The Ethics of Group Psychotherapy
Principles and Practical Strategies
Virginia Brabender, Rebecca MacNair-Semands
- 192 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
The Ethics of Group Psychotherapy
Principles and Practical Strategies
Virginia Brabender, Rebecca MacNair-Semands
About This Book
The Ethics of Group Psychotherapy provides group psychotherapists with the ethical and legal foundation needed to engage in effective decision-making in their everyday group practices.
This text provides readers with a framework for understanding ethical dilemmas through a review of major models of ethical thinking, including principlism, feminism and the ethics of care, and virtue ethics. The authors use this foundation to explore those problems emerging most routinely in group practice, among which are safeguarding members' personal information, protecting members' autonomy, and helping members to process differencesâparticularly those related to privilege and oppressionâin a way that furthers interpersonal relations and social justice. Throughout the text, practical tools such as using assessments to aid in member selection and tracking progress and outcome throughmeasurement-based careare offered that bolster the group psychotherapist's effectiveness in ethical decision-making.
Featuring questions for discussion and items to assess the reader's master of the material, this text will be a valuable tool in classroom and small-group learning.
Frequently asked questions
Information
1 Ethical, Legal, and Professional Fundamentals
Ethical Paradigms
No code of ethics, however well written, can anticipate all of the various situations in which psychologists may confront ethical dilemmas, and no code of ethics may be able to specify concrete actions for the psychologist to follow in all situations. Consequently, some of the possible ethical conflicts faced by psychologists have no clear solution and require psychologists to engage in an ethical decision process involving the balancing of competing ethical standards. (p. 565).
Principlism
- Respect for Autonomy means avoiding actions that would deprive or limit individualsâ control over their own lives and, conversely, engaging in actions that would expand their autonomy. This principle is implicated in such clinical activity as providing informed consent when recruiting members for a group (Brabender, 2006). When patients are given all relevant information about the group they are considering entering, their autonomy (i.e., making a well-informed decision) is preserved.
- Beneficence refers to those clinical actions that aim to promote the welfare of the client. Specific Beneficence is directed at a particular party, typically the client, but also, perhaps, the client's family. General Beneficence has a non-specific referent. When practitioners strive to deliver services competently to contribute to the creation of a more just society, they are serving General Beneficence. Non-maleficence reflects the value of avoiding action that would harm a group member. For example, this principle would dictate that a group psychotherapist would avoid the use of a technique that, while having some potential to benefit a group member, could also damage the member in another respect.
- Justice entails that the therapist adopts an inclusive attitude toward the provision of services, offering members ââŚfair, equitable, and appropriate treatment in light of what is due or owed to personsâ (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009, p. 241). For example, a therapist who conducts the group in a venue that is accessible to individuals with ambulatory challenges is acting in accordance with the principle of Justice. Justice is also served when a therapist is vigilant during the sessions to ensure that individuals who have been silenced or marginalized in society at large do not experience similar events in the group.
- Fidelity, or loyalty, is the practitioner's responsibility to place the patient's interest before self-interest. Adherence to Fidelity is seen in the behavior of the therapist who encourages an unimproved member to seek alternate treatment even though this recommendation might be at odds with the therapist's financial interests. At times, practitionersâ relationships with third parties can threaten the observance of Fidelity (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009). For example, a group psychotherapist might allow a colleague to solicit group members for participation in a study. Even though creating this opportunity for the colleague might hold no advantage for members, the therapist might do so to enhance the collegial relationship. Fidelity does not demand that the therapist subordinate all self-interests to member interests. For example, a therapist might decide to move the group because the rent for the current office has risen dramatically. Even though the new location of the group might be somewhat less convenient for some members, the action is defensible because the therapist has a right to contain costs. Where Fidelity is most critically considered is where the therapist's consideration of self-interest can hinder the member in deriving benefit from the group.
Principle | Definition | Example of Behaviors Consistent with Principle |
---|---|---|
Non-maleficence | The group psychotherapist will avoid actions that lead to harm for group members or other entities such as the therapist's profession or society at large. | The group psychotherapist avoids using techniques that have been shown to be harmful to members. |
Beneficence | The group psychotherapist will engage in actions that lead to positive outcomes for members. | The group psychotherapist develops a strong therapeutic alliance with members. |
Respect for Autonomy | The group psychotherapist honors membersâ right to self-determination. | The group psychotherapist alerts the prospective member of the risks of group treatment. |
Justice | The group psychotherapist strives to provide equitable and fair treatment. | The group psychotherapist works in a physical environment that is accessible to individuals with varying physical abilities. |
Fidelity | The group psychotherapist gives priority to the membersâ interests over self-interest. | A group psychotherapist, rather than abandoning group members, makes provisions for them in case the therapist needs to terminate the group. |
Lettice was a second-year student in a doctoral program in clinical psychology. Lettice's academic advisor, who had her in a case conference that semester, noticed that she participated rarely. Lettice disclosed that she had always felt discomfort in group situations and frequently was passive. She expressed frustration over this longstanding reticence. The advisor recommended a particular private-practice outpatient group, which Lettice did join. Six months later, when the advisor met with her, he made a comment about an event in her family that she had mentioned in a group session and to a few close friends in the program. Lettice believed it was far more likely that he received information from the former rather than the latter source. She confronted him, saying it was evident to her that some communication had occurred between the therapist and advisor. She went on to say that both had acted unethically, and she intended to discontinue with the group. The advisor said that he had had a few conversations with the therapist and that it was to her benefit that some coordination occu...