MFT5102 > Professional Development for MFTs > Week 11 > Signature Assignment

To complete your Signature Assignment you are required to examine the presented clinical vignette and address specific questions attached to the vignette. Please support your answers with references to the readings assigned throughout this course. Also, when providing your reflections pertaining to the ethical decision, please provide references to the specific Standards of the AAMFT Code of Ethics. Please be mindful to outline your reasoning for each decision that you are making pertaining to the chosen course of action. In addition, you can modify the information of the vignette by adding any necessary details that will help you to illustrate your ethical and legal decisions.

This assignment will be used to verify that you have met the Ethics requirement for clinical readiness (seeing clients in the clinical training portion of the program) as a part of the Practicum Preparation Process (PPP). Please be sure to apply all that you have learned throughout the course to the analysis of the vignette and to your responses to the questions. In order to meet the Ethics requirement of the PPP, you must receive a score of 83% (B) or higher on this assignment. Failure to achieve this score will result in the need to complete a separate ethics essay during the PPP. If you have questions about this assignment, you are encouraged to consult with your faculty member before you submit it.

Vignette:

Your client is a 10-year-old boy, who was referred by his mother following his disruptive behavior at school and at home. The mother was the referring person, while the father also supports the motherâs decision to initiate therapy. You are able to establish a good rapport with the boy and work through some of his issues.

Provide your answers to the following questions:

1. The mother informs you that a family physician who recently diagnosed her son with a Sleeping Disorder, would like to know more about the boyâs therapeutic work and his success in therapy. The mother informs you that the physician will be contacting you shortly. Describe how you will manage the motherâs request to establish communication with the physician in light of therapeutic mandates for privacy and confidentiality.
2. One day, your client comes to the session and tells you that if he refuses to go to bed at a certain time his father closes him in a bathroom for the rest of the night and does not give him anything to eat the next morning. Please describe your actions in light of your obligations as a mandated reporter.
3. One day you conducted a family session: the boy, the mother, and the father are all present. After the session, you realize that the boy's father was your parentâs lawyer. Please discuss your possible actions keeping in mind Standard 1.3 from the AAMFT Code of Ethics.
4. Ten sessions into the therapy, your clientâs mother informs you that their insurance panel did not approve further treatment. Discuss your actions, keeping in mind Principle 1.11 from the AAMFT Code of Ethics.
5. One year after the termination of the therapy, you receive a subpoena from the motherâs lawyer asking you to be part of the court proceeding, following the divorce of your clientâs parents. The mother is asking the court to end joint custody in favor of sole custody. The subpoena asks you to provide information concerning the divorce and child custody as addressed in the previous therapy and that you will be called to testify.Please describe your actions.

Please provide an outline of your notes of your first session using SOAP or an alternative format. Describe essential components of the progress notes and address how long you will be required to keep records on file. Length: 350-450 words per question â 6-8 pages

References

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, Caldwell, B. E., & American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. (2015). User's guide to the 2015 AAMFT code of ethics. Alexandria, VA: American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

California, & California. (2004). Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act Task Force report. Sacramento, Calif.: Dept. of Justice.

Cameron, S., & Turtle-Song, I. (2002). Learning to Write Case Notes Using the SOAP Format.Journal of Counseling & Development, 80(3), 286-292. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2002.tb00193.x

Carnesale, R. L. (2012). Ethics for Child Abuse Prosecutors. Ethics in Forensic Science, 293-

311. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-385019-5.00011-7

COTTONE, R. R. (2005). Detrimental Therapist-Client RelationshipsâBeyond Thinking of âDualâ or âMultipleâ Roles: Reflections on the 2001 AAMFT Code of Ethics. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 33(1), 1-17. doi:10.1080/01926180590889284

(scbar.org)https://www.scbar.org/media/filer_public/01/c0/01c0a4e2-31ce-431c-9546-8436ddbc4363/galbrochure.pdf

Wilcoxon, S. A., & Gladding, S. T. (2007). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in the practice of marriage and family therapy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.