Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:1455-1459
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Family or individual therapy: the ethics of modality choice
RC Sider and C Clements
The authors examine the ethical issues in choosing between individual and
social unit (marital and family) therapies. Although usually neglected in
the literature, these ethical questions are important and complex. A
general systems perspective is used to provide a framework for ethical
analysis. The core of the ethical problem is shown to be the
interdependence and irreducible conflict inherent between the individual
and social unit levels. The authors outline a general systems approach to
identification and consideration of these ethical issues in clinical
practice.
