Substance Abuse Counseling

Billy is a practicum student assigned to the adolescent unit of a chemical dependency treatment facility. He conducts the intake assessment on a 14 year old male client who is brought in by his grandmother, who claims he mostly stays with her because his parents are not involved with him and she really wants help for his drug problem. Billy admits the client to their supportive outpatient program and he responds well and even passes his first drug test. However a month later, Billy’s mother contacts the agency and is angry that her son is in counseling without her permission. She files a grievance against Billy with the state board for failure to provide medical consent for treatment of a minor.