What Are Some Examples of Multiple Roles That Could Impair Therapist Objectivity or Exploit Clients?
Let’s use the example of Dr. Jones who has decided to see her pal Andrea’s husband, Mike, in therapy. Suppose that after Mike and Dr. Jones meet for several sessions, Andrea mentions at lunch with Dr. Jones that Mike has a chronic drug problem that she hopes he’s mentioned in therapy. Suppose Mike tells Dr. Jones that Andrea is physically abusing their child. Or, suppose Mike wants to bring up issues about his sexual relationship with Andrea in the therapy, but he feels he can’t share certain things with Dr. Jones because he fears negatively influencing his and her friendship with Andrea. This is an unfair burden for Mike to hold. Clearly, in the above scenario, there are a number of role conflicts that could get complicated very quickly. This doesn’t even take into account the challenge of Dr. Jones having to hold confidential information that she hears from Mike that she cannot share with Andrea. While Dr. Jones may have very good boundaries around protecting confidential information
