clients.”
“Regina must have felt a high level of confidence in Ms.
Whittaker,” Beth countered. “Are there problems with her qualifications?”
“No,” Clotilde answered almost reluctantly. I could tell
that she had researched that end carefully.
Feldman entered the fray. “Maybe not, but Clo has a valid
point. Our clients are in a precarious position. We can’t allow anything to
jeopardize that or even increase their sense of vulnerability. They have enough
against them. I’m against anything that risks that. Why can’t one of you follow
up with Regina’s clients?”
Time for me to jump in. “Because that goes against Regina’s
expressed wishes. My understanding is that this document is legal and binding. Assigning
a professional executor is a practice that the American Psychological Association
strongly favors, and its practice is specifically addressed in the Code of
Ethics.” Damn, I sounded good. And pulling the APA’s Code of Ethics was an
especially nice touch, I thought. It had the added sweetness of being the
truth, too.
After a brief pause, Benson asked, “What is the current arrangement?”
“We’ve allowed Ms. Whittaker access to the files of Regina’s
open client roster. Lachlyn has been supervising her during the file review. As
far as actual therapy, Lachlyn and I have divided the case load in the interim
and are providing group therapy.”
Joyce asked her second question of the meeting. “Isn’t that
a strain? You’re both so busy already.” Although she’d obviously meant well and
had displayed a reasonable concern for the director and Lachlyn, they both
frowned at her, not wanting to admit to the burden.
Joyce dropped her eyes to the floor.
“That’s a valid point,” Beth jumped in. Her eyes had
narrowed slightly and, legs crossed, the topmost foot jiggled in midair with
irritation. “I really don’t understand what the problem is. We’ve granted that
Whittaker’s credentials are legitimate, we’ve acknowledged Regina’s professional
discretion in choosing her executor, and we’ve also acknowledged the legal and
ethical realities of the situation. My feeling is that we need to allow Letty to
get on with her obligations. I’m sure she has plenty of other things going on
in her life that she could be attending to.”
A long, stiff pause ensued as the others grappled with
Beth’s blunt summary. I liked her. As long as she was on my side, that is.
“It looks like much of this has already been worked out,”
Amy Myers spoke up for the first time. “May I suggest that as Ms. Whittaker
finishes reviewing the files, she’ll let our people know if she has any
immediate concerns for any particular resident’s well-being. It doesn’t make
sense to transfer the women back to yet another therapist, though, does it?”
She was right and I told them so. “However, I’m not
comfortable with limiting the review to the few clients Regina was working with
when she died. Given the frequency of women returning to the shelter in the
first three years, it would make sense for my review to extend that far back.”
I knew that newsletter would come in handy. They would find
it very difficult to argue with the results of a national study that their own
newsletter had cited.
Another pause. Then, Clotilde rallied. “Three years is entirely
unnecessary. For one thing, we don’t have the staff to supervise for as long it
would take you to get through that many clients.”
“I’m not clear on why you think I need to be supervised anyway,” I interrupted.
“I don’t want to take Lachlyn away from her duties any more than she does. In
fact, it makes it difficult for both of us to have to coordinate our schedules.
It also makes for a very scattered approach on a task that I could already have
finished by now. For instance, my duties at our clinic are very nearly wrapped
up.”
“Maybe so, but the shelter has vastly different concerns
than does a clinic,” Benson said.
“Regina must have felt a high level of confidence in Ms.
Whittaker,” Beth countered. “Are there problems with her qualifications?”
“No,” Clotilde answered almost reluctantly. I could tell
that she had researched that end carefully.
Feldman entered the fray. “Maybe not, but Clo has a valid
point. Our clients are in a precarious position. We can’t allow anything to
jeopardize that or even increase their sense of vulnerability. They have enough
against them. I’m against anything that risks that. Why can’t one of you follow
up with Regina’s clients?”
Time for me to jump in. “Because that goes against Regina’s
expressed wishes. My understanding is that this document is legal and binding. Assigning
a professional executor is a practice that the American Psychological Association
strongly favors, and its practice is specifically addressed in the Code of
Ethics.” Damn, I sounded good. And pulling the APA’s Code of Ethics was an
especially nice touch, I thought. It had the added sweetness of being the
truth, too.
After a brief pause, Benson asked, “What is the current arrangement?”
“We’ve allowed Ms. Whittaker access to the files of Regina’s
open client roster. Lachlyn has been supervising her during the file review. As
far as actual therapy, Lachlyn and I have divided the case load in the interim
and are providing group therapy.”
Joyce asked her second question of the meeting. “Isn’t that
a strain? You’re both so busy already.” Although she’d obviously meant well and
had displayed a reasonable concern for the director and Lachlyn, they both
frowned at her, not wanting to admit to the burden.
Joyce dropped her eyes to the floor.
“That’s a valid point,” Beth jumped in. Her eyes had
narrowed slightly and, legs crossed, the topmost foot jiggled in midair with
irritation. “I really don’t understand what the problem is. We’ve granted that
Whittaker’s credentials are legitimate, we’ve acknowledged Regina’s professional
discretion in choosing her executor, and we’ve also acknowledged the legal and
ethical realities of the situation. My feeling is that we need to allow Letty to
get on with her obligations. I’m sure she has plenty of other things going on
in her life that she could be attending to.”
A long, stiff pause ensued as the others grappled with
Beth’s blunt summary. I liked her. As long as she was on my side, that is.
“It looks like much of this has already been worked out,”
Amy Myers spoke up for the first time. “May I suggest that as Ms. Whittaker
finishes reviewing the files, she’ll let our people know if she has any
immediate concerns for any particular resident’s well-being. It doesn’t make
sense to transfer the women back to yet another therapist, though, does it?”
She was right and I told them so. “However, I’m not
comfortable with limiting the review to the few clients Regina was working with
when she died. Given the frequency of women returning to the shelter in the
first three years, it would make sense for my review to extend that far back.”
I knew that newsletter would come in handy. They would find
it very difficult to argue with the results of a national study that their own
newsletter had cited.
Another pause. Then, Clotilde rallied. “Three years is entirely
unnecessary. For one thing, we don’t have the staff to supervise for as long it
would take you to get through that many clients.”
“I’m not clear on why you think I need to be supervised anyway,” I interrupted.
“I don’t want to take Lachlyn away from her duties any more than she does. In
fact, it makes it difficult for both of us to have to coordinate our schedules.
It also makes for a very scattered approach on a task that I could already have
finished by now. For instance, my duties at our clinic are very nearly wrapped
up.”
“Maybe so, but the shelter has vastly different concerns
than does a clinic,” Benson said.
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