An important question that has arisen over the decades is: What is the ability of minors to give informed consent to receive psychotherapy treatment? Research exploring this important question emerged decades ago and continues until today, and this subject touches upon professional, legal, and ethical dimensions. One early study that explores minors’ ability to give […]
Taking a Stance: When Is It Ethical for Psychologists to Weigh In on Controversial Issues?
Public controversies in the United States are not new, but it seems that in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere around the country, public controversies have become the new norm these days. Some of these controversies are political, scientific, public, and policy based. Adding complexity, the general public often looks to professionals in various professions to weigh […]
Professional Practice in the Digital Age: E-mail as a means of Therapist-Client Communication
In 2012, Marion Mattison published an article in a noted social work journal that explains the opportunities, as well as the challenges, of communication with clients through e-mail within a clinical context. Clearly, as e-mail has become a well-established means of digital communication over the past two decades, it has raised questions about the ethics, […]
Ethical Concepts for Professional Therapists
From Aristotle to Mill, Professional Therapists have Ethical Concepts to Help Guide Their Decisions As in most professions, therapists, psychologists and mental health counselors may face decisions that have a moral dimension, and knowing how to choose may not be easy. Luckily, there remains a number of sound theoretical approaches—sound moral theoretical approaches, that is—that […]