Positive Ethics for Mental Health Professionals

Develop a practical and comprehensive view of professional ethics

In the newly updated Second Edition of Positive Ethics for Mental Health Professionals: A Proactive Approach, distinguished psychologists Drs. Sharon K. Anderson and Mitchell M Handelsman deliver an insightful guide for mental health professionals and trainees to stregthen and/or develop their professional and ethical identities.

Utilizing the same informal and inviting tone of the first edition, Anderson and Handelsman share the literature and provide positive discussions, exercises, case scenarios, and writing assignments, to help you explore and develop your ethical core. You'll also develop your self-reflective skills to learn how to make excellent ethical choices regarding psychotherapy and couseling.

This edition of the book also offers:

• An introduction of the idea of "tripping points", or predictable pitfalls, when making ethical choices.
• Discussions of nonrational factors in ethical decision-making, including biases, heuristics, and emotional influences.
• A renewed focus on ethical acculturation, which emphasizes the importance of your own background in the development of your ethical identity.

Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students studying psychotherapy and mental health counseling, Positive Ethics for Mental Health Professionals, will also earn a place in the libraries of mental health practitioners seeking a primer on the complicated ethical issues that inevitably arise in their practices- and how to prepare for them and navigate them.

Contents

About the Authors viii
Preface ix
Introduction 1

Part I Taking Stock

Chapter 1- Basics of Awareness: Knowing Yourself and Your Core
Chapter 2- Basics of Awareness: Privilege, Discrimination, Oppression, and Social Justice
Chapter 3- The Process of Acculturation: Developing Your Professional Ethical Identity
Chapter 4- Navigating the Ethical Culture of Psychotherapy

Part II The Nuts and Bolts of Psychotherapy Ethics

Chapter 5- Boundaries and Multiple Relationships in the Psychotherapy Relationship
Chapter 6- Confidentiality: A Critical Element of Trust in the Relationship
Chapter 7- Informed Consent: The Three-Legged Stool
Chapter 8- Making the Most of Supervision
Chapter 9- Ending Psychotherapy: The Good, The Bad and the Ethical

Part III The Ethical Ceiling

Chapter 10- Putting It all Together: Toward Ethical Excellence


Appendix A: Possible Information to be Shared with Clients
Appendix B: Policy Areas
References From a Master's Student in Counseling Psychology- "I thought ethics would be arduous and full of technical terms and rules...This book was transformative in the way I look at ethics. It was so easy to read/understand and the layout made it so readable. i really appreciate the Journal Entry prompts and the Food for Thought prompts as well! Who knew I would find an ethics book I couldn't put down?!"

SHARON K. ANDERSON, PhD, is a Professor of Counseling and Career Development at Colorado State University. Dr. Anderson is a licensed psychologist and has clinical experience working with adults and the elderly as well as supervision experience with master’s-level students in training and those seeking licensure. She is a co-author of Foundations of Ethical Practice, Research and Teaching in Psychology and Counseling.

MITCHELL M. HANDELSMAN, PhD, is an award-winning Professor of Psychology and CU President’s Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado Denver. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He is an associate editor of the APA Handbook of Ethics in Psychology and a co-author of Ethical Dilemmas in Psychotherapy: Positive Approaches to Decision Making.

The latest edition of an expert text setting out a practical and accessible view of professional ethics

Now in its second edition, Positive Ethics for Mental Health Professionals is an insightful exploration of psychotherapeutic ethics for practitioners and students of the discipline. Readers will learn to strengthen and develop their core professional and ethical identities while learning to avoid some of the most common pitfalls professionals face when they make decisions.

This guide offers positive discussions, exercises, case scenarios, and writing assignments to help readers develop the self-reflective skills they’ll need to make excellent ethical decisions in psychotherapy and counseling settings.

Positive Ethics for Mental Health Professionals: A Proactive Approach, Second Edition explores:

• Knowing your own ethical character and the context in which you make decisions, including privilege, discrimination, oppression, and social justice
• The nuts and bolts of psychotherapy ethics, including patient and therapist boundaries, confidentiality, informed consent to treatment, and concluding the psychotherapeutic relationship
• A renewed focus on readers’ core ethical identities, as well as a new discussion of “tripping points,” or predictable pitfalls in making ethical choices

Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students studying psychotherapy and mental health as well as practicing mental health professionals seeking an introduction or refresher to professional ethics, Positive Ethics for Mental Health Professionals is also an ideal ancillary text in courses covering ethics, psychotherapy, and mental health.