Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:1502-1512
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
The ethics of psychotherapy
TB Karasu
The author addresses the ethics of psychotherapy in terms of the interface
between science and ethics, the goals of treatment, the therapeutic
relationship, and special issues of confidentiality and therapist-patient
sex. He considers the problems of multiple therapeutic modalities, dual
allegiance of the therapist, the therapeutic use (and abuse) of power, and
issues of dependency and suggests ways to maximize the clinician's exercise
of ethical choices. Ethical dilemmas in psychotherapy are not entirely
soluble; ultimately, the therapist, guided by his or her profession as a
group, will be able to find answers to the complex problems that inevitably
arise.
