Reference no: EM133592750

Discussion Post: Ethical Dilemma

Dr. CoolIt begins seeing a 25-year-old female client, Ms. Gives, who presents in couples therapy with depression. In therapy, she begins to reveal a history of abuse at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, Mr. Hunter. Over the course of therapy, she shifts from being "depressed" to being angry. Her anger escalates until in one session, she threatens to kill the ex-boyfriend. Dr. Coollt gets a "promise" that she will not do anything immediately and the Dr. also gets the husband, who is present in the session, to promise to help keep her safe. Dr. Coollt decides not to report because he trusts her word. Next week, Mr. Gives calls Dr. Coollt to inform that his wife confronted her ex-boyfriend, threatened him, and was instead shot by Mr. Hunter. Hunter is charged with the murder of Ms. Gives. Five months later, Mr. Hunter's lawyer subpoenas Dr. Coollt to testify regarding their sessions with the client to help prove that the ex-boyfriend acted in self-defense.

Drawing on the above information, answer the following questions:

Question I. What are the ethical challenges within this situation? (Hint: more than 1)

Question II. What were the key factors (codes, principles, etc) in determining the presence or lack of any unethical issue in this case?

Question III. If you were to take action, as the therapist on this case (for each of the issues), tell us how you decided YOUR best course of action? What was the relational ethics you adopted?

Textbook: Koocher, G.P., and Keith-Spiegel, P. (2016). Ethics in Psychology and the Mental Health Professions: Standards and Cases. (4th Edition). New York: Oxford.