Interviewer: Lisa Collins Client: George Henson
Interviewer: Mr. Henson? I’m Lisa Collins. It’s nice to meet you.
Client: Nice to meet you.
Interviewer: How do you prefer to be addressed?
Client: You can call me George.
Interviewer: Welcome, George. I want to first tell you a bit about what is going to happen here. We will meet for about thirty minutes and talk about what brought you in here today. We will then decide together where to go from here. But before we get started with that, can you tell me what your understanding is about confidentiality?
Client: I don’t know what that is.
Interviewer: Well, the idea of confidentiality is that what we talk about is private, for the most part, and does not go outside of this office. But there are some exceptions, or times when I have to break confidentiality. If you tell me about plans to hurt yourself or someone else, then I need to do everything I can to protect you or that other person. If you tell me about abuse or neglect of a child, an elderly person who cannot care for themselves, or a person with a disability, I am legally obligated to report that to the Department of Social Services. If you tell me about a violent crime you plan to commit, I will have to report that. Sometimes records will get subpoenaed to court, and, although we may fight a subpoena, this may not be successful. Lastly, I will review what we have talked about with my supervisor and treatment team, to ensure you are getting the best treatment you can. Do you have any questions about any of these?
Client: No.
Interviewer: If you have any questions in the future about this, please feel free to ask. Tell me what brings you in here today.
Client: My wife made me come. She says she is going to divorce me if I don’t stop drinking. I don’t think it’s a big deal, but I don’t want her to leave me.
Interviewer: So, your wife believes you have a drinking problem but you don’t agree, and you feel like you are forced to be here. Can you tell me more about this?