A client has been seeing a therapist for three months when, during one of their sessions, the therapist appears to lose focus. The client feels a little angry that the therapist is not paying attention to them. After talking for a few more minutes, the client notices that the therapist is struggling to string sentences together and they become uncomfortable in the room. Finally the therapist manages to communicate to the client that they have epilepsy and are having a seizure.

The client becomes worried and leaves the room to ask the receptionist for help and notices that the receptionist appears to know what is going on and says she will take care of things and sees the client out the door. The client leaves the session feeling shaken and waits for the therapist to contact them the next day to discuss the issue with them. This does not happen and the client feels nervous when their next appointment comes up two weeks later.

During this session, the client feels nervous about raising the issue with their therapist and feels it is up to the therapist to raise the issue, which they fail to do. After the session, the client feels the issue has damaged their trust with the therapist and is unsure if they wish to continue seeing them.

What are your thoughts on this scenario? More specifically?

  • Should the therapist have discussed his/her condition at the beginning of the counselling relationship?
  • Should the therapist have called the client the next day to check in with them?
  • Should the therapist have raised the issue with the client during their next session?