Issues on Client Rights in Psychotherapy

This report discusses the ethical issues faced by individuals in psychotherapy and provides guidelines to overcome them. It covers client rights such as competent therapist, informed consent, and confidentiality of patients. It also discusses malpractices of lawsuits in psychotherapy and exceptions where confidentiality is breached.

Running head: ISSUES ON CLIENT RIGHTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
Issues on client rights in psychotherapy
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ISSUES ON CLIENT RIGHTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
Psychotherapy defined as treatment by psychological means where psychologist
addresses emotional and psychological problem of an individual by building a professional
relationship (Corey, 2015). In most of therapies, psychologist verbally communicate with
individual with intention of removing exist signs and symptoms of problem or modify the pattern
of disturbance by providing positive strategies to overcome problem (Laska, Gurman &
Wampold, 2014). However, like every treatment psychotherapies also have some uncertainties
where patient or disturbed individuals have to experience negative outcome. Regardless of all the
protocols of therapy institutions and wide range of approaches suggested by both the parties,
there are few essential ethical issues about individuality that arising question on approaches of
psychotherapies. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to provide a framework of ethical issues
faced by most of the individuals and guideline to overcome these issues
1) Response to first question:
Psychotherapy of disturbed individual is one of the delicate treatment processes that
medical expertise has come across in recent era. In order to provide best treatment therapy for
betterment of patient, many practitioner cross boundaries that sometimes are justified but in most
of the scenario individuals feel offended (Sharf,2015). Subsequently, question arises on morality
of expertise along with ethical protocol of reputated establishment. A significant number of
patients generally take legal action against the expertise and institutions, few simply terminate
the therapy session.
Most important client rights that documented in codes of ethics are as follows:

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ISSUES ON CLIENT RIGHTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
 Competent therapist:
Competence of a therapist defined as finest skills, knowledge and qualification possessed
by expertise in order to provide best therapy. This also includes expertise also well aware of
emotional state of disturbed individuals while verbally communicating with individuals
(Hatcher, 2015). It is also responsibility of therapist to give the detailed information about the
disturbed pattern and emotional state of the individual and implementation plan to cure the
problem. In case of physically disable individuals, it is responsibility of expertise to
communicate with written paper for the sake of the therapy (Waller & Turner, 2016)
 Informed consent:
Informed consent defined as the important part of therapy where it ensures the conscious
decision of patient to involve in the therapy. It is presumed generally that when individual
seeking helps from expertise they already involve themselves consciously in the session.
However, every time this scenario does not happen (Lamont- Mills, Christensen& Moses, 2018).
Therefore, this is rights of client and responsibility from the end of the therapist to take informed
consent in the form of declaration form, which clearly emphasize the reason behind therapy, role
of patient and expertise in the therapy, and protocols need to follow to complete therapy
(Trachsel & Gaab, 2015)
 Confidentiality of patients:
As a part of one of the crucial profession, medical expertises are expected to maintain
confidentiality of client such as any embarrassing incident, traumatized experiences and
information of treatment setting by any means. However, in certain exceptional cases,
practitioners cross their boundary of ethics in order to provide best treatment for betterment of
patient (Pepper, 2015). In those exceptional cases, medical expert should inform client about the

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area of concern for revealing confidential information (Thomas‐Anttila, 2015). Otherwise, when
therapists are not transparent about their intentions, it is legal right of client to seek legal
consultation.
2) Response to second question:
Like any other therapy psychotherapy, also come with many loopholes and uncertainties
that damage the reputation of healthcare center, mind set of individual and ethics of the practice
premises. There are several scenarios where malpractices of lawsuits are frequent and individual
has to suffer. Four possible malpractices of suits in psychotherapy are as follows:
i) Inefficiency of expertise:
Inefficiency of medical expertise arises question about the stability of lawsuits of
particular practice premises. In many cases, health care centers hire psychotherapist who has
moderate knowledge about psychotherapy treatment, lack special skills to handle disturbed
individuals and reluctant about the emotional well being of patient( Lewandowski et al., 2016). As
a result, in many cases clients are not satisfied with their session and compelled to terminate the
session or contract (Wallace, 2015). In severe cases, clients take legal action against the medical
expertise and protocol setting of the health care centre.
ii) Backdated technology of hospitals:
Lack of advanced technology also make situation difficult for many health care center to
meet all the demands of client ethically. In many cases, hospital authority used backdated
technology to monitoring the pattern of disturbance and emotional state of the patient. Backdated
technology also affected the treatment procedure (Carman& Turek, 2017). Scenarios where
assistance of highly advanced technologies required for monitoring the severity, few hospital or

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health care centers are able to meet the demand of client. In other case, significant number of
patient suffered from wrong treatment due to backdated technology and inefficiency in
monitoring procedure (Lo, lo & Hasiao, 2016). Eventually, patient becomes dissatisfied.
iii) Biasness towards third party:
Most of the reputated health care centers diminish overnight due to unethical access of
third party to record party. In many health care centers, due to poor technological security such
as lack of password protection in emails and lack of use of medical codes, third party can easily
get the access of the information that are very confidential (Sah, Fagerlin & ubel, 2016).
Subsequently, in that way health care centers break the rules of client protection. Even,
psychotherapists are not truthful to their profession. They sometimes leak the confidential
documents of patient without the consent of the patient party (Azaria et al. 2016). Eventually,
patients and their family experience trauma from these kinds of experiences.
iv) Boundary issue during psychotherapy:
Over the 30 to 40 years, a large amount of data recorded that suggested that crossing non
sexual boundary crossing enriches the possibility of providing best therapy to the needed
individual (Barnett & Molzon, 2014). These kinds of boundary crossing also strengthen the
relationship between therapist and patient. However, many practitioners cross their boundaries
and inappropriately touch patients, specifically patients who are verbally impaired to express
their thoughts (Herlihy & corey, 2015). In that case, it permanently damages the emotional
framework of patient and patient might experience depression and lost faith over flexibility of
treatment (Dworkin et al., 2018). Subsequently, many families of patient took legal action
against the psychotherapist.

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ISSUES ON CLIENT RIGHTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
3) Response to third questions:
In recent area, nation lawsuit journals are addressing issues about confidentiality of
psychotherapy. Maintaining confidentiality is also an essential part of psychotherapist job.
However, it is crucial to take account of the fact that there are certain exceptions are legally
accepted socially regarding maintenance of privacy. Therefore, information about the disrupting
privacy of patient should be part of declaration form of informed consent and therapeutic
contract. In the following section, exceptions where confidentially breached are discussed.
a) It is legal rights of therapist to breach the confidentiality and release the information in case of
emergency. In cases where depression of individual disrupts the normal life style of the
individual and posses threat to surroundings, practitioner has to release information for
betterment of patients (Chetty, 2017) Psychotherapy also share information with
multidisciplinary team for sake of the patient.
b) Lawfully, therapist can breach confidentiality if the client threatened the therapist for his life
or take legal action against the therapist. In many cases, clients threatened therapist by black
mailing and sometimes therapist might get threat of canceling license or might get phone calls
that threats their integrity and dignity (Mosher & barman , 2015). In that case, psychotherapist
has rights to release the confidential information about patient without the consent of patient.
Psychotherapist has legal rights to case a file with accurate evidences in order to prevent ill
practice of therapy session.
c) If a patient is threat to humankind then psychotherapist has rights to release the confidential
information about patients. Many individual ill mentality or with motivation to harm humankind
seek help of psychotherapy. Moreover, individual with split personality or bipolar may have

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ISSUES ON CLIENT RIGHTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
tendency to harm individuals (Elger, Handtke, & Wangmo, 2015).In that case, psychotherapist
has legal rights to release the confidential information about the patients. Besides, sometimes
juvenile are affected by the event of divorce of parents. In that case, confidentiality of patient
breached by psychotherapist for curing the child.
Thus, it can be concluded that client rights in psychotherapy is important for satisfaction
of client in order to get best therapy. However, few cases are there where patient or
psychotherapist takes the advantages of the protocols and ethics of health care center.
Subsequently, individual experience prolonged mood swings and depression that permanently
damages their mental makeup and stable life style. Reputation of well know health care also
diminishes over night due to ill practice of lawsuit. National lawsuit journal also pointed out the
boundary issues of psychotherapist. To strengthen relationship many therapist inappropriately
touches patients. That creates wrong impression about the institution and expertise. Hence, in
order to get best therapy, ethics and laws of every health care should be strong. In addition, it
will prevent the ill practice of ethics.

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ISSUES ON CLIENT RIGHTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
References:
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medical data access and permission management. In Open and Big Data (OBD),
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Carman, J., & Turek, J. (2017). Challenges and Response. Archaeologies, 13(2), 355-368.
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Dworkin, E. R., Ullman, S. E., Stappenbeck, C., Brill, C. D., & Kaysen, D. (2018). Proximal
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Herlihy, B., & Corey, G. (2014). Boundary issues in counseling: Multiple roles and
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Lamont-Mills, A., Christensen, S., & Moses, L. (2018). Confidentiality and informed consent in
counselling and psychotherapy: a systematic review.
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ISSUES ON CLIENT RIGHTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY
Lewandowski, R. E., Bolton, P. A., Feighery, A., Bass, J., Hamba, C., Haroz, E., ... & Verdeli,
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