that client I wrote about awhile back, the bi-polar one with the head injury...........we decided that she was just becoming too much of a risk for our agency. I met with her today and gave her a notice in writing that we will be terminating with her 30 days from now and that she needs to find a new provider to manage her case.
I felt (and still feel) bad about it. Especially after she told me that her brother wants nothing else to do with her and she has decided to go back on one of her mood stabilizers.
It's kind of too little too late though and I had a long discussion with one of my colleagues at work about her today (in fact I always have long discussions about her with him LOL)............he said I shouldn't feel bad because this is just HER..........there's never a good time to terminate. We gave her numerous opportunities to go on meds and each time, she refused. Hopefully she will find someone to pick up her case. I promised her that I was going to help her connect to someone new, and if not through the TBI program, then I will refer her back to APS. She is known to them now so they will probably follow her case if she does not have anyone supporting her.
She actually gave me a hug as I was leaving her house and told me she didn't take it personally, she really liked me but just felt that she couldn't trust me anymore after I called APS on her the first time around.
It's sad. I felt like I did everything humanly possible to help this woman..........but I was the only one doing the work.
I get frustrated with students that don't do the work either. There is a lot of similarities between the field of teaching and social work, and both require a significant amount of work on both parties behalf. It's a hard thing to stomach when I can't help somebody, knowing that they will have to help themselves. It sounds like you did everything you can do.
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