Ethical issues in licensed and unlicensed marriage and family therapy

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.

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

The concepts of abnormal psychology can also be applied in family life to help family members understand the behaviors of one another. In primitive and conservative cultures, knowledge of abnormal psychology concepts can encourage family members to acknowledge and address psychological problems instead of ascribing to the demonic possession perspective. In Asian and African families, a greater number of psychological cases may be reported and help from professionals be sought. This could increase the quality of family life and strengthen family relationships. People could feel more comfortable when their psychological problems are addressed as medical issues instead of becoming a reason for labeling them as mad or insane by the family members. Children could also be disciplined in the family if parents and guardians use the learning model to administer appropriate rewards and punishments.

Concepts of Abnormal Psychology Applied in Social Settings

Abnormal psychology can help to understand how people behave in social settings by analyzing the psychological, cognitive and biological reasons for the behavior. A person may act withdrawn and introverted in a group of people due to a consciousness about a stammering problem, bad breath, having nothing to say, or irritation with a certain person in the group. It is very important that each factor be considered before it can be said with certainty what is causing the specific behavior. It can help to make an accurate and fair prediction about the person.