Ethical Conundrums, Quandaries and Predicaments in Mental Health Practice A Casebook from the Files of Experts

by Johnson, W. Brad; Koocher, Gerald P.

• ISBN13: 9780195385298
• ISBN10: 0195385292
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-03-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

s it ethical to treat a death row inmate only to stabilize him or her for eventual execution? What happens when a military provider receives highly sensitive intelligence from a client? How can clinicians refuse costly gifts from clients without damaging the therapeutic relationship? Should a therapist disclose a client's suicidal intent to the authorities? In Ethical Conundrums, Quandaries and Predicaments in Mental Health Practice , these and other real-life scenarios constitute a comprehensive and definitive ethics casebook for mental health professionals. Inspired by the many difficult situations they themselves have faced, an eminent group of accomplished mental health clinicians provide first-hand accounts of ethical problems that defy boilerplate solutions. Each chapter begins with a compelling and ethically complex case followed by an illustrative yet succinct analysis of the key ethical issues present and a personal reflection on the case itself, along with the process of ethical reasoning used to arrive at a final decision. Every case concludes with key recommendations for promoting ethical practice within an often challenging work setting. Highlighting the human aspect of ethics in mental health practice through the use of mesmerizing narratives while also provoking the reader to reflect upon what is the "right" thing to do, Ethical Conundrums, Quandaries and Predicaments in Mental Health Practice offers trainees and seasoned professionals alike invaluable informative models for dealing with ethical dilemmas, as well as the inspiration to confront seemingly insurmountable clinical problems.

Author Biography

W. Brad Johnson is Professor of Psychology at the United States Naval Academy and Faculty Associate in the Graduate School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. As a past chair of the American Psychological Association's Ethics Committee and a former Director of Research for George Fox University's Graduate School of Clinical Psychology, Johnson is a leading authority on ethical practice in clinical psychology, having authored many publications including 10 books in the area of mental health and counseling.

Gerald P. Koocher is Associate Provost and Professor of Psychology at Simmons College and a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. Having served as the President of the American Psychological Association (APA) and as the Chief Psychologist at Children's Hospital Boston, he has authored more than 200 articles and book chapters and authored or edited 15 books, including the paramount text in ethics and mental health, Ethics in Psychology and the Mental Health Professions: Professional Standards and Cases, now in its third edition.

Table of Contents

Contributors	p. xi
Juggling Porcupines: Being Ethical in Challenging Roles and Work Settings	p. 1
In the Psychotherapist's Office
But It's a Really Nice Gift! Ethical Challenges in Responding to Offers of Gifts From Clients	p. 9
Everyone I Know Knows Everyone I Know: Boundary Overlap in the Life of One Lesbian Psychotherapist	p. 17
Hitler Should Have Finished the Job: Countertransference, Anti-Semitism, Abandonment, and Termination	p. 25
Suicidal Blackmail: Ethical and Risk Management Issues in Contemporary Clinical Care	p. 33
An Affair to Remember: Protecting Vulnerable Clients and Confidentiality When Spouses Cheat	p. 41
Trapped by Trauma: When Clients Cannot or Will Not Protect Themselves From Harm	p. 49
To Warn or Not to Warn: That Is the Question	p. 55
What Would She Think? Disclosure of Therapy Details After Death	p. 63
It's My Right! Working With a Terminally (or Chronically) I11, Persistently Suicidal Client	p. 71
In the Forensic World
High Stakes Indeed: Forensic Psychology in Death Penalty Litigation	p. 83
Is That What I Said? Ethical Challenges When Parents Divorce During Treatment	p. 93
Now You See It, Now You Don't: When Releases of Information Are Rescinded	p. 101
The Siren Song of Silence: Ensuring a Basis for Professional Judgments	p. 111
ôThera-mailö for a Quarter Century: Managing Complex Boundaries With a Former Client	p. 119
Jonas and His Protective, Delusional, or Alienating Mother: Advocacy, Forensics, and Boundaries With Battered Women	p. 127
In Medical Center Corridors
Determining a Patient's Capacity to Refuse Dialysis and Die: When Professional Competence and Credentials Do Not Overlap	p. 141
When Boundaries Intersect in Cyberspace: Facebook, Multiple Relationships, and Confidentiality in a Hospital	p. 149
Second Chances: Decision Making in Pediatric Transplantation	p. 157
On Being There: Boundaries in Emotionally Intense Contexts	p. 167
In National Security Settings
ôI've Got This Friendö: Multiple Roles, Informed Consent, and Friendship in the Military	p. 175
Establishing Rapport With an ôEnemy Combatantö: Cultural Competency in Guantanamo Bay	p. 183
Psychotic, Homicidal, and Armed: The Delicate Balance Between Personal Safety and Effectiveness in a Combat Environment	p. 189
ôWhat Do You Know That Can Help Us?ö Behavioral Science in National Security Settings	p. 197
In Organizations
A Disaster in a Suit and Tie: When Organizational Policies Undermine Ethical Obligations	p. 207
Risking Your Job: On Striving to be an Ethical Leader in Difficult Organizational Circumstances	p. 215
When Bad Things Happen to People Who Try Really Hard: Ethical Quandaries in Test Validation	p. 223
In Schools and Colleges
When in Doubt, Pull Them Out? Ethical Issues Related to Decisions on Child Removal From the Home	p. 233
A Near Fall: The Multifaceted Challenges to Work in Sport Psychology and Intercollegiate Athletics	p. 241
Doing Good Versus Avoiding Harm: Resolving Situational Contradictions	p. 249
Supervising or Assisting Colleagues
The Wink: Ethical Aspects of Encountering Clients in Unexpected Places	p. 261
Can You Help Us? Supervising Graduate Students in a Crisis Situation	p. 269
Doing It by the Book: Ethical Issues in Teaching a Group Didactically and Experientially	p. 277
So, How Exactly Did You Get Interested in Eating Disorders? Confronting a Colleague's Unhealthy Behaviors	p. 287
Knocked Off Kilter: Supervising in the Wake of Sexual Boundary Violations	p. 297
Religious Concerns and Settings
Of Course It's Confidential-Only the Community Knows: Mental Health Services With the Old Order Amish	p. 309
Working Out One's Salvation in Fear and Trembling: Ethical and Spiritual Dilemmas Around Therapeutic Boundaries	p. 317
In the Public Arena
A Psychologist in Congress: Ethics, the Constitution, Politics, Clinical Judgment, and the Case of Terri Schiavo	p. 327
Isn't This Against the Law? Boundary Problems in Police Psychology,'	p. 335
Index	p. 345
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