The Book of Ethics

The nature of substance abuse as a biological, psychological, social, and spiritual disease requires a high standard of ethical knowledge and professional skill among those caring for clients with addiction. Although many health care providers working in the treatment field are themselves in recovery, all have internalized cultural biases and personal prejudices regarding addiction that require self-awareness, frequent consultation, and monitoring of therapeutic boundaries for the well-being of both patient and professional. In The Book of Ethics: Expert Guidance for Professionals Who Treat Addiction, renowned psychiatric ethicist Laura Roberts and religious medical ethicist Cynthia Geppert have worked together to offer students, faculty, and professionals from various disciplines a groundbreaking guide to contemporary ethical issues in the field of chemical dependency treatment. In this accessible, reader-friendly handbook, Roberts and Geppert tackle such central issues as the therapeutic relationship, confidentiality, abuse, gender- and age-specific concerns, and HIPAA compliancea??setting the standard for contemporary ethical practices.

Cynthia M. A. Geppert, MD, PhD, MPH, is chief of consultation psychiatry and ethics at the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System, where she specializes in the care of patients with bipolar disorder, dual diagnosis, and trauma. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and director of ethics education at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, and the associate director of the Religious Studies Program at the University of New Mexico. She is an ordained priest in the Independent Catholic tradition. Dr. Geppert teaches, writes, and conducts research in consultation psychiatry, clinical ethics, spirituality, medical education, addiction, and psychopharmacology.Laura Weiss Roberts, MD, MA, serves as chairman and Charles E. Kubly Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Roberts is a nationally recognized scholar and leader in ethics, psychiatry, medicine, and medical education. She has written extensively on topics including professionalism, clinical and research ethics, informed consent, clinical medicine, rural health care, health disparities, educational scholarship, end-of-life care, and physician and medical student health care.