Client: Is what we talk about completely confidential?
Me: Yes, except if you were going to kill yourself or someone else.
Client: Yeah, that's what they all say.
Me: Was there something you wanted to talk about?
Client: I had a dream.
Me: Yeah..................................
Client: About my old girlfriend.
Me: Yeah.
Client: Well I dreamed that I stabbed her several times trying to kill her.
What is the best response?
A: Get the girlfriend's name, address, and telephone number and call her to warn her about the client's dream.
B: Make a mediation referral to get the client tranquilzed.
C: Assure the client that it is probably nothing, just a dream.
D: Ask the client to tell you more about what he thinks it means so you can further assess the situation and potential risk.
For the correct answer, click on comments.
This is article #12 in a series on Are You As Smart As A Behavioral Health Professional?
The correct answer is D - Ask the client to tell you more about what he thinks it means so you can further assess the situation and potential risk.
ReplyDeleteI did ask the client to tell me more about his dream and his girlfriend and he started to cry and told me he really missed her. They had dated a year and he saw her recently with another fellow which made him miss her and then made him mad. He said he would never do anything and that the dream had disturbed him. I encouraged him to talk with me further about it and suggested that if he does the dream will probably stop. Freud said that you can either talk it out or act it out.