Ethics in Mental-Health
Question
Describe patients’ rights, the civil commitment laws and the clinician’s duty to warn. Do you agree or disagree with any of the procedures for them?
How do the five influences that must be considered of any psychological disorder effect these decisions?
What role do biological, psychological/cognitive and social/environmental factors play in these decisions?
Lastly, provide a brief case study demonstrating an ethical dilemma that a mental health professional might face, making sure to identify the specific ethical standard being discussed, as well as providing suggestions as to how the professional can manage the situation appropriately.


Solution
Ethics
in Mental-Health
Professionals serving in the field of
mental health encounter multiple ethical issues (concerns) in the execution of
their professional mandate. Ethics refers to a branch of philosophy called
moral philosophy that consists of a system of moral guidelines or principles
that focus on the determination of what is morally bad and good in
collaboration with what is morally wrong and right (Molas, 2018). Essentially,
ethics prescribe a particular code of behavior or conduct which is anchored on
the obligations, privileges, and rights of the persons concerned (Hem et al.,
2018). Therefore, ethics in mental health refer to the set of regulations that
guide the conduct of mental-health professionals when dealing with patients who
have psychological disorders.
Description of Patients’
Rights, the Civil Commitment Laws, and the Clinician’s Duty-to-Warn
Indeed, patients with mental
illnesses or disorders have rights that protect their dignity and
individuality- human decency. The guidelines for mental health recommend that
patients with mental illness should be treated with a sense of dignity and
respect. Further, mental health professionals should highly protect their right
to privacy or confidentiality (Molas, 2018). Patients with mental health issues
should be the right to informed consent, whereby the mental health professional
should make the patient understand the particular treatment alternatives
(options) (Williamson et al., 2018). Agreeably, patients with psychological
disorders should receive mental health services that are in line with culture
and age (Hem et al., 2018). Moreover, the care provided should be free from
bias or discrimination based on elements such as race, age, type (category) of
illness, and gender.
The civil-commitment laws are a set
of constitutional provisions applicable within the United States that dictate
(govern) when the situation (condition) of a given individual with chronic or
acute psychiatric symptoms demands a court order to make it necessary to access
mental-health treatment within a medical facility- as a fundamental
prerequisite of living (residing) in the community (Hem et al., 2018). The
clinician’s duty-to-warn acts as an obligatory guide to mental-health
professionals, including psychologists, therapists, and counselors, to allow
them to professionally breach the right to privacy (confidentiality) in
scenarios whereby they have a conviction that a client under their care may
present a degree of risk to another person(s) (Molas, 2018). I strongly concur
and agree with the procedures outlined for the three regulations since they
focus on the common good of the patients, the mental health professionals, and
the community.
The Impact of the Five
Influences (DSM 5) associated with Psychological Disorders the Decisions
Patients under Axis II of the DSM-5
that captures mental retardation and personality disorders such as anti-social
personality disorder may fail to enjoy the right to informed consent during
treatment since they have mental incapacitation (Whitney & Peterson, 2019).
Patients under Axis I in the DSM-5 that highlight substance-use-oriented
disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders may be subjected to the civil
commitment laws due to their abnormal behavior in the court of law (Williamson
et al., 2018). Patients under axis IV may be subjected to privacy or
confidentiality breaches since their healing process may require a
psychotherapist to engage the family for psychosocial support, thus breaching
the right.
The Role of Biological,
Psychological, and Social (Environmental) Factors in implementing the Decisions
Patients with significant brain
damage that results in mental retardation may be denied the right to informed consent
based on the view that they lack the capacity for decision-making. Further,
patients with biological-oriented mental disorders, for instance, chemical
disorientations in the brain, maybe denied the right to privacy since their
guardians have to make decisions on their behalf, thus breaching their privacy
rights (Williamson et al., 2018). Patients with substance-related mental
disorders may be subjected to the civil commitment laws due to their unruly
behavior in the court of law (Williamson et al., 2018). Environmental stressors
may result in psychological disorders such as depression, limiting the
implementation of the right to informed consent since the ability to make
decisions is limited (Whitney & Peterson, 2019). Further, intense mental
retardation due to significant brain damage may cause the execution of the clinician’s
warning since the patient’s behavior may be potentially risky to the persons
around.
Ethical Dilemmas in
Mental Health: The Right-to-Confidentiality
Stacy is a professional IT consultant
working at a top-ranking IT company in the United States. She has bipolar
disorder that causes her to have horrible mood swings and go through
progressive depressive states. These psychological challenges have affected her
performance at the workplace since her record has declined at the job. James is
a professional psychotherapist and counselor who has been attending to Stacy.
However, Alex is a senior manager at the IT company where Stacy works, and he
is a close friend to James. Over the weekend, during a session at the
gymnasium, Alex meets James- and they catch up. Indeed, Stacy’s matter crops up,
and Alex request to be informed of her medical challenge. Should James reveal
the psychological details regarding Stacy’s mental-health condition and
treatment? If James gives in to Alex’s demand, he will have breached the right
to privacy or confidentiality. Certainly, James should act professionally and
conceal the matter of Stacy’s psychological state or condition.
References
Hem,
M. H., Molewijk, B., Gjerberg, E., Lillemoen, L., & Pedersen, R. (2018).
The significance of ethics reflection groups in mental health care: a focus
group study among health care professionals. BMC medical ethics, 19(1),
1-14.
Molas,
A. (2018). Empathy, Asymmetrical Reciprocity, and the Ethics of Mental
Health Care. Windsor University.
Whitney,
D. G., & Peterson, M. D. (2019). US national and state-level prevalence of
mental health disorders and disparities of mental health care use in
children. JAMA pediatrics, 173(4), 389-391.
Williamson,
V., Stevelink, S. A., Greenberg, K., & Greenberg, N. (2018). Prevalence of
mental health disorders in elderly US military veterans: a meta-analysis and
systematic review. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(5),
534-545.




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