In your state, who is allowed to have an individual involuntarily hospitalized? How would your supervisor be involved in this process?

Case Study: Tom is a counselor in a community mental health center. For the last two weeks he has been seeing a client named Bob, who is a junior in high school. Bob comes to the center one day each week, walking from school to his sessions and then walking home afterward. This afternoon, Bob tells Tom that, after thinking about it for quite some time, he has decided to shoot the assistant principal at his school. Bob says that his father has a rifle collection in their home, and he has access to the guns and to ammunition.

Bob explains that he plans to wait outside the assistant principal’s home until he walks out in the morning and shoot him as he walks to his car. After completing a risk assessment, you decide that Bob is at high risk of harming others. Bob refuses to go to the hospital.

Directions: Compose a three-page paper applying the nine steps of the ethical decision-making model and using critical thought. In your introduction, indicate the modification (i.e. school counselor) you’ve chosen.

In your paper, include to the following: Please refer to the relevant state laws, ACA ethical guidelines, Tarasoff case, and information from the textbook (i.e. supervision) as you make a final ethical decision in this case. Based on the ACA code of ethics and state laws, when are you mandated to break confidentiality? (Please cite correctly the ACA Code of Ethics and your State laws.) In your state, who has to be notified when there is a dangerous client?

In your state, who is allowed to have an individual involuntarily hospitalized? How would your supervisor be involved in this process?

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