell her supervisor about the suicidal thoughts and gesture.
Specifically, Marcy begs Ashley not to breach confidentiality, tearfully exclaiming, “If I go into the hospital, no one will be able to watch my dog and she will die.
I’ll lose my apartment because I won’t be able to work and pay the bills. Please don’t tell anyone.” Marcy also explains that she is kidding about taking 15 aspirin the day before.
- Resolve the situation with an ethical solution, specifically citing applicable ethical standards (from CAMFT, ACA, or AAMFT).
- Reflect on your personal values and sense of self: Discuss how these might impact your professional decision-making process in this scenario. Identify specific values that are relevant to the ethical issue at hand.
