TY - JOUR
T1 - Informed consent for psychotherapy
T2 - A look at therapists' understanding, opinions, and practices
AU - Croarkin, Paul
AU - Berg, Jennifer
AU - Spira, James
PY - 2003
Y1 - 2003
N2 - Forensic experts agree that the doctrine of informed consent now applies to psychotherapy. The optimum level of detail and content in this interaction remains nebulous. This study examines opinions and practices of therapists. The authors administered a survey regarding this subject to 231 psychotherapists. Six scales were constructed from this survey. High scores on these scales suggest more positive opinions regarding the application of the doctrine of informed consent to psychotherapy. Psychiatrists scored significantly lower on the Informed Consent (p=0.005), Written Consent (p<0.001), and Self-Disclosure (p=0.026) scales than other types of therapists (suggesting a more negative opinion of the application of this doctrine to psychotherapy). Interpersonal therapists scored significantly higher than psychodynamic psychotherapists on the Informed Consent (p=0.003) and Patient (p=0.003) scales. Psychodynamic psychotherapists scored significantly lower than therapists with different modalities on the Written Consent scale. This paper suggests that opinions and practices of informed consent for psychotherapy vary with the characteristics of the therapist. More research in this area could serve as a guide for therapists embarking on the process of informed consent or for professional organizations who wish to establish guidelines.
AB - Forensic experts agree that the doctrine of informed consent now applies to psychotherapy. The optimum level of detail and content in this interaction remains nebulous. This study examines opinions and practices of therapists. The authors administered a survey regarding this subject to 231 psychotherapists. Six scales were constructed from this survey. High scores on these scales suggest more positive opinions regarding the application of the doctrine of informed consent to psychotherapy. Psychiatrists scored significantly lower on the Informed Consent (p=0.005), Written Consent (p<0.001), and Self-Disclosure (p=0.026) scales than other types of therapists (suggesting a more negative opinion of the application of this doctrine to psychotherapy). Interpersonal therapists scored significantly higher than psychodynamic psychotherapists on the Informed Consent (p=0.003) and Patient (p=0.003) scales. Psychodynamic psychotherapists scored significantly lower than therapists with different modalities on the Written Consent scale. This paper suggests that opinions and practices of informed consent for psychotherapy vary with the characteristics of the therapist. More research in this area could serve as a guide for therapists embarking on the process of informed consent or for professional organizations who wish to establish guidelines.
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U2 - 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2003.57.3.384
DO - 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2003.57.3.384
M3 - Review article
C2 - 12961822
AN - SCOPUS:0642366012
SN - 0002-9564
VL - 57
SP - 384
EP - 400
JO - American Journal of Psychotherapy
JF - American Journal of Psychotherapy
IS - 3
ER -