Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Ethical and Legal Issues Unique to Systemic Family Therapy  Introduction o Things to consider that are not theory  Ethical principles  Code of ethics  Applicable laws  The context in which therapy takes place  Agency of stakeholders, especially clients themselves o Autonomy—the individual’s ability to make decisions for themselves, which includes being fully informed about the benefits and risks of therapy prior to engaging in the therapeutic relationship  Reflected in standard 1.2 in ethics manual o Beneficence—indicates the practitioner will practice to the best of the ability to benefit the client; from this comes the edict to do good o Non-maleficence—idea that the clinician will do not harm to the client in the course of providing services o Veracity—refers to the clinician being truthful to the clients and providing a level of honesty in their work with others o Justice—refers to fairness in therapy and providing services without discrimination  Standard 1.1 of ethics manual o Fidelity—refers to honoring commitments and prompting trust o Steps of factors to consider  Having an awareness that an ethical dilemma is present  Identifying facts related to the dilemma  Consideration of relevant ethical principles  Profession’s code of ethics  Consideration of applicable laws  Consultation with peers  Consideration of culture and context  Decision making  Follow-up evaluation of the process o Drawback to this decision making  Assume clinicians will have time to think through the multi-step process when they need to be made in a moment  Also separate actions and decisions from relationships  If the situation is not seen in terms of ethics, then the entire ethical decision-making process will not happen o Complexity of ethical decision making  Increased when working with two or more members of a system  These people may reflect different cultures, customs, and values, in addition to the therapists o SLEEPP Model of ethical decision making  S: sociocultural considerations