Virtual Conference: Call for Posters

PSY699: Master of Arts in Psychology Capstone

The Ethics of Mandated Treatment Scenarios

Scenario 1:

A client with a well-established history of repeated dangerous behavior and inpatient commitment

has been treated, stabilized, and discharged into the community. The treating psychiatrist

believes that the client’s success in the community is far more likely if treatment is continued.

However, the client wishes to terminate treatment. A request for mandated treatment is filed by

the psychiatrist with the court. During the hearing, the psychiatrist testifies that while the client is

not imminently dangerous, he potentially could become dangerous again without treatment.

Scenario 2:

A long-term client appeared quite excited during a recent session with her therapist. Speaking

rapidly, she told the therapist that she was planning a gambling trip that would win her millions of

dollars. After some probing, the therapist learned the client had recently stopped taking the

medication prescribed for her bipolar disorder because she had been feeling so happy. The client

also indicated that she no longer saw a need for therapy and was planning to stop treatment.

Scenario 3:

An older, debilitated adult is living within two miles of her adult daughter. The daughter

currently has control of her mother’s finances and is aware that her mother is unable to leave

home to purchase basic necessities. The mother wishes to be in psychotherapy, but the daughter

claims that she can care for her mother on her own.