Category: Ethics
The Good Therapy Blog
January 10th, 2012 |
As a companion piece to the 50 Warning Signs of Questionable Therapy article, it's important to understand there are many signs of good therapy as well. After all, good therapy has been proven to help people from all walks of life, in thousands of different situations and in countless ways.
Good therapy is all about helping the client to feel better, to make healthy decisions and set healthy boundaries, to move from a place of poor emotional health to good emotional health, to make connections with others, and to replace sadness, anxiety, anger, and frustration with happiness, peace, and hopefulness... Read More
December 23rd, 2011 |
Technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past several decades, affording clinicians the opportunity to provide services in more unique and far reaching way ways than ever before. However, these advancements have not come without risk. “Unfortunately, professional psychologists have also identified a number of disadvantages associated with the increased use of technology in psychological practice, including difficulties in managing electronic database and communication security, unauthorized access to client data, inappropriate disclosures of identifying information, and unethical... Read More
© Copyright 2011 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Naperville Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
November 4th, 2011 |
If Hollywood is an indicator of our most common fantasies, modern Americans want to sleep with their therapists. I am horrified that so many television shows and movies depict romantic relationships between therapists and clients as though they were perfectly normal! The truth is, romance within a therapeutic relationship is as far from normal, acceptable, healthy, and sane as you can possibly get.
The writers of How I Met Your Mother currently have the character Robin dating her previous therapist. The relationship has been rationalized through a serious of cutesy excuses: “Well, we only... Read More
June 30th, 2011 |
A recent article brings the severely distorted ethical and psychological life of the late Stuart Greenberg, renowned psychologist, back into the spotlight. Although it has been nearly four years since the suicide of the expert witness, many of those whose lives he affected remember the actions he took as if it were yesterday. For decades Greenberg held the... Read More
© Copyright 2011 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist St. Louis Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
May 6th, 2011 |
I enjoy reading the responses to my articles. Responses to the most recent one of Feedback: The Single Most Important Skill, focused on the complexity of giving and receiving feedback. I want to now add a few comments to those responses. Here are some challenges I have named related to using feedback.
A. A Fear of causing pain or disregard for causing pain
"D" says, "someone may have done a very bad job and you could be furious with him or her, or you may be a frank person, but this does not entitle you to shout at the person... Read More
March 14th, 2011 |
As I say in the prologue to my book, Power, Abused, Power Healed: Every form of power can be used well or misused... Sexuality has been used as a weapon to rape and dominate, as a substitute for unmet childhood bonding and physical touch, and as an exquisite sacred expression of love and union.*
We people in our world have such distortions related to sexuality. It is mind-boggling and heart-boggling! The misuse and abuse of sexuality in our world are mind-boggling and heart-boggling! And the impact on each of us and all of us is so damaging, so destructive.
Women and children are seduced,... Read More
March 3rd, 2011 |
To continue with the theme of the Paramitas from last month, when we began with Generosity, we will look at the practice of Ethics or Morality (Shila in Pali), sometimes referred to as Discipline.
Many of us have a negative response to the words Morality and Discipline (and possibly Ethics). It can sound like something imposed, a “Should” that we never quite live up to. Some of us feel hopeless around these words, or like bad people, or self-righteous. In truth, Discipline and Morality are inner qualities that, when cultivated within a clear framework, bring a sense of peace and well being,... Read More
December 27th, 2010 |
Who are you? How do you define your identity? Often, we use external associations to frame how we are different from other people. Clothing styles, sports teams, religious denominations, hobbies, music preference: we’re each a unique combination of preferences, values, and inclinations that distinguishes us from everyone else. So should it threaten us that our loved ones identify slightly differently than we do? Apparently, it does. A study of how people shop finds that purchasing a gift that threatens our identity... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Plano Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
May 28th, 2010 |
There is no debate about the fact that sociopathy is a real condition which interferes with or precludes the capacity for empathy and remorse. However, there is debate about how sociopathy should be viewed, and I take a unique and unpopular position.
The etiology of sociopathy is an important area of research that by no means has produced a final verdict on the cause of this condition. The collective research on sociopathy suggests that there are a number of possible interrelated causes for the condition including cultural, environmental, and genetic factors. As far as I know, there is no research... Read More
March 11th, 2010 |
A psychology teacher asked her ethics class, “All of you agree with the rule about no dual role relationships, right? “ (All heads nodded.) Then he said, “So, let’s get real here. I won’t report this, but I’m curious. How many of you have had a dual relationship with a client? How many of you have betrayed confidentiality? How many of you have had to deal with feeling attracted to a client? How many of you have caused harm, even if you didn’t intend to? Or how many of you have made a big mistake?” Most hands go up.... Read More
February 24th, 2010 |
One of the most important elements of caring treatment and psychological services for many clients is the guarantee of confidentiality that they can expect from professionals. This importance of confidentiality and the trust that underlies it have come under heavy scrutiny this week as the UK attempts to sort out whether a national bullying helpline should have disclosed information about calls originating from the office of the... Read More
© Copyright 2010 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Lafayette Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
September 23rd, 2009 |
When a child gets killed, it gets our attention. Consider the words of Nicholas Scopetta, former Executive Director of The Administration of Children’s Services: “people may not understand the intricacies of the system, but they certainly know when a child is killed.”
It’s true. We put down our coffee cup, lift our heads from the paper, take pause in our morning commute. With friends and co-workers, we debate (institutional reform vs. personal responsibility); at home, we reconsider our practice of discipline; in our minds, for the briefest of moments, we become aware of the horror of... Read More
July 10th, 2009 |
The Wall Street Journal's health blog has picked up on recent concerns over the effectiveness of state-mandated mental health care for outpatients. A New York law established to protect citizens and ensure that those in need of therapy and other treatment modalities receive proper attention, “Kendra's Law” has been raising questions about whether forced treatment, often involving medication, can ever be an ethical program.... Read More
© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Anchorage Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
July 6th, 2009 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Update
The idea of the mystery shopper is fairly prevalent within the world of retail; paid professionals wander stores, seek employee assistance, and go through the motions of making a purchase, all with the intent of scoring the performance of the store involved and filing a report which can help the store to find new ways to improve. Those who are “tested” by mystery shoppers tend to be of mixed in their reaction to the idea; some see it as an honest opportunity to find potential problems, while others feel that it is an infringement on their trust... Read More
© Copyright 2009 by http://www.GoodTherapy.org Therapist Austin Bureau - All Rights Reserved.
