You have begun to see 21-year old Brittany who lives with her mother, Jane, and her brothers, Ben, who is 10 and Brian, who is 14. Brittany was referred because she began to behave very differently, aggressively, after a recent car accident. Neither she nor her mother who was driving the car, were harmed physically. In your initial interview with the mother, you learn that her parents divorced when Brittany was a year old, and that her mother has sole physical custody and legal rights to determine all medical and mental treatment decisions. Britney has lived with a developmental delay her entire life and has been under her parents care. Her father sees her once a month for a weekend visit. This visitation is dependent upon his continuing sobriety, which he has maintained now for over two years. You are seeing Brittany in individual sessions using a child-centered approach. You also see the mother once a month in sessions to discuss progress, and progress has been very good. In the initial interview, the mother shared information with Brittany's father about the accident and treatment, but saw no reason to include him in the therapy sessions. You let her know at that time that it might be helpful for him to come in at some point.

Question:

Today, you received a call from the father. When Brittany was at his house last weekend, she awoke screaming from nightmares. She also seemed terrified when they narrowly avoided getting hit by another car. He wants to come in to see you as soon as possible.

What would be the appropriate approach to connect with the father? What would be your answer?

Discuss how you would respond to the ethical dilemma.

What specific ethical standards apply to the dilemma?

Using the reflective self-awareness process outlined in Mattison's 2000 article, identify any value preferences that may have impacted your response to the ethical dilemma presented.