By: April Carlson
07/30/2013
Introduction:
“From the initial meeting to the final process of treatment, the role of ethics is an important one in the field of psychology.” (EFPA, 1999) Ethical thinking is a significant element of psychology; ethical dilemmas are also an substantial element for psychotherapists to watch out for. As a psychologist it is important to obtain a correct amount of research while facing an ethical dilemma, so the psychologist does not do more harm to the individual they are treating. Psychologists and psychotherapist need to use a few different resources to validate that they are making an appropriate ethical decision. A psychotherapist ensures that they realize all decisions made will affect their client; they need to be cautious so they do not make a poor decision and affect their client negatively.
The American Psychological Association “Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.” will include the General Principles as well as a few sections including resolving ethical issues, human relations, privacy and confidentiality, and therapy. “. General Principles, as opposed to Ethical Standards, are aspirational in nature. Their intent is to guide and inspire psychologists toward the very highest ethical ideals of the profession” (American Psychological Association, 2010) General principles are more of a guideline for psychologists; they steer the psychologist in the right direction when facing an ethical dilemma. “Respected authors address seven of these challenges: Informed consent; confidentiality, privilege, and their limits; treatment of minors and their families; business matters of practice (e.g., money, fees, bartering, and advertising); clinical competence and scope of practice; boundaries and nonsexual multiple relationships; and termination and abandonment.” (Barnett, J.E. 2008, pp. 569)
The Dilemma:
Here are the facts: a man brought his minor son to a psychotherapist for therapy. The man is the custodial parent of his minor son. The man and the client’s mother are divorced; the divorced was caused by the noncustodial mother of the client’s drinking complications. The noncustodial mother continues to drink and has now requested to become a part of her minor son’s treatment. The minor son is in therapy because he was depressed and cutting himself. The dilemma is whether or not to allow the mother to become part of her noncustodial son’s therapy and weather she is allowed to have any of the client’s confidential information. While facing this ethical dilemma a psychotherapist will look at a few different resources to help make a good ethical decision as to whether or not the mother of the client would be allowed to participate or be involved in her minor son’s treatment. In order to make this appropriate decision the psychotherapist would study the Ethical Standards from the American Psychological Association, The Elements of Thought Model, as well as a scholarly source: in this case it will be an article by Barnett, “The Ethical Practice of Psychotherapy: Easily Within our Reach”. Barnett’s article had a very similar dilemma in it and will be a good resource for this dilemma.
The Decision:
At this time considering the reasoning and research that has gone into the decision making process facing this ethical dilemma the psychotherapist has decided to decline the noncustodial parent from consolidating or having any confidential information about said client. This can be reevaluated at a later time once the mother has worked on her own inconveniences and entered a treatment and rehabilitation therapy of her own. At this time the psychotherapist feels as though the mother’s negativity and alcohol problems could be detrimental to the minor client. The psychotherapist has made this decision through careful research and with the well-being of the minor client in mind. This decision will be reevaluated in three months upon completion of mother’s therapy and alcohol evaluation.
The Reasoning:
Looking at Principle E: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity, the psychotherapist sees that it is important to respect the dignity of all people as well as respect the privacy and confidentiality rights of individuals and clients. This principle shows the psychotherapist the importance of respecting client’s rights. Looking at this particular situation the psychotherapist sees that respecting the client (the child) and the father who has enlisted in services is at the top of the priorities in this ethical dilemma. Also respecting the right to privacy of the client is very important and allowing the mother to know information even though she is not the custodial parent would be unprofessional and violating the clients privacy rights. “Psychologists are aware that special safeguards may be necessary to protect the rights and welfare of persons or communities whose vulnerabilities impair autonomous decision making.” (American Psychological Association, 2010)
Examining the other sections of the American Psychological Associations; section 3.07 discusses the third-party requests for services. Upon reviewing this section the psychotherapist realizes that facing this ethical dilemma this section directly pertains to the dilemma. Section 3.07 states “This clarification includes the role of the psychologist (e.g., therapist, consultant, diagnostician, or expert witness), an identification of who is the client, the probable uses of the services provided or the information obtained, and the fact that there may be limits to confidentiality.” (American Psychological Association, 2010) After examining this section a psychotherapist would realize that this should have already been discussed under the confidentiality clause that they would have the patient sign. This section is also telling the psychotherapist that if this has not already been discussed that this would be something they will need to discuss with the father of the client since the client himself is not of age. Section 3.10 b also discusses the process of informed consent; since the client is underage the psychotherapist will need to provide an explanation to the father and son, the psychotherapist needs to seek the clients assent, consider the clients best interests, as well as obtaining permission from the legal guardian of the underage client; in this case his father. (American Psychological Association, 2010)
Section 4.02 (a) is pertaining to discussing the limits of confidentiality with the client or guardian. In this discussion whether or not the mother will be allowed to be a part of therapy should be brought up by the psychotherapist. Section 4.05 discusses disclosures; this includes the appropriate consent of the client and organization. It also includes the fact that no information shall be disclosed without the consent of the client, or in this case the client’s father. This protects the client from harm. So following the guidelines the psychotherapist now makes note of section 4.05 for further use in this case.
Barnett also discusses ethical dilemmas and how to deal with them in his scholarly article. Psychologists work towards benefiting the individuals they work for, they are also careful so they do not harm those individuals. Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence of the APA Code of Conduct states, “Because psychologists' scientific and professional judgments and actions may affect the lives of others, they are alert to and guard against personal, financial, social, organizational or political factors that might lead to misuse of their influence.” (American Psychological Association, 2010) This shows the psychotherapist that while facing an ethical dilemma such as this one any judgments and final decisions could possible affect the life of the client, the psychotherapist needs to be on guard looking at the effects both positive and negative that allowing the mother to take part in therapy will have on the client. In Barnett’s article he further verifies the importance of making a correct judgment so that the psychotherapist does not negatively impact the client by stating, “While reducing the risk of an ethics complaint or malpractice claim is obviously of great importance to all psychotherapists, as will be seen in the following articles, effective ethical practice embraces risk management, but retains its focus on the client’s best interests rather than on protecting the psychotherapist.” (Barnett, J.E. 2008, pp. 569)
Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility states that as a psychologist the clients trust me and the psychotherapist must trust them, they have the responsibility of upholding to specific communities, obligations, and behavior responsibilities. A psychotherapist needs to make sure their behavior, obligations and other responsibilities do not come in the way of the client and make the best decision to fit the client’s needs rather than their own. “Psychologists uphold professional standards of conduct, clarify their professional roles and obligations, accept appropriate responsibility for their behavior and seek to manage conflicts of interest that could lead to exploitation or harm.” (American Psychological Association, 2010) This directly relates to the psychotherapists personal opinion on whether or not the mother should be allowed in the therapy. They have to make a knowledgeable decision on the dilemma.
While looking at Principle C: Integrity, the psychotherapist notes that integrity is very important. “In situations in which deception may be ethically justifiable to maximize benefits and minimize harm, psychologists have a serious obligation to consider the need for, the possible consequences of, and their responsibility to correct any resulting mistrust or other harmful effects that arise from the use of such techniques.” (American Psychological Association, 2010) In this ethical dilemma integrity is important because the psychotherapist will be making a very important decision based on accuracy, honesty, and truth. Looking forwards at the Justice side Principle D the psychotherapist notes that this general principle is important as well. Justice is important in every ethical dilemma because a psychotherapist need to be fair and make sure that justice is going to all individuals in the party regardless of their personal beliefs. At the same time the psychotherapist needs to make sure the final decision is not negatively influencing the client.
Barnett’s article has a section in it with the steps a psychotherapist will need to go through while facing this specific dilemma. To summarize Barnett’s article steps state that the first thing to do would be to review the ethics codes and specific sections. If the issue of the mother had not yet been addressed the next step is to consult a colleague that has expertise in ethics and legal issues. Then the colleague refers the psychotherapist to a particular section of the law in that state that authorizes all noncustodial parents to have access to all treatment information concerning their children. Also that after reading literature, they will realize that based on recommendations they would need to schedule a meeting with both parents and review the relevant Ethics Code standards and the relevant statute, then with both parents modify the original informed consent agreement to the satisfaction of all. (Barnett, J.E. 2008, pp. 572) This article is a great tool for the ethical dilemma the psychotherapist is facing because the steps really let the psychotherapist know which way they need to go with the dilemma. The psychotherapist needs to find out the laws in the particular state they am living and working in to find out if the legal situation is similar to the dilemma that the psychotherapist is facing. If the law is similar they can follow Barnett’s steps and do the same with their clients. If the law is different the psychotherapist will need to take a different approach possibly contacting the father for his permission to bring the mother into therapy. At this point it really depends on the state laws so the psychotherapist would be researching.
While researching the state laws or having a colleague check on the state laws for the psychotherapist they would take a look at the Elements of Thought Model. They would review the model and make sure they am making an ethical decision. The psychotherapist would look at all individuals point of view; from the point of view of the client himself the psychotherapist would realize the mother being involved could worsen his productivity in the therapy session, from the point of view of the father the psychotherapist can see that the mother would cause some additional stress and worry. Presumably the father will be worried about his son’s safety as the sole custodial parent. From the viewpoint of the mother the psychotherapist sees that she may want a change and may want to be part of her son’s life. They need to make sure they “understand the limitations of your point of view and that you fully consider other relevant viewpoints.” (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2007) The psychotherapist will need to be sure their purpose is justifiable and clear. In this case the purpose is to solve the ethical dilemma without a negative impact on the client. The question at issue is whether or not the psychotherapist should allow the noncustodial mother to be a part of her son’s therapy. The question is clear and precise and targets the issue itself. The psychotherapist will be gathering information from many different sources throughout the dilemma, they will make sure the information is not biased; it is relevant, and accurate. The psychotherapist must make sure to watch for any inferences, assumptions and also need to logically follow all leads and not inferring more than the situation implies. Clarifying concepts will allow the psychotherapist to make sense of the situation and dilemma. Implications and consequences vary greatly on one hand if the psychotherapist decides to allow the mother into therapy it could help the client and help his mother on the other hand it could be detrimental to the mother son relationship and the mother could impact the client negatively. (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2007)
Recommendations:
While researching the laws in my state the Psychotherapist found that the state of North Dakota does not like alienating the noncustodial parent, they state that it could create more “issues” and “frequent returning to court”. The law however does not state such as in the example from Barnett’s reading above that the psychotherapist would have to include the noncustodial parent in therapy. It is actually dependent on what is best for the minor client. “Someone who has a mental disorder, abuses drugs or is abusive to people will require a more intense therapeutic intervention with a counselor, social worker, psychologists or psychiatrist. Most mediators are not qualified to work with those who need help specifically with parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome” and “Others who commonly need therapy are parents who spend too much time thinking about their divorce and having been betrayed by the system; parents who can't help driving by the marital home hoping for a glimpse of the ex-spouse or children; and parents who often think about their next phone call to the ex-spouse or the children and cannot seem to stop him or herself from making the calls. Other warning signs include an increase in the use of alcohol and drugs or an increase in high-risk behavior such as drinking and driving, unprotected sex, stalking, and harassing phone calls.” (Darnall, 1999) This basically lets the psychotherapist know that in this state whether or not the mother is to be involved in the child’s therapy is completely up to the psychotherapist in this specific dilemma. In this case after reviewing the final information the psychotherapist will have three discussions, the first will be with the custodial guardian the father. In this case the psychotherapist will inform him about the mother’s phone call and ask him his opinion on whether or not her entering therapy would be a good idea. After speaking with the father and if he thinks it would be okay to include the mother in therapy then the psychotherapist will have a conversation with the mother. In the conversation with the mother the psychotherapist would talk to her about getting help with her drinking problems and let her know that we could possibly include her in the therapy if it will help her son. But also let her know that her showing up drinking will not help her son and make sure it is included that she will not be drunk at the therapy and she will have to get help with her drinking problems. Before having the third conversation the psychotherapist would then consult the client on his feelings on his mother becoming a part of his therapy and that would be the deciding factor. The psychotherapist would bring up the negative and positive side effects as well as the stipulations with the father and client. The psychotherapist would also make it aware that the mother would not be included in all of the therapy sessions it could probably be something to do a trial on to see if that improves or worsens the clients condition. Dependent on what is decided at that time the psychotherapist will meet with all parties involved to discuss confidentiality and the client’s condition and therapy scheduling.
References:
American Psychological Association (2010). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and
Your Life (Custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.
Barnett, J.E. (2008) The Ethical Practice of Psychotherapy: Easily Within our Reach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64(5) 569-575. Doi:10.1002/jclp.2047
Darnall, D. (1999). North Dakota Law Review. (Vol. 75, pp. 323-364). Retrieved from http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/darnal99.htm
EFPA. (1999). Ethics of psychology. Retrieved from http://www.efpa.be/ethics.htm
Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2007). Elements of thought. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/ctmodel/logic-model1.htm
07/30/2013
Introduction:
“From the initial meeting to the final process of treatment, the role of ethics is an important one in the field of psychology.” (EFPA, 1999) Ethical thinking is a significant element of psychology; ethical dilemmas are also an substantial element for psychotherapists to watch out for. As a psychologist it is important to obtain a correct amount of research while facing an ethical dilemma, so the psychologist does not do more harm to the individual they are treating. Psychologists and psychotherapist need to use a few different resources to validate that they are making an appropriate ethical decision. A psychotherapist ensures that they realize all decisions made will affect their client; they need to be cautious so they do not make a poor decision and affect their client negatively.
The American Psychological Association “Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct.” will include the General Principles as well as a few sections including resolving ethical issues, human relations, privacy and confidentiality, and therapy. “. General Principles, as opposed to Ethical Standards, are aspirational in nature. Their intent is to guide and inspire psychologists toward the very highest ethical ideals of the profession” (American Psychological Association, 2010) General principles are more of a guideline for psychologists; they steer the psychologist in the right direction when facing an ethical dilemma. “Respected authors address seven of these challenges: Informed consent; confidentiality, privilege, and their limits; treatment of minors and their families; business matters of practice (e.g., money, fees, bartering, and advertising); clinical competence and scope of practice; boundaries and nonsexual multiple relationships; and termination and abandonment.” (Barnett, J.E. 2008, pp. 569)
The Dilemma:
Here are the facts: a man brought his minor son to a psychotherapist for therapy. The man is the custodial parent of his minor son. The man and the client’s mother are divorced; the divorced was caused by the noncustodial mother of the client’s drinking complications. The noncustodial mother continues to drink and has now requested to become a part of her minor son’s treatment. The minor son is in therapy because he was depressed and cutting himself. The dilemma is whether or not to allow the mother to become part of her noncustodial son’s therapy and weather she is allowed to have any of the client’s confidential information. While facing this ethical dilemma a psychotherapist will look at a few different resources to help make a good ethical decision as to whether or not the mother of the client would be allowed to participate or be involved in her minor son’s treatment. In order to make this appropriate decision the psychotherapist would study the Ethical Standards from the American Psychological Association, The Elements of Thought Model, as well as a scholarly source: in this case it will be an article by Barnett, “The Ethical Practice of Psychotherapy: Easily Within our Reach”. Barnett’s article had a very similar dilemma in it and will be a good resource for this dilemma.
The Decision:
At this time considering the reasoning and research that has gone into the decision making process facing this ethical dilemma the psychotherapist has decided to decline the noncustodial parent from consolidating or having any confidential information about said client. This can be reevaluated at a later time once the mother has worked on her own inconveniences and entered a treatment and rehabilitation therapy of her own. At this time the psychotherapist feels as though the mother’s negativity and alcohol problems could be detrimental to the minor client. The psychotherapist has made this decision through careful research and with the well-being of the minor client in mind. This decision will be reevaluated in three months upon completion of mother’s therapy and alcohol evaluation.
The Reasoning:
Looking at Principle E: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity, the psychotherapist sees that it is important to respect the dignity of all people as well as respect the privacy and confidentiality rights of individuals and clients. This principle shows the psychotherapist the importance of respecting client’s rights. Looking at this particular situation the psychotherapist sees that respecting the client (the child) and the father who has enlisted in services is at the top of the priorities in this ethical dilemma. Also respecting the right to privacy of the client is very important and allowing the mother to know information even though she is not the custodial parent would be unprofessional and violating the clients privacy rights. “Psychologists are aware that special safeguards may be necessary to protect the rights and welfare of persons or communities whose vulnerabilities impair autonomous decision making.” (American Psychological Association, 2010)
Examining the other sections of the American Psychological Associations; section 3.07 discusses the third-party requests for services. Upon reviewing this section the psychotherapist realizes that facing this ethical dilemma this section directly pertains to the dilemma. Section 3.07 states “This clarification includes the role of the psychologist (e.g., therapist, consultant, diagnostician, or expert witness), an identification of who is the client, the probable uses of the services provided or the information obtained, and the fact that there may be limits to confidentiality.” (American Psychological Association, 2010) After examining this section a psychotherapist would realize that this should have already been discussed under the confidentiality clause that they would have the patient sign. This section is also telling the psychotherapist that if this has not already been discussed that this would be something they will need to discuss with the father of the client since the client himself is not of age. Section 3.10 b also discusses the process of informed consent; since the client is underage the psychotherapist will need to provide an explanation to the father and son, the psychotherapist needs to seek the clients assent, consider the clients best interests, as well as obtaining permission from the legal guardian of the underage client; in this case his father. (American Psychological Association, 2010)
Section 4.02 (a) is pertaining to discussing the limits of confidentiality with the client or guardian. In this discussion whether or not the mother will be allowed to be a part of therapy should be brought up by the psychotherapist. Section 4.05 discusses disclosures; this includes the appropriate consent of the client and organization. It also includes the fact that no information shall be disclosed without the consent of the client, or in this case the client’s father. This protects the client from harm. So following the guidelines the psychotherapist now makes note of section 4.05 for further use in this case.
Barnett also discusses ethical dilemmas and how to deal with them in his scholarly article. Psychologists work towards benefiting the individuals they work for, they are also careful so they do not harm those individuals. Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence of the APA Code of Conduct states, “Because psychologists' scientific and professional judgments and actions may affect the lives of others, they are alert to and guard against personal, financial, social, organizational or political factors that might lead to misuse of their influence.” (American Psychological Association, 2010) This shows the psychotherapist that while facing an ethical dilemma such as this one any judgments and final decisions could possible affect the life of the client, the psychotherapist needs to be on guard looking at the effects both positive and negative that allowing the mother to take part in therapy will have on the client. In Barnett’s article he further verifies the importance of making a correct judgment so that the psychotherapist does not negatively impact the client by stating, “While reducing the risk of an ethics complaint or malpractice claim is obviously of great importance to all psychotherapists, as will be seen in the following articles, effective ethical practice embraces risk management, but retains its focus on the client’s best interests rather than on protecting the psychotherapist.” (Barnett, J.E. 2008, pp. 569)
Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility states that as a psychologist the clients trust me and the psychotherapist must trust them, they have the responsibility of upholding to specific communities, obligations, and behavior responsibilities. A psychotherapist needs to make sure their behavior, obligations and other responsibilities do not come in the way of the client and make the best decision to fit the client’s needs rather than their own. “Psychologists uphold professional standards of conduct, clarify their professional roles and obligations, accept appropriate responsibility for their behavior and seek to manage conflicts of interest that could lead to exploitation or harm.” (American Psychological Association, 2010) This directly relates to the psychotherapists personal opinion on whether or not the mother should be allowed in the therapy. They have to make a knowledgeable decision on the dilemma.
While looking at Principle C: Integrity, the psychotherapist notes that integrity is very important. “In situations in which deception may be ethically justifiable to maximize benefits and minimize harm, psychologists have a serious obligation to consider the need for, the possible consequences of, and their responsibility to correct any resulting mistrust or other harmful effects that arise from the use of such techniques.” (American Psychological Association, 2010) In this ethical dilemma integrity is important because the psychotherapist will be making a very important decision based on accuracy, honesty, and truth. Looking forwards at the Justice side Principle D the psychotherapist notes that this general principle is important as well. Justice is important in every ethical dilemma because a psychotherapist need to be fair and make sure that justice is going to all individuals in the party regardless of their personal beliefs. At the same time the psychotherapist needs to make sure the final decision is not negatively influencing the client.
Barnett’s article has a section in it with the steps a psychotherapist will need to go through while facing this specific dilemma. To summarize Barnett’s article steps state that the first thing to do would be to review the ethics codes and specific sections. If the issue of the mother had not yet been addressed the next step is to consult a colleague that has expertise in ethics and legal issues. Then the colleague refers the psychotherapist to a particular section of the law in that state that authorizes all noncustodial parents to have access to all treatment information concerning their children. Also that after reading literature, they will realize that based on recommendations they would need to schedule a meeting with both parents and review the relevant Ethics Code standards and the relevant statute, then with both parents modify the original informed consent agreement to the satisfaction of all. (Barnett, J.E. 2008, pp. 572) This article is a great tool for the ethical dilemma the psychotherapist is facing because the steps really let the psychotherapist know which way they need to go with the dilemma. The psychotherapist needs to find out the laws in the particular state they am living and working in to find out if the legal situation is similar to the dilemma that the psychotherapist is facing. If the law is similar they can follow Barnett’s steps and do the same with their clients. If the law is different the psychotherapist will need to take a different approach possibly contacting the father for his permission to bring the mother into therapy. At this point it really depends on the state laws so the psychotherapist would be researching.
While researching the state laws or having a colleague check on the state laws for the psychotherapist they would take a look at the Elements of Thought Model. They would review the model and make sure they am making an ethical decision. The psychotherapist would look at all individuals point of view; from the point of view of the client himself the psychotherapist would realize the mother being involved could worsen his productivity in the therapy session, from the point of view of the father the psychotherapist can see that the mother would cause some additional stress and worry. Presumably the father will be worried about his son’s safety as the sole custodial parent. From the viewpoint of the mother the psychotherapist sees that she may want a change and may want to be part of her son’s life. They need to make sure they “understand the limitations of your point of view and that you fully consider other relevant viewpoints.” (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2007) The psychotherapist will need to be sure their purpose is justifiable and clear. In this case the purpose is to solve the ethical dilemma without a negative impact on the client. The question at issue is whether or not the psychotherapist should allow the noncustodial mother to be a part of her son’s therapy. The question is clear and precise and targets the issue itself. The psychotherapist will be gathering information from many different sources throughout the dilemma, they will make sure the information is not biased; it is relevant, and accurate. The psychotherapist must make sure to watch for any inferences, assumptions and also need to logically follow all leads and not inferring more than the situation implies. Clarifying concepts will allow the psychotherapist to make sense of the situation and dilemma. Implications and consequences vary greatly on one hand if the psychotherapist decides to allow the mother into therapy it could help the client and help his mother on the other hand it could be detrimental to the mother son relationship and the mother could impact the client negatively. (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2007)
Recommendations:
While researching the laws in my state the Psychotherapist found that the state of North Dakota does not like alienating the noncustodial parent, they state that it could create more “issues” and “frequent returning to court”. The law however does not state such as in the example from Barnett’s reading above that the psychotherapist would have to include the noncustodial parent in therapy. It is actually dependent on what is best for the minor client. “Someone who has a mental disorder, abuses drugs or is abusive to people will require a more intense therapeutic intervention with a counselor, social worker, psychologists or psychiatrist. Most mediators are not qualified to work with those who need help specifically with parental alienation and parental alienation syndrome” and “Others who commonly need therapy are parents who spend too much time thinking about their divorce and having been betrayed by the system; parents who can't help driving by the marital home hoping for a glimpse of the ex-spouse or children; and parents who often think about their next phone call to the ex-spouse or the children and cannot seem to stop him or herself from making the calls. Other warning signs include an increase in the use of alcohol and drugs or an increase in high-risk behavior such as drinking and driving, unprotected sex, stalking, and harassing phone calls.” (Darnall, 1999) This basically lets the psychotherapist know that in this state whether or not the mother is to be involved in the child’s therapy is completely up to the psychotherapist in this specific dilemma. In this case after reviewing the final information the psychotherapist will have three discussions, the first will be with the custodial guardian the father. In this case the psychotherapist will inform him about the mother’s phone call and ask him his opinion on whether or not her entering therapy would be a good idea. After speaking with the father and if he thinks it would be okay to include the mother in therapy then the psychotherapist will have a conversation with the mother. In the conversation with the mother the psychotherapist would talk to her about getting help with her drinking problems and let her know that we could possibly include her in the therapy if it will help her son. But also let her know that her showing up drinking will not help her son and make sure it is included that she will not be drunk at the therapy and she will have to get help with her drinking problems. Before having the third conversation the psychotherapist would then consult the client on his feelings on his mother becoming a part of his therapy and that would be the deciding factor. The psychotherapist would bring up the negative and positive side effects as well as the stipulations with the father and client. The psychotherapist would also make it aware that the mother would not be included in all of the therapy sessions it could probably be something to do a trial on to see if that improves or worsens the clients condition. Dependent on what is decided at that time the psychotherapist will meet with all parties involved to discuss confidentiality and the client’s condition and therapy scheduling.
References:
American Psychological Association (2010). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2006). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and
Your Life (Custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing.
Barnett, J.E. (2008) The Ethical Practice of Psychotherapy: Easily Within our Reach. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64(5) 569-575. Doi:10.1002/jclp.2047
Darnall, D. (1999). North Dakota Law Review. (Vol. 75, pp. 323-364). Retrieved from http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/darnal99.htm
EFPA. (1999). Ethics of psychology. Retrieved from http://www.efpa.be/ethics.htm
Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2007). Elements of thought. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/ctmodel/logic-model1.htm
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