The ethics of psychotherapy

The author addresses the ethics of psychotherapy in terms of the interface between science and ethics, the goals of treatment, the therapeutic relationship, and special issues of confidentiality and therapist-patient sex. He considers the problems of multiple therapeutic modalities, dual allegiance of the therapist, the therapeutic use (and abuse) of power, and issues of dependency and suggests ways to maximize the clinician's exercise of ethical choices. Ethical dilemmas in psychotherapy are not entirely soluble; ultimately, the therapist, guided by his or her profession as a group, will be able to find answers to the complex problems that inevitably arise.