Licensed professional marriage and family therapists have a very important role to play in helping married couples and families solve the relationship problems such as discord between husband and wife, and conflict between parents and children. They help to prevent the family from breaking up by offering professional counseling based on psychological expertise. Since clients confide in them about their very personal family matters, such therapists have to be sensitive to the ethical implications of such a relationship. They should not make unauthorized use of such information. If the information about a patient is to be used to prepare a case study, permission should be sought and the names of the people should be changed.
Abnormal Psychology
Ethical Issues
Ethical Issues related to Licensed Professional Marriage and Family Therapists
Licensed professional marriage and family therapists have a very important role to play in helping married couples and families solve the relationship problems such as discord between husband and wife, and conflict between parents and children. They help to prevent the family from breaking up by offering professional counseling based on psychological expertise. Since clients confide in them about their very personal family matters, such therapists have to be sensitive to the ethical implications of such a relationship. They should not make unauthorized use of such information. If the information about a patient is to be used to prepare a case study, permission should be sought and the names of the people should be changed. The therapists should also avoid trying to get involved in a romantic or sexual relationship with the client.
Ethical Issues related to Unlicensed Professional Marriage and Family Therapists
The ethical issues become even more serious when an unlicensed professional marriage and family therapist is involved. The unlicensed therapist is not governed by the code of ethics of any professional association and is not bound by its regulations. He or she has to still maintain confidentiality of the information that has been entrusted to him or her by the client. The unlicensed therapist is under a greater ethical duty to avoid making unauthorized use of the client's personal information because there are no regulatory constraints on the therapist to do so. The therapist should also make any recordings of the sessions with the clients after seeking prior permission. The therapist should avoid discussing the client's problems with colleagues or with other clients. The therapist should not try to manipulate the client to achieve any personal interest at the cost of the psychological well-being of the client. The therapist should avoid entering into personal relationships with the client at all costs.
Application of Concepts of Abnormal Psychology outside the Therapeutic Environment
The concepts of abnormal psychology can easily find wide application beyond the therapeutic environment in areas such as business, education, family life and social settings.
Concepts of Abnormal Psychology Applied in Business
The psychoanalytical approach used in abnormal psychology can be used to explain some of the maladaptive behaviors of employees. Employees can also be motivated to learn new behaviors by using the learning models used in abnormal psychology. Some of the disruptive and maladaptive behaviors such as chronic absenteeism or poor performance can be interpreted in the light of learning models of abnormal psychology. For instance, an employee may be demonstrating chronic poor performance or absenteeism as part of a learnt behavior rather than as a biological or cognitive problem. The employee may be taking too long to complete work assignments in order to avoid being overburdened by more work. The learning model can also be used to develop favorable attitudes towards a product among consumers. An unconditioned stimulus, e.g. An attractive model or celebrity, can be associated with a conditioned stimulus, e.g. The product to be sold to generate the desired response, i.e. product sale.
Concepts of Abnormal Psychology Applied in Education
The concepts of abnormal psychology can be widely applied in the field of education to teach new knowledge, skills and behaviors to students. Students learn by progressing from the known to the unknown. This strategy can be supplemented with the use of examples to create an association between what students already know to what they do not know. The biological and psychological models of psychopathology may also be applied to dealing with behavioral problems of students. A student may be displaying aggressiveness towards fellow students due to biological factors such as hormonal changes taking place during puberty or due to certain mineral deficiencies. The behavioral problems may also be explained in the light of the psychological model and causes such as stress caused by parental conflict and low self-esteem. Understanding the various causes can enable educators to come up with sound solutions.
Concepts of Abnormal Psychology Applied in Family Life
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