Directions
For this assignment you will read the entirety of the case scenario below. After reading the entire case scenario, you should then go back through and identify ethical considerations of this case. It is important to explore the ethical considerations of this case through the lens of an LPC, LMFT, or state equivalent. You will then write a two-page paper in which you address the following:
• Ethical Considerations of this case including the rationale for why it is an ethical consideration.
• What are the possible legal ramifications in accordance with the ACA (2014) code of ethics and your state of practices’ rules and regulations?
• Justify how would you ethically proceed with this case?
These questions should be answered in a two-page paper in APA format. Relevant ethical codes, laws (state and case) and/or other professional resources should be cited for justification. The assignment is due by 11:59pm CST on Day 7 of the week.
Case Scenario
Session 1: Maria (mother, 42) and Julie (daughter, 14) come in for a therapy session. Both Maria and Julie fill out therapy paperwork and are in the same case file. Maria states that they are coming to therapy because Julie continues to act out and disobey her parents. Maria has caught Julie sneaking out of the house several times in the last year and when she punishes Julie for this by grounding her Julie just sneaks out again. Maria states that she doesn’t know what to do and just feels like giving up.
During this session you listen and validate the mom. You attempt to establish goals for the session but mom continues to insist their goal in coming to therapy is to fix her daughter. During session, Julie remains very quiet and states that she does not want to talk with her mother in the room. After the first session, you decide that you will see Julie and Maria separately next session to try to build an alliance with both of them. Both Julie and Maria agree to this.
Session 2: During the first half of the session you bring Julie back. Your goal during this time is to build an alliance with Julie to see if you can gather information from her to see what she thinks is going on between her and her mother. Julie begins to open up and begins discussing her boyfriend. She states that her boyfriend is who she sneaks out of the house to see because he is the only one who understands. When you ask her to explain further as to why he is the only one who understands she reveals to you that she is 3 months pregnant with his child and she has not told any of her family. Julie states that if her mom found out she would literally kill her. She begs you not to say anything as she is fearful what her parents would do if they found out. At this time, it is time to bring the mother in the room. When you bring Maria in the room she wants to know what you and Julie discussed during your time alone. You stated that you would feel more comfortable discussing this next session when Julie is in the room. The mother is clearly upset and states that her daughters behavior needs to change immediately. The remainder of the session is spent with Maria complaining about Julie’s behavior.
Documentation: After both of these session you completed a case note in detail. The first session case note identifies what both clients stated and that goals were attempted. The second session case note details your time with each client individually including the topics that were discussed with each client, including Julie being pregnant.
Further Contact: Two days after the second session you get a call from Maria insisting that she get a complete copy of the case file (intake paperwork, case notes, etc.). You know that if she gets a copy of this file it will reveal that Julie is pregnant.
