Ethical issues in family group therapy.

Abstract

Ethical issues in group therapy with family members are reviewed. The central focus is concentrated on (1) effects of this form of therapy on family solidarity and intrafamily relationships and (2) the special features in the doctor‐patient relationship. The paper also touches on relevant counter‐transference factors masked by some ethical objections.

A Systemic View of Family Therapy Ethics

“…Selvini‐Palazzoli and Prata (29) pointed out that accepting this revelation means “accepting a denied coalition with the person who offers the revelation against” (p. 447) somebody else. As Grosser and Paul (10) explained, “More often than not, the material is not the charged issue, but rather the patient's wish to be special in having a secret with the therapist” (p. 881). To accept the secret then constitutes turning over to the client the initiative for appropriate side‐taking and ignoring the basic problems underlying this behavior.…”

“…During the 1960s, several authors raised ethical concerns related to family therapy, one example being Hurvitz's 1967 paper (18) on “Marital Problems Following Psychotherapy with One Spouse.” Grosser and Paul (10) presented an early but comprehensive treatment of “Ethical Issues in Family Group Therapy,” addressing several questions still quite relevant to today's practice. They dealt with the potentially harmful disclosure of extremely negative affect within the family, the possible undermining of authority as parental failures are brought out in therapy, and the disclosure of personal sexual data.…”

Family Therapy –Ethical Issues from an Indian Standpoint

“…The hurdle of what to disclose to whom, how much to disclose, when and how to disclose is also a part of the challenge of confidentiality in the family therapy setting. This leads to a dilemma for the therapist who tries to maintain utmost confidentiality but there are times when elder family members or the breadwinning member of the family demand to know details of sessions held with other family members especially the younger family members and children (for reasons they justify, as a matter of fact) and may thus impinge on boundaries that the therapist wishes to maintain [7]. When the therapist may try to maintain confidentiality, these family members may not like the same and express the same in non-attendance and non-cooperativeness during sessions.…”

Systemic Thinking in a Linear World: Issues in the Application of Interactional Counseling

“…Two important aspects of the ethical responsibility to ensure confidentiality uniquely affect the interactional counselor. Each of these issues highlights problems with the struggle between individual versus family confidentiality (Grosser & Paul, 1964). In systemic counseling, the counseling contract is with several people, members of the nuclear family, or even individuals outside the family involved in the presenting problem, such as a former spouse, extended family member, or current lover (Naiper & Whitaker, 1978).…”