Hertlein, Blumer & Mihaloliakos,

Hertlein, Blumer & Mihaloliakos,

When it comes to legal consideration, informed consent is a key difference between group and family therapy and individual therapy. In treating each member’s confidences in-group and family therapy, the therapists should act as though that person were an individual client (Shaw, 2015). The information got during a private session, or a telephone call from one member is not divulged to other family members. The therapist upholds the individual client’s confidentiality to other family members (Hertlein, Blumer & Mihaloliakos, 2015). When it comes to individual therapy, one obtains only one client’s permission to use information while in the group and family therapy the permission is obtained during the conjoint sessions.

How the differences might affect therapeutic approaches for client’s in-group and family therapy

By considering responsibility as ethical considering in group and family therapy, the therapist must ensure that improvement in the status of one the member in the therapy is not occurring at the expense of another member. As part of ethical consideration, the group and family therapist should be an advocate of the family system during therapeutic process and avoids becoming an agent of any one of the members. When it comes to preservation of confidentiality, therapeutic approaches for clients in group and family therapy is such that the therapists arrange for sessions with individual family members to actively encourage the sharing of “secrets” as part of better understand what is occurring in the group or family (Shaw, 2015). When dealing with clients in group and family therapy, I will ensure that informed consent is obtained from each member in the therapy process before any information is used. If permission is not granted, all information must be kept confidential (Hertlein, Blumer & Mihaloliakos, 2015)

References

Gurman, A. S., & Burton, M. (2014). Individual Therapy for Couple of Problems: Perspectives and Pitfalls. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 40, 4, 470-483.

Hertlein, K. M., Blumer, M. L. C., & Mihaloliakos, J. H. (2015). Marriage and Family Counselors’ Perceived Ethical Issues Related to Online Therapy. The Family Journal, 23, 1, 5-12.

Schiefele, A.-K., Lutz, W., Rubel, J., Barkham, M., Saxon, D., Bohnke, J., Delgadillo, J., … Lambert, M. J. ( 2018). Reliability of Therapist Effects in Practice-Based Psychotherapy Research: A Guide for the Planning of Future Studies. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 45, 6, 598-613.

Shaw, E. (2015). Ethical Practice in Couple and Family Therapy: Negotiating Rocky Terrain. Australian and New