Applied Ethics in Mental Health Care: An Interdisciplinary Reader

By: Dominic A. Sisti and Artur L. Caplan and Hila Rimon-Greenspan

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Synopsis: This book discusses some of the most critical ethical issues in mental health caretoday, including the moral dimensions of addiction, patient autonomy and compulsory treatment,privacy and confidentiality, and the definition of mental illness itself. Although debates overthese issues are ongoing, there are few comprehensive resources for addressing such dilemmas in thepractice of psychology, psychiatry, social work, and other behavioral and mental health careprofessions. This book meets that need, providing foundational background for undergraduate,graduate, and professional courses. Topics include central questions such asevolving views of the morality and pathology of deviant behavior; patient competence and thedecision to refuse treatment; recognizing and treating people who have suffered trauma; addiction asillness; the therapist's responsibility to report dangerousness despite patient confidentiality; andboundaries for the therapist's interaction with patients outside of therapy, whether in the form oftennis games, gift-giving, or social media contact. For the most part the selections addresscontemporary issues in contemporary terms, but the book also offers a few historic or classicessays, including Thomas S. Szasz's controversial 1971 article "The Ethics of Addiction. "Contributors include Laura Weiss Roberts, Frederic G. Reamer, Charles P. O'Brien, and ThomasMcLellan.