Читать книгу Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling - Kenneth S. Pope - Страница 26

Mr. Alvarez, a 45 year-old professor of physics, has never before sought psychotherapy. He shows up for his first appointment with Dr. Brinks. He shares with Dr. Brinks that his life is in chaos. Dr. Brinks was granted full professor status about a year ago and about one month after that, his wife suddenly left him to live with another man. He became very depressed. About four months ago, he began to become anxious and to have trouble concentrating. He feels he needs someone to talk to so that he can figure out what happened. Mr. Alvarez and Dr. Brinks agree to meet twice every week for outpatient psychotherapy.

During the first few sessions, Mr. Alvarez says that he feels relieved that he can talk about his problems, but he remains very anxious. During the next few months, he begins talking about some traumatic experiences in his early childhood. He reports that he is having even more trouble concentrating. Dr. Brinks assures him that this is not surprising, that problems concentrating often become temporarily worse when a patient starts becoming aware of painful memories that had been repressed. She suggests that they begin meeting three times a week, and Mr. Alvarez agrees.

One month later, Mr. Alvarez collapses, is rushed to the hospital, but is dead upon arrival. An autopsy reveals that a small but growing tumor had been pressing against a blood vessel in his brain. When the vessel burst, he died.

Months after Mr. Alvarez’s death, Dr. Brinks is served notice that the licensing board is opening a formal case against her based upon a complaint filed by Mr. Alvarez’s relatives. Furthermore, she is being sued for malpractice. The licensing complaint and the malpractice suit allege that she was negligent in diagnosing Mr. Alvarez in that she had failed to take any step to rule out organic causes for Mr. Alvarez’s concentration difficulties, had not applied any of the principles and procedures of the profession of psychology to identify organic impairment, and had not referred Mr. Alvarez for evaluation by a neuropsychologist or to a physician for a cognitive and medical examination.