Confidentiality and Duty to Warn You are a psychologist treating a 22-year-old man with a history of depression and gene
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2022 12:50 pm
Confidentiality and Duty to Warn
You are a psychologist treating a 22-year-old man with a history of depression and generalized anxiety who works in retail. He is despondent because he has learned a young woman, Susan, who works the counter with him, is dating another man. In the past he referred to Susan as his girlfriend. However, when you queried him about that he described her friendliness at work, not situations you would consider dating. He says her new relationship is “not right.” He shares a fantasy of stalking Susan and her new boyfriend on a date and suddenly appearing in order to “catch” them and give them a “good scare.” When you ask if he ever desires to hurt them, he says no, just to scare them.
What should you do?
You are a psychologist treating a 22-year-old man with a history of depression and generalized anxiety who works in retail. He is despondent because he has learned a young woman, Susan, who works the counter with him, is dating another man. In the past he referred to Susan as his girlfriend. However, when you queried him about that he described her friendliness at work, not situations you would consider dating. He says her new relationship is “not right.” He shares a fantasy of stalking Susan and her new boyfriend on a date and suddenly appearing in order to “catch” them and give them a “good scare.” When you ask if he ever desires to hurt them, he says no, just to scare them.
What should you do?