I am a secretary so before answering I spoke to her Dr. and Social worker on the unit. I also got the release for to speak to Kim. I then called Kim and explained that yes the patient was ready for discharge. Discharge plans were initiated by the treatment team no the patient. Beth called after that. Kim said that absolutely she would pick the Beth if that is the case. She asked what she should do after that. I told her do what she feels best with. If she wants to be Beth's friend and support system then she should do so. However, she also needs to take care of herself and only do what she feels comfortable with.

I think what was going on is often we get patients demand discharge and while we don't think they are ready for discharge we also don't have grounds to commit them involuntary. So we may discharge them against medical advice. I think Kim was afraid this was the case and didn't want to make it easier for Beth to leave by providing her a ride.

With my T though, I imagine she would give me advice on how to handle the situation but leave it up to me...she make phone calls for me especially during a session.