2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
If a person is attending or is going to attend psychotherapy sessions, the question of the ethics of the psychotherapist will be important for him. What does a psychotherapist have the right to do? The answer to this question is of great importance - it provides an understanding of the boundaries of what is acceptable in the relationship between the client and the therapist.
The most important rule is confidentiality. Any psychologist, if he observes the norms of ethics, will follow the principle of confidentiality, because this is a matter of honor, a kind of “code of moral conduct”. Why? If a psychotherapist does not comply with the norms of professional ethics, sooner or later this will become known, and accordingly, clients will not be able to trust him.
When is privacy breach allowed?
1. In the case of a psychologist contacting his supervisor, however, the latter is obliged to maintain confidentiality. Many psychotherapists in such situations change the client's name and some facts from his life that do not affect the therapeutic process itself.
2. In cases provided by law. In America and some European countries, even in such situations, a warrant is required in order for the therapist to provide the necessary information about the client to law enforcement agencies.
Is a psychotherapist obliged to independently apply to law enforcement if a client has violated the law or is engaged in illegal activities? This is a rather complex issue that requires direct legal advice.
As an example, consider a situation where a client committed suicide, and the police contacted a psychotherapist to clarify the possible reasons for such an action. In this case, confidentiality is not preserved, since there is no one to protect.
The next point in the therapist's ethics is not to harm the client, including not using him for his own purposes. What is related to this rule? First, do not break a person psychologically. Secondly, not to impose your own decision on the client, not to make a choice for him, thereby pushing towards your internal expectations (that is, you should not project your personal life onto the client). In what cases can this be? The psychologist did not fully understand his difficulties in life - he could not save his own marriage or the relationship of his parents, did not fulfill his childhood dream of becoming an artist, and so on.
With regard to inviting a client to seminars, intensives or lectures, the therapist is obliged to warn the client that he has the right to choose another psychotherapist.
Some clients prefer to see two therapists. However, in this case, there is a reciprocal responsibility on the part of the patient - at least it is necessary to inform psychotherapists about this, since in general the situation is unhealthy and rather complicated. In addition, you should definitely figure out why this is happening. Normally, dynamic long-term psychotherapy should be done with the same person. This behavior on the part of the client may indicate strong resistance. Even if there are no lasting changes, it is recommended to visit one psychotherapist, this is the only way to quickly figure out the true causes of the problem.
The third rule related to the ethics of the psychotherapist is called "Stop." The client at any time has the right to stop his therapist and say: "Sorry, I don't want to talk about this now." The psychologist, in turn, has no right to morally rape a person and break his resistance. In accordance with the norms of professional ethics, the therapist's response in such a situation should be: “Okay. Today you are not ready to discuss this topic, something is bothering you. Let us, when you are ready, we will return to it. " For the client, this is a point of resistance, but the therapist has no right to break through it in a rude way. Therapy is not violence, and everyone should remember this.
The final point is that the therapist must adhere to the client-therapist relationship. What does this mean? There should be no other relationship between the psychologist and the person attending psychotherapy sessions - sex, walking in the park, going to the cinema or theater, inviting for coffee are excluded. All this violates the client's safety in the first place and only aggravates his psychological problems. The layering of double relationships in the psyche can create the opposite effect. As a result, in the future, the client will not be able to trust psychotherapy, will receive severe psychological trauma, the treatment of which will need to be worked on for more than one year. That is why, if a therapist crosses the border of professional relations and invites a client to a cafe, it is worth discussing this issue with him and point out that he does not have the right to do this due to ethical standards of behavior.
As for the client, he has the right to invite his therapist somewhere or to offer a relationship. What to do with this directly to the therapist is his own decision. But the most optimal option in the framework of long-term dynamic therapy is refusal. In such matters, one cannot dissemble and justify one's actions - it does not matter which session is the first or the second, how the professional relationship “client-therapist” was established (only a consultation or a full-fledged beginning of psychotherapy).
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