SUPPORT LIBERTY'S LAW!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Milton Can't Close Door on Therapy Session


By / DOUG NURSE / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution / Published on: 07/12/07

Even though it may be awkward, even if feelings are hurt and tears are shed, a group therapy session for the Milton City Council has to be done in public — not behind closed doors.

"Discomfort is not a sufficient reason to close a meeting," Susan Moore, an attorney for the Georgia Municipal Association, told city officials.

The council in this newly formed Northside city is paying a psychologist $6,400 to analyze members' interactions with one another and help them resolve conflicts.

Doug Griest, a corporate psychologist, had planned to conduct a session Tuesday but canceled because The Atlanta Journal-Constitution intended to cover the meeting.

The city then called the municipal association and asked if the law allowed the council to meet with Griest in a closed session.

The answer was no. Now, all seven members must sign waivers releasing Griest from his doctor-patient confidentiality obligations.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We do not need our council in a therapy session. What an embarrassment.
I will be watching to see who signs the waiver. That is an agreement to waste our tax dollars. As if it isn't bad enough that money and time have already been wasted on this fiasco.