Managing Safety Issues When Working with Clients with Major Mental Health Issues and a Criminal Record

Managing Safety Issues When Working with Clients with Major Mental Health Issues and a Criminal Record

Working with clients with major mental health issues can be challenging at times. To add another layer of the complexity, what would you do when clients tell you that they also have a criminal record but refuse to share further details?

The ethical dilemma in these cases is how you can deliver services to meet clients’ needs and manage risks to ensure staff’s safety at the same time with limited information.

As a service provider, we must make an informed decision about service delivery in every matter we are involved with. The decision is shaped by the information available to us including criminal history. It is not making judgement about clients. The process enables us to make a decision about the services that can be provided to clients and by whom and on what terms.

Without adequate information being shared, service delivery is unable to occur.

The key concern of clients’ here is their privacy which should be well considered and acknowledged. Clients should be assured that information shared will remain confidential to the service delivery process.

This entire process needs to be in writing to clients. Each step should be documented and filed accordingly.