The ethics of psychotherapy

Abstract

The ethics of psychotherapy was discussed in terms of the interface between science and ethics, the goals of treatment, the therapeutic relationship, and special issues of confidentiality and therapist-patient sex. The problems of multiple therapeutic modalities, dual allegiance of the therapist, the therapeutic use (and abuse) of power, and issues of dependency were considered and ways to maximize the clinician''s exercise of ethical choices were suggested. Ethical dilemmas in psychotherapy are not entirely soluble; ultimately, the therapist, guided by his or her profession as a group, will be able to find answers to the complex problems that inevitably arise.