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An ethical dilemma in psychotherapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Jeremy Holmes ,
Gwen Adshead  and
Jeanette Smith
Jeremy Holmes
Affiliation:
North Devon District Hospital, Raleigh Park, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 4JB
Gwen Adshead
Affiliation:
Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF
Jeanette Smith
Affiliation:
Fromeside Clinic, Blackberry Hill, Bristol BS16 1EP
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Abstract

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This paper examines the ethical principles of justice and autonomy in psychotherapy. A case history is presented which illustrates how ethical dilemmas concerning the type of psychotherapy to be offered are powerfully influenced by often unconscious counter-transference feelings in the resource allocators. The question of how autonomous a psychotherapy patient can be, when unconscious motivations could be affecting rational choice, is also explored and possible answers provided.

Type
Original papers
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 18 , Issue 8 , August 1994 , pp. 466 - 468
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994

References

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