Ethics and professional issues in couple and family therapy - Original PDF
نویسندگان: Megan J. Murphy (editor)
خلاصه: The Lincoln family attends therapy for concerns about their oldest daughter, Elise, who is 15 years old. Elise has been breaking curfew, and the family fears she is using drugs. Dr. Shindell sees all the family members, parents Kelly and Sam Lincoln, Elise, and her younger sister, Macy, age 12. Family therapy focuses on getting the parents to synchro- nize their parenting efforts to strengthen the parental hierarchy. As ther- apy progresses, Dr. Shindell receives a voicemail from Sam’s mother, Mrs. Lincoln, stating her concern that Kelly and Sam are unfit parents, and that she and her husband would like to try to gain custody of the girls. The elder Mrs. Lincoln states in the message that Sam has been known to hit Elise out of frustration for her misbehavior. Ethics is about what actions we should take, which rules govern our conduct, what “right thing” we should do, and what we ought not to do. It is also about how we justify our actions. When making ethical decisions, couple and family therapists need well-founded reasons to support their actions. Our sense of ethics is influenced by scholarship and evidence, and is shaped by our values, worldview, and context (Roberts & Dyer, 2004). Ethics involves cognition and affect, and a “moral sensitivity” that includes the recognition that our actions affect the welfare of others (Welfel & Kitchener, 2003). Clients’ values and morals also need to be clearly under- stood so that empowering, collaborative decisions can be made. When facing situations that may have ethical quandaries, couple and family therapists can make decisions using the following four criteria: