Death of a Client

taken from http://www.bacp.co.uk/prof_conduct/notices/hearings.php

The complaint against the above individual member was taken to Adjudication in line with the Professional Conduct Procedure. The complaint was heard under BACP Professional Conduct Procedure 2010 and the Panel considered the alleged breaches of the BACP Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy. The focus of this complaint, as summarised by the Pre-Hearing Assessment Panel, is that A, the client, commenced counselling with Ms W in January 2011. 

The presenting issue was that A wished to control her drinking.  A and Ms W met some 15 times, for face- to- face counselling sessions.  After the third session of counselling, A ended her long-term relationship with her then-partner, allegedly as a result of input from Ms W. In between these sessions, text messages were exchanged on, allegedly, a daily basis, as well as regular phone contact, which was allegedly initiated, and then encouraged, by Ms W.  Allegedly, some of the texts from Ms W ended with a kiss (x) and Ms W allegedly hugged A in at least one of their face- to -face meetings.

The complainants allege that the frequency, timing (from early morning to late at night) and wording of the texts, together with the frequent phone calls, were an indication that Ms W had not put professional boundaries in place regarding her relationship with A.  They further allege that the nature and frequency of contact, (which included a meeting in [ . . . ] town centre on 24 May, allegedly for purely social reasons) led to A becoming emotionally dependent on Ms W.

On 19 May, Ms W allegedly telephoned A's GP, at A's request, and requested a prescription for her, which she then allegedly collected and posted on to A.  The complainants allege that by this behaviour, as well as with the regular contact between sessions, Ms W was effectively befriending A and that this was a separate example of Ms W having crossed professional boundaries.

Between January and July, Ms W allegedly called the emergency services five times on A's behalf, including accompanying her to hospital on 27 May, after A had had palpitations during a counselling session.  It is alleged that Ms W neither informed the client's family herself of this event, nor advised the client to do so.  The complainants further allege that Ms W had no insight into the serious nature of the client's mental health and its deterioration. 

The complainants also allege that Ms W believed she could help A back to normal health with only a one hour session a week, questioning Ms W's professional competency. According to Ms W's notes, as alleged by the complainants, A terminated counselling by text on 3 July.  However, it appears that texting continued, and on 7 July, A overdosed and stabbed herself in the stomach.  Following texts from A that morning, Ms W rang the emergency services and A was taken to hospital. 

The next day, 8 July, she allegedly sent Ms W a picture of herself with a penknife in her neck, which she had allegedly done to herself whilst in hospital. On the same day, (8 July) A rang Ms W, who was in a car with a friend.  When the conversation was finished, Ms W failed to end the call properly, and A allegedly overheard her speaking disparagingly to her friend, telling her what a nightmare she (A) was as a client. 

The complainants allege that A felt betrayed and "gutted" by this, as she had allegedly believed that Ms W was her friend as well as her counsellor.  She allegedly repeatedly texted Ms W, requesting an explanation from her, and when she did not receive one, contacted [ . . . ], who allegedly had also been told by Ms W that A was a demanding and difficult client.  Ms W responded to A's texts on 9 July, informing her, by text, that her supervisor had advised her to "pull back" from phone and text contact until she had a proper supervision session.  A was allegedly distressed and further destabilised by this change, and wished to contact the supervisor directly, to put her side, although Ms W allegedly refused her permission to do this.

On 13 July, A sent another text message, asking for explanations of the alleged breaches of confidentiality.  Ms W agreed to send her some dates and times when they could meet, although allegedly she never followed this up.

On 16 July, A sent Ms W three texts within three quarters of an hour, which were allegedly "concerning".  She also allegedly rang Ms W three times in a two hour period.  Ms W allegedly did not respond to any of these messages.  Allegedly, this added to A's distress. On 17 July, Ms W sent A a letter formally ending their counselling relationship, apparently in response to A having terminated counselling herself sometime earlier in the month.

On the same day, A was discovered dead in her house.  The coroner allegedly declared death was due to the "toxic effects of prescribed medication - exact form and mechanism of which remains unclear". The complainants allege that Ms W befriended then rejected A, and that she failed to keep adequate records of her contact with A. In conclusion, the complainants allege that Ms W's conduct amounts to acting incompetently, unprofessionally and negligently and that she allegedly disregarded her duty of care to A.