What About Bob?
Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas in Film
The Film, What about Bob? (Ziskin & Oz, 1991), is a prime example of a dysfunctional
and highly inappropriate client-therapist relationship. The comedy demonstrates numerous
infringements of ethical boundaries between Bob Wiley (Bill Murray), the problematic patient and
Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss), the esteemed and extremely ego-centric therapist. Consumed
by the utmost importance for his own recovery and nothing else, we may observe the explicit
disregard Bob Wiley has considering the ethical boundaries in place between a therapist and client.
Not only does Bob have zero concept of these important boundaries, he additionally exemplifies
the type of patient that firmly believes it is the therapists responsibility and duty to ‘cure’ him from
the plethora of psychological issues and phobias he possesses. Indeed, there are numerous critical
errors Dr. Marvin makes throughout the film that should serve to highlight the dangers a counselor
may face when bombarded by a patient who ignores appropriate boundary guidelines. Through an
application of the ACA Code of Ethics, this paper will underline the errors made by the therapist
that allowed numerous ethical dilemmas to flourish and will additionally generate, evaluate and
implement an appropriate potential course of action.
The film begins with Bob’s previous therapist reaching out to Dr. Marvin, hastily and
irresponsibly referring his client, Bob Wiley to Dr. Marvin without disclosing the truth behind
Bob’s mental status as well as the integrity of the referral itself; which is in violation of the
Appropriate Transfer of Services Code of Ethics (American Counseling Association, 2014,
A.11.d.). Here, it is clear to the audience that there is something suspicious going on, certainly
when Bob’s prior therapist terminated his professional relationship with Bob he was dishonest.
Moreover, the way the referral was handled highlights a total incapacity to provide ethical and
appropriate counseling for Bob. This violation provides for the emergence of the numerous other
ethical violations that will be discussed further in this essay. The appropriate course of action
would have been for the prior counselor to seek advice from his supervisor/ colleagues about his
inability to counsel Bob. The previous therapist should have sought additional training to handle
the situation or should have been completely transparent about the reasons for the referral to Dr.
Marvin. Certainly, there are many dilemmas present in the film, this one being slightly less
obvious, however its importance profound. It serves to highlight that counselors need to develop
and maintain proper self-care routines in order to safe-guard against any sort of mental exhaustion
or breakdown. Self-care is essentially a proactive measure in counseling that proves to be nothing
but positive, beneficial and lasting.
The first encounter between Dr. Marvin and Bob and the ways in which the professional,
