Ethical Obligations?

[Optismistic]

I had something very strange happen to me and just wanted some advice.

 

I'm currently in a certification program for substance abuse counseling. A lot of the students are ex-addicts. In one class we had to complete a role-playing scenario (counselor/client). I noticed that one guy in my class seemed to shy away from the activity. I had only one previous conversation with him and he informed me he is a recovering alcoholic. I offered to help him practice. We exchanged numbers and planned to meet on campus before class.  When I got there everything seemed normal, however, we only practice briefly and he keep derailing the conversation to other things. After this meeting...things got weird. He asked me if I wanted to meet again. I said.."oh for more practice?"  And he said...No, I just like being with you. I was a little shocked with this information as it was completely inappropriate,  he did mentioned that he's married, and I met with only the intention to help him. I told him I didn't want to meet.

Over the following 2 days he called my phone about 5 times, kept emailing me and sent me very strange text messages. He said he was sorry for making me "uncomfortable." I didn't really respond and he texted me things like....."don't shut me out" "I only want to see you reach your potential" "I'm quitting my studies" "I won't be in class anymore" "just let me know you're ok"

 

I really didn't know what to do. I didn't want to respond and ignite more weirdness. So, I finally emailed him and told him that I'm really busy and good luck. He replied with..."my wife left me"  "see you in class" I didn't respond.

My question is, should I report his behavior to the teacher? This is a counseling program, he doesn't seem to understand boundaries. I really don't know this man at all, I was only trying to help out a classmate. Honestly, I'm a little worried that he might try and follow me home.

Any advice?

[louise86]

If he contacts you again I would be very direct with, "Do not contact me again" and then do not respond any further. I would also suggest that you save all texts and emails and should he approach you in person keep a log of the date, time, location, etc. I would approach your teacher about this and make sure you express you are scared of this person and worried the situation may escalate. I would also check to see if your school/program has a policy/procedure regarding harassment. 

 

In regards to him following you home my advice would be to try to watch for him. If you live in an apartment and have a photo of him you can give it to any security guards, doormen, apartment manager, etc and let them know this guy is bothering you. You could also approach your neighbors and let them know if this guy is spotted around your home to call police.

 

I'm really sorry this is happening to you and hope it is resolved quickly. 

[briefinterviews]

I would recommend you also reach out to your program's student services office for further counsel.

[SFGiantsFan]

As a substance abuse counselor myself, this worries me.  Is this guy really going to be "helping" other people if he can't respect your boundaries (like you said)?  I would definitely maybe mention it to someone at your school, perhaps maybe the program director or something (at our school, the program director taught a bunch of the classes I took, so he knew all of us really well.  Maybe they will know this guy's situation).  I agree that there are potential ethical dilemmas here.  While you of course need to look out for your own safety, what about the safety and boundaries of his future clients?  One of the last classes I took was "Law and Ethics" and this situation doesn't sound good on the ethical side to me.  Definitely seek other counsel, like the previous poster stated.

 

On a side note, congrats for getting into the field of substance abuse! I finished my certificate program in December 2012, took the NCAC-1 exam in March, and have been working for about 5 months now.  It such an amazingly rewarding job.  I'm not in recovery, but most of my classmates were (like you said) and that intimidated me a lot in the beginning.  But once I started working, it doesn't seem like my clients care.  A good counselor is a good counselor.  I hope you enjoy the rest of your program, and good luck!

[Lola1233]

Agree with all of the above. Please speak to someone in your program about this -- if not for your own safety, for the safety of his future clients who will be depending on him for support and guidence. This guy has some issues he needs to sort out prior to being any sort of counselor.