Ethics of practicing while going through personal ick
I’m an ASW practicing for a year part time with a very small caseload (3-4 clients). However, I’ve been on maternity leave since Feb (baby born in March). I am preparing to return to work on Wednesday, but I will be full time (20 clients).
Since having my son, my husband has become increasingly angry, spiteful, and full of rage. I do believe he is experiencing some paternal postpartum issues amongst other things, but this behavior isn’t new, just significantly increased in frequency and severity. Today, after a particularly concerning morning, I sought out help at a crisis center.
The provider was an LCSW. She was pretty insistent that I shouldn’t be going back to work while going through this situation. Yes, I’m pretty distraught—especially while venting at a crisis center about an abusive partner—but I feel fully capable of separating work and personal lives. I also feel strongly that I could identify counter transference or appropriately identify when to refer out a client to someone else if needed.
She made it sound like it would not be ethical for me to practice while going through this situation. I also cannot lose my income at the same time I’m navigating a potential divorce. I have a mortgage and children to provide for. I suppose I could discuss it with my supervisor, but again, I’d really like to keep my personal life separate as much as possible.
I was just really caught off guard by this and feeling my stress level increasing now that I’m in an ethical dilemma.
Any thoughts or experience in similar situations?
TLDR: sought help from an LCSW at a crisis center regarding IPV with spouse. She indicated multiple times that it would be unethical for me (ASW) to practice during this time. Thoughts?