- Joined
- Oct 30, 2016
- Messages
- 995
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- 634
*For those that notice, I changed my user name for various reasons. My "picture" should still be the same*
Client was transferred to me in November bc the therapist she was seeing for the past 2 years quit our place of employment. Client was scheduled for every other week sessions. Client either canceled or no-showed all her appointments scheduled with me for November and December.
Met client for the first time today and she smells like cat urine. The smell is so bad the entire building smelled and I had to breathe through my mouth during the session. Although it was gross, the bigger issue is I am highly allergic to cats and during the last 20min of the sessions my eyes started watering, itchy throat etc.
I am not sure how to proceed. My initial thought was to call her and tell her I had an allergic reaction (not sure if I should mention the smell as we do not have a therapeutic relationship). Unfortunately no other therapist where I work will take her, either because their caseload is full or because they don't want to deal with the smell (apparently everyone knows how bad she smells and I totally got bamboozled into taking her because I was new). I suppose it is possible after I tell her about my allergies she will make sure she showers and wears clean clothes to our sessions, but I'm not optimistic, especially because she seems to be a fun blend of Borderline and Narcissistic PD. I could also tell her, given the complexity of her case, I would like her to undergo a psychological evaluation for diagnostic clarification and couch it under the argument she has had regular therapy for years and still isn't getting much better. Referring her for testing will buy me some time (we do testing where I work but I wouldn't be the one doing it). By the time the report is complete, it is likely we will have a new clinician who could take the case. Either way, it's an uncomfortable situation to address. Any suggestions are very much welcomed!
Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile
Client was transferred to me in November bc the therapist she was seeing for the past 2 years quit our place of employment. Client was scheduled for every other week sessions. Client either canceled or no-showed all her appointments scheduled with me for November and December.
Met client for the first time today and she smells like cat urine. The smell is so bad the entire building smelled and I had to breathe through my mouth during the session. Although it was gross, the bigger issue is I am highly allergic to cats and during the last 20min of the sessions my eyes started watering, itchy throat etc.
I am not sure how to proceed. My initial thought was to call her and tell her I had an allergic reaction (not sure if I should mention the smell as we do not have a therapeutic relationship). Unfortunately no other therapist where I work will take her, either because their caseload is full or because they don't want to deal with the smell (apparently everyone knows how bad she smells and I totally got bamboozled into taking her because I was new). I suppose it is possible after I tell her about my allergies she will make sure she showers and wears clean clothes to our sessions, but I'm not optimistic, especially because she seems to be a fun blend of Borderline and Narcissistic PD. I could also tell her, given the complexity of her case, I would like her to undergo a psychological evaluation for diagnostic clarification and couch it under the argument she has had regular therapy for years and still isn't getting much better. Referring her for testing will buy me some time (we do testing where I work but I wouldn't be the one doing it). By the time the report is complete, it is likely we will have a new clinician who could take the case. Either way, it's an uncomfortable situation to address. Any suggestions are very much welcomed!
Sent from my SM-G950U using SDN mobile