Legal and Ethical Considerations for Group and Family Therapy
Therapy can be a broad term used to describe the styles as well as the modes of treatment for individuals with psychological issues. The intervention can be categorized into individual, family and group therapies. The legal and ethical considerations for group as well as family therapies take into account many facets as compared to individual therapy (Battle, 2015). A therapist must consider informed consent as well as privacy and confidentiality issues when administering group or family therapy. Seeking the permission of the clients before the therapy commences is an important aspect of consideration so that the patient is not coerced into undertaking the entire process. However, the care provider must guarantee privacy to ensure that the rights of the client are protected. Moreover, a professional counselor must adhere to the ethical aspect of neutrality and dual relationships when administering group or family therapy. Koukourikos and Pasmatzi (2014) posit that even though these ethical and legal
considerations apply for individual therapy, complexities are often encountered when using the same for group or family therapy. As opposed to individual therapy, both family and group therapies take into account different ages and circumstances of patients, which must be factored in during the intervention (Khawaja, Pollock, & Westermeyer, 2011). Nonetheless, perceived inequities among participants in group and family therapies pose difficulties in ethical and legal practices during intervention as opposed to individual therapy.
The above differences in legal and ethical considerations will influence how I administer services to my clients.
Particularly, for the group and family therapies, I will consider good practice by responding to the concerns of all participants without bias. I will use defendable reasons as I administer relational therapy so that couples in dispute can find a fair ground to resolve their conflict. According to Khawaja, Pollock and Westermeyer (2011), defendable reason, as opposed to justifications, lays a framework to acknowledge the feelings of patients equally. It ensures that the plight of all individuals in a group or family therapy are addressed without bias. Moreover, it allows individuals in crisis to express their willingness to explore issues of concern and develop a solution for the problem. For these reasons, that will be my preferential mode of operation during such therapies.
References
Battle, K. (2015). An analysis of select barriers to grief counseling groups for adolescents by school social workers in Georgia public schools. Georgia, GA: Atlanta University Press.
Khawaja, I. S., Pollock, K., & Westermeyer, J. J. (2011). The diminishing role of psychiatry in group psychotherapy: a commentary and recommendations for change. Innovations in clinical neuroscience, 8(11), 20.
Koukourikos, K., & Pasmatzi, E. (2014). Group therapy in psychotic inpatients. Health Science Journal, 8(3), 400.