Real-Life Decision Making
You are a psychologist who helps people deal with things such as grief
and loss. You lend people your ear and hear about their concerns and problems.
It is the afternoon and your day is almost finished. In your agenda, it
notes that your last appointment for the day is at 2 p.m. She is a new patient.
In the preliminary interview that you had with her on the phone, she told
you that her problem derives from the death of her cousin, with whom she was
good friends. Her cousin died two months ago of natural causes.
The grief due to the demise of her cousin and friend has caused her anxiety
problems, which are affecting her concentration in school. You can tell over
the phone that she is really troubled by the death and is having a hard time
dealing with her loss.
You tell your secretary to inform the patient that you can see her now.
She comes into your office, sits down and thanks you for seeing her on such
short notice.
The session begins. She informs you that her concentration problems began
on the day her cousin died. They grew up together and she is having trouble
accepting the fact that her friend is really gone. She is having a hard time
emotionally letting her go.
During her session, she recalls the touching moments that she had with
her friend as children and during their formative years, the absurdities and
funny anecdotes. You can sense, just by her telling you these stories about
her beloved friend, that she is relaxing.
The session is having a positive effect on her. When it ends, she thanks
you for listening to her problems. She wants to book another session with
you. You tell her that you have an opening next Tuesday around the same time.
She tells you that she cannot make it around that time because she has an
appointment with another therapist.
You are shocked to hear this. You have a policy that you do not see patients
when they are currently engaged in therapy with another therapist.
She is breaking one of your golden rules as a psychologist, but she is
also asking you for your help. You can tell from your session that you are
having a positive effect on her. You know of some stress management techniques
which could really help her relieve some of the anxiety that she is facing.
If you continue seeing this client, you will be dealing with a client that
is currently in therapy. If you turn her away, you will be turning away a
patient you know you can help. What do you do?