Impaired Colleague

Case Example - A Colleague of Concern

Imagine you are a counselor, and that you have just seen a new client for the first time. She is 28, single, and a graduate student in social work. Her name is Kristy and she has been experiencing some signs and symptoms of stress that she wants to explore in counseling.

Kristy tells you that she recently saw a former colleague of yours for an initial counseling session. She didn’t feel he was the right professional for her, and she even questioned his professionalism.

You find out that Kristy was able to share in her session with your former colleague, that she was experiencing what she felt were considerable signs of stress in her life. She reportedly shared that she was not sleeping well, that she had lost some weight, and that she was avoiding her friends many times in favor of staying home and “vegging” on the couch.

Kristy goes on to tell you that your former colleague shared with her during her session, that he had lost “the love of his life” 2 years prior, to a car accident. He disclosed that the anniversary of her death was fast approaching. In the last few minutes of the session, he asked Kristy if she would like to meet him for coffee sometime later that week.

Kristy told you that she came away from the session with your colleague confused, and feeling more stressed than when she went in to see him. She told you that she just wants to feel better and that she is happy to have a new counselor who seems like she will be able to help her - you!

Following Kristy’s session, you continue to think about what she reported about your former collleague. Using the ACA Code of Ethics, and Corey’s ethical decision-making model in the textbook, analyze this case. Go through all the steps of the ethical-decision making model, and apply each one to this case. Come up with some courses of action, and make a case for each one using the Code of Ethics.

Try to keep this to 2 narrative pages, double spaced, APA format. In addition, include a title page and a References Page. If you need to go over 2 pages, 3 is the absolute limit. Learning to write concisely is an important part of professional writing. Work to edit down your writing so you say more in fewer words.

Let me know if you have questions!