Ethical Dilemmas Depicted In The Film Analyze This

The film Analyze This, raised a number of legal ethical dilemmas Sobel is a psychiatrist that conducts his practice out of his home. Though this is not unethical or illegal, the way he conducts his sessions was. The first client that appeared in the beginning of the movie was suffering separation and abandonment issues. Sobel did not give her another therapist’s number and did not leave her with a plan while he was on vacation. He also reinforced her abandonment issues. He met his patient Mr. Vitti, after he re-end his bodyguard. After Vitti experienced a panic attack and realized he need a psychiatrist, his bodyguard recommended Sobel, and the legal ethical dilemmas began. Jelly the bodyguard breaks into Sobel’s office while he is in session with another client, and breaches the client’s
privacy.
He also paid him three hundred dollars to end session early. When Sobel began to, “threat” Vitti, he did not address the Inform Consent with his patient. Sobel did not inform Vitti that if the FBI wanted to talk to him, he might have to disclose what was discussed during therapy, and Sobel knew he was mobster. Sobel did not inform his client that he might have to break confidentiality. Vitti was not informed and did not sign an Authorization to Release form. He was also not informed about He was intimidated into becoming Vitti’s therapist, by Mr. Vitti and was bullied into telling him where he was going to be vacationing. They never agreed to procedure for collecting fee and Sobel never informed his client the nature of therapy. Sobel, did not meet, “standard of care”. This was evident when Vitti threaten to hurt Sobel if he turned
him into, “a fag”.
Furthermore, after Sobel finished seeing his client, his son had been over hearing what was being discussed during the session with his dangerous mobster client. This is illegal and unethical Breach of Confidentiality. Sobel made it seem that he was aware that his son had listen in on other client’s sessions, and he had not taken any preventive measures to protect his client’s privacy. Vitti, went on to follow his therapist to where he was vacationing with his son and fiancée . Vitti’s bodyguard followed the therapist, broke into his hotel room, while he was sleeping with his fiancée, and kidnapped him with the purpose to conduct a session with Vitti (boundaries were crossed). The therapist conducted a session with his client and after a few minutes diagnoses his client. Vitti went on to offer his therapist a woman, which is inappropriate trade/payment for therapy. When Sobel returned to his hotel room where his anxious and unsure fiancée was up waiting for him, he reassures he by breaching his client’s confidentiality by telling her the client’s name.

Sobel continues to conduct therapy on the beach and in front of Jelly the bodyguard. Vitti makes an uninvited appearance with his family during his therapist’s engagement party and gifts him a chunk envelop filled with money. Not only was the gift legally unethical, boundaries were crossed and the therapist allowed a dual relationship to develop.

The entire movie was hilarious and entertaining. But, it was filled with illegal unethical dilemmas; such human rights violation, breach of confidentiality, Privileged Communication and illegal gifts.