ethics in psychotherapy
The Assignment:
Respond to at least two of your colleagues by suggesting strategies to address the legal and ethical considerations your colleagues discussed. Support your responses with evidence-based literature with at least two references.
Colleagues #: 1
Family or group therapy and individual therapy are unique in their individual approach to treatment and a way of understanding human behaviors. Both forms of therapy have their advantages and disadvantages. (Michael P. Nichols, 2020). With individual therapy, people feel more at ease and open to discuss their issues unlike family or group therapy where people at times are restrained and afraid of been judged by family or group members for sharing their issues. Also, the therapist will have a clearer picture of the problem in a group or family therapy and have a better approach to the family issue when everyone is present. According to (Imran S. Khawaja, 2011), Group psychotherapy is highly efficacious, and virtually all research comparing it to individual treatment indicates that it is, at the very least, equal to individual therapy as a treatment modality. Group psychotherapy contains a vitality and energy not often seen in individual treatment. Group and family therapy offers a unique sense of community and support that may not be achieved through other therapeutic approaches (Baltimore, MD) . Despite these advantages, therapy can be anxiety provoking to both the clients and the therapist. At the beginning of therapy, therapists are complete strangers and the clients are supposed to share their innermost secrets. As a result, therapists are likely to encounter clients who, at their initial consultation, are confused, anxious, needy, and vulnerable and sometimes, downright hostile and negative. It is almost inevitable, then, that complex ethical and legal issues will arise in these settings.
Groups and individual therapy poses some legal and ethical issues which can hinder the progress of the therapy. Ethically, confidentiality remains a big problem with both forms of psychotherapy. According to (Gottlieb, 2008), confidentiality is based on the assumption that clients will only reveal personal information if they have a reasonable expectation that it will remain private and under their control. As a result, confidentiality remains the core of all mental health treatment and most ethic codes are clear regarding how and under what circumstances information may be disclosed to third parties. The ability of the therapist to explain and obtaining consent forms is also a critical step as it relates to ethics in psychotherapy. The therapist explains his/her ethical and legal obligations in maintaining confidentiality to the client/group before initiation of therapy. Unfortunately, group therapy presents more challenges with regards to confidentiality of information discussed in groups compared to individual therapy.
