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- Title
NO MORE MR. NICE GUY.
- Authors
Ryder, Robert G.; Tepley, Robert
- Abstract
The article examines the general ethical principles involved in family therapy which are benevolence and nonmalevolence, and respect for client autonomy. The traditional cliche disclaiming niceness is, perhaps appropriately, sex typed. The tradition in marital and family therapy, psychotherapy and mental health treatment in general, is that professionals are nice. Many therapists attempt to correct undesirable conduct. For example, they try to get clients to reduce or stop use of alcohol and illegal drugs. Certainly these therapists want to benefit their clients. Sometimes, however, there might be doubt that this is the sole or overriding motive. The purpose here is not to argue that informed consent is a foolish idea that should be discarded, nor that respect for client autonomy is unimportant. Quite the contrary is true. The argument is, however, that informed consent, respect for clients, and benevolence are not the universally desirable and available principles one might wish, or initially imagine. In the opinion of the present authors, therapists regularly fail to observe these ethical principles. There are very serious questions to be considered, regarding the extent to which the principles need to be refined to fit professional conduct, professional conduct modified to fit the principles, or professionals view of themselves modified with an acknowledgment that the imperfections of therapeutic work regularly include ethical imperfections.
- Subjects
FAMILY therapists; PROFESSIONAL ethics; THERAPEUTICS; MEDICAL care; PSYCHIATRY; MENTAL health
- Publication
Family Relations, 1993, Vol 42, Issue 2, p145
- ISSN
0197-6664
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/585447