How do I ask? | Patient & Family

Then what do I do with the patient & family?

•   Before bringing the parent back into the room ask the patient,

“What part (if any) of what we talked about do you not want me to share with your [mother/father/guardian/family]?”

“So you’re OK with my mentioning the vaping, but not the marijuana use. You also don’t want me to talk about the couple of times you experimented with [blank].

“I can do that/stick to that… but just remember that if I begin to hear about increasing or dangerous use of any of these substances in the future, I may have to break confidentiality for your own safety and health. Does that make sense?”

•   With parent back in the room:

“I’m glad I was able to talk with both of you about the concerns you have about [Blank’s] health.

[Blank] and I discussed his/her/their [blank] use a bit and it’s potential effects on his body and mind. This is an area that you [adult] were worried about, too.

S/He/They has/have decided to think about ways in which s/he can reduce the temptation to use that again in the future. I’d like to see him/her/them again in a few weeks to see how things are going and if there are ways we can support him/her in this effort.

You are welcome to contact me sooner if any concerns come up sooner than that. And just as a reminder, if I should ever have serious concerns about safety for [Blank], I may have to break the confidentiality we discussed earlier.

But otherwise, the one-on-one time I have with [Blank] will be confidential. Do you have any questions about any of this?”