Caulfield, is everything I say in her confidential and private, or will you be reporting to the hospital?”
David took a moment to respond. The usual response was to review confidentiality and privacy and duty to warn in case of danger to self or others. David decided to take a different approach.
“Mr. Burns, I would like to say yes, but I’m simply not sure that is the case. With the director of the veterans’ hospital watching, an extensive file immediately available, and a whole bunch of other interested parties that seem to have a vested interest in your memory, I really can’t say if anything you say or do will remain private. I’m guessing anything I write down or hear will be documented, seized, and questioned at some point. So if there is anything you don’t want others to know, you may not want to tell me.”
Burns seemed very surprised at either the bluntness or honesty or the balance of both. “Well, you are the first person I have heard tell me something I never thought I would ever hear from a therapist—bluntness and candor.”
It was David’s turn to smile. David went on, “I hope that you will tell me things that will assist in my diagnosis and treatment strategies to help free up your memory. I am guessing your brain is blocking memories either as a way of self-protection or a trauma interfering with recall. I have no vested interest in the content of the data. Just being able to assist you accessing your memory is my plan. So if the local intelligence community decides that they want to have any data obtained from our sessions, I will ask them to produce a court order and hand it over rapidly. If you plan to harm yourself or someone, I will tell everyone on the planet to ensure your safety. I just want to be clear with the plan and limitations of treatment,” David concluded.
Burns’s look was thoughtful and still. “I like your honesty and approach. If there is something I don’t want anyone to know, I won’t tell you. So can I ask you a question, and will you be honest with me?”
David answered cautiously, “If it pertains to me and my family personally, no, but otherwise, yes.”
“Did someone else bring you into the loop before I got here? Have you seen my file already?”
How could Burns have possibly known that? Easy , David thought. As a therapist, he was pretty good. As a covert spy, he was awful. The first file on David’s desk looked near identical on the outside as the one he now held. Because all the other files were smaller and color-coded, anyone with good eyesight could see the similarities in these two separate files.
David took a moment to consider if lying was an option or if telling the truth to his client was appropriate. David decided to tell the truth for a couple of reasons: David knew he was terrible at lying. It took too long for him to answer the question, and he was positive that Burns could sniff out bullshit from miles away. David settled even further in his own chair as he folded his own hands and crossed his legs at the ankles.
David answered slowly, “Yes. I have an entire file that was ‘collected’ seemingly unofficially and brought to me by outside channels. There was concern that either data would be altered or history rewritten.” David felt bad. He had thrown Samantha under the bus in order to obtain the trust of a client.
“Were there any obvious changes?” Burns went on.
“It looks like the college time line was altered, but I didn’t get further than that. I had just got it moments before you arrived.”
Burns smiled. “I knew I liked that nurse,” he said more to himself. David was somewhat relieved. Clearly, Burns had his own knack for figuring people out. It looked like Burns saw Samantha more as an ally than an enemy. David remained silent as Burns scanned the file David handed him.
Burns closed the file and then seemed to make his own decision. “Okay. I will tell you all I remember. I will ask you to compare both
David took a moment to respond. The usual response was to review confidentiality and privacy and duty to warn in case of danger to self or others. David decided to take a different approach.
“Mr. Burns, I would like to say yes, but I’m simply not sure that is the case. With the director of the veterans’ hospital watching, an extensive file immediately available, and a whole bunch of other interested parties that seem to have a vested interest in your memory, I really can’t say if anything you say or do will remain private. I’m guessing anything I write down or hear will be documented, seized, and questioned at some point. So if there is anything you don’t want others to know, you may not want to tell me.”
Burns seemed very surprised at either the bluntness or honesty or the balance of both. “Well, you are the first person I have heard tell me something I never thought I would ever hear from a therapist—bluntness and candor.”
It was David’s turn to smile. David went on, “I hope that you will tell me things that will assist in my diagnosis and treatment strategies to help free up your memory. I am guessing your brain is blocking memories either as a way of self-protection or a trauma interfering with recall. I have no vested interest in the content of the data. Just being able to assist you accessing your memory is my plan. So if the local intelligence community decides that they want to have any data obtained from our sessions, I will ask them to produce a court order and hand it over rapidly. If you plan to harm yourself or someone, I will tell everyone on the planet to ensure your safety. I just want to be clear with the plan and limitations of treatment,” David concluded.
Burns’s look was thoughtful and still. “I like your honesty and approach. If there is something I don’t want anyone to know, I won’t tell you. So can I ask you a question, and will you be honest with me?”
David answered cautiously, “If it pertains to me and my family personally, no, but otherwise, yes.”
“Did someone else bring you into the loop before I got here? Have you seen my file already?”
How could Burns have possibly known that? Easy , David thought. As a therapist, he was pretty good. As a covert spy, he was awful. The first file on David’s desk looked near identical on the outside as the one he now held. Because all the other files were smaller and color-coded, anyone with good eyesight could see the similarities in these two separate files.
David took a moment to consider if lying was an option or if telling the truth to his client was appropriate. David decided to tell the truth for a couple of reasons: David knew he was terrible at lying. It took too long for him to answer the question, and he was positive that Burns could sniff out bullshit from miles away. David settled even further in his own chair as he folded his own hands and crossed his legs at the ankles.
David answered slowly, “Yes. I have an entire file that was ‘collected’ seemingly unofficially and brought to me by outside channels. There was concern that either data would be altered or history rewritten.” David felt bad. He had thrown Samantha under the bus in order to obtain the trust of a client.
“Were there any obvious changes?” Burns went on.
“It looks like the college time line was altered, but I didn’t get further than that. I had just got it moments before you arrived.”
Burns smiled. “I knew I liked that nurse,” he said more to himself. David was somewhat relieved. Clearly, Burns had his own knack for figuring people out. It looked like Burns saw Samantha more as an ally than an enemy. David remained silent as Burns scanned the file David handed him.
Burns closed the file and then seemed to make his own decision. “Okay. I will tell you all I remember. I will ask you to compare both
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