Posted by badhaircut on November 29, 2004, at 9:14:09
Did anyone see "Boston Legal" last night? In it, a psychotherapist came to his lawyer with an ethical concern. A patient was obsessing about murdering his ex-wife. The therapist couldn't tell if the guy was serious or not and didn't know whether or not to break confidentiality by warning the ex-wife.
The therapist tried to get a second opinion but no other therapists would touch the case because they were afraid of getting sued.
The ex-wife had *also* been the therapist's patient. They had initially come in together for marriage counseling. As James Spader's character said to the therapist, "Clearly, not your best work."
The therapist and his lawyer dither helplessly about whether to warn the ex-wife or just sit tight. I can't believe it would really be that hard! When they finally do confront the patient, the patient gets mad, lies about it, and storms out.
So they tell the ex-wife. The patient then starts to sue the therapist for telling her. But before there's a court date, the ex-wife shoots the husband when he comes to her house to talk -- because the therapist's disclosure made her so afraid of him.
Anyway, I thought the anguished indecision was a little silly. I looked at my therapy contracts. They're pretty clear about how the therapist can disclose things if patients make plausible threats against others.
Anybody else see it?
poster:badhaircut
thread:421782
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20041123/msgs/421782.html