A 12-year-old has been stealing from his mom’s marijuana stash and getting high every day after school. He knows that his grades are failing in school as a result, but is struggling not to smoke with a regular supply of marijuana in the home. He is seeking your help without parental consent, but his mom finds out one day and demands that you stop seeing her son, because she fears that there might be legal consequences for the marijuana in the home. The client wants you to continue working with him despite his mom’s wishes.

How do the state and federal laws and ethical principles guide your decision-making process in this scenario? Will you continue to see the client? Or not? Specifically, using the 8-step decision-making model, how do you come to this conclusion?