Biological Basis and Ethical/Legal Considerations of Psychotherapy
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on 2 different days by providing an additional scholarly resource that supports or challenges their position, along with a brief explanation of the resource.
Biological Basis and Ethical/Legal Considerations of Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy entails treating psychological disorders and mental issues using psychological techniques. Group therapy helps individuals acquire adequate socialization and communication skills to cope with challenges, including psychological disorders and mental issues (Wheeler, 2020). Common psychotherapy types include cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and supportive therapy (Locher et al., 2019). This paper describes the biological basis of psychotherapy and how culture, socioeconomics, and religion might impact individuals’ perspectives on psychotherapy treatment values. It will also describe legal and ethical considerations for group and family therapy.
Biological Basis of Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is personalized but involves comprehensive biological treatment. Neuroscience describes psychotherapy as purely biological (Gilbert & Kirby, 2019). It includes addressing the brain on how it develops and functions, which is biological. Psychotherapy also emulates evolutionary adaptation principles. Biologically, psychotherapy involves deactivating maladaptive brain mappings and fostering positive pathways. It is noteworthy that the brain maps one’s experiences and memories through neuronal interconnections (Gilbert & Kirby, 2019). For example, when individuals adapt to a new environment, their brain maps their emotional experiences through neuronal interconnections. Psychotherapy involves the biological repair of brains by introducing new maps to one’s experiences. Oxytocin mediates the process of developing new trust and positive emotions in psychotherapy (Gilbert & Kirby, 2019). However, acknowledging psychotherapy as a biological process might make clinicians focus only on the biological treatment approach and fail to deliver holistic care.
Culture, Religion, and Socioeconomics Influence on One’s Perspective on Value of Psychotherapy Treatments
Psychotherapy treatments are vital to improving behaviors and emotions in individuals with psychological disorders and mental issues. However, culture, socioeconomics, and religion might impact how individuals perceive psychotherapy treatments.
Culture
Therapists must understand a client’s cultural values, ethnic background, and health beliefs to ensure a culturally sensitive psychotherapy treatment. Cultural sensitivity promotes respect and improves patients’ satisfaction when delivering psychotherapy treatment. According to Koç and Kafa (2019), other cultures, including Asians and Africans, perceive psychotherapy as the Western psychology discipline, and what is considered normal in psychotherapy is based on the Western structure. Additionally, acceptance of psychotherapy treatments also varies in ethnic or cultural groups within the same country.
Religion
Like cultural values, religious beliefs influence how individuals perceive psychotherapy treatments. Many religions, including the orthodox, oppose psychotherapy treatments because they encourage clients to discuss sexual issues, which they consider sacred and forbidden. Furthermore, religion describes what individuals should believe. Thus, they only believe in spiritual interventions and discourage psychotherapy treatments.
Socioeconomics
Socioeconomic status is one of the health disparities affecting healthcare delivery in the community. There is a high prevalence of behavioral and mental disorders in individuals with low socioeconomic status in the community (Epping et al., 2017). The social class difference between the therapist and the client could contribute to a negative experience for the client. Individuals with low socioeconomic status may view mental and behavioral disorders as poverty-induced, and thus, psychotherapy might not help.
How Legal and Ethical Considerations for Group and Family Therapy Differ for Individual Therapy
Individual therapy is where a person undergoes a therapeutic process with at least one therapist. On the other hand, group therapy involves providing therapeutic care to more than one client by one or more therapists. In individual, family, and group therapies, therapists must maintain privacy and confidentiality. An exceptional case is where a client or a group member is a threat to themselves or others. Stoll et al. (2020) reviewed ethical implications in online psychotherapy and noted that the discussions within-group or individual therapy sessions must be confidential. Another legal and ethical implication in individual and group therapies includes informed consent. Stoll et al. (2020) maintained that informed consent allows the client or groups members to understand services delivered within the therapeutic environment, including their rights to make independent decisions regarding whether to participate or not. Clients or group members must be educated or oriented to understand the therapeutic settings.
Individual and group therapies differ based on responsibility. Unlike individual therapy, legal and ethical implications surrounding group therapy focus on the collective responsibility of group members to maintain confidentiality and privacy. In group or family therapy, therapist or therapists have no absolute control over clients’ responsibilities to maintain confidentiality ad privacy. Thus, a group of family therapy must implement interventions that serve the interest of all clients or group members. In individual therapy, an individual is solely responsible for informed consent.
How these Differences Might Impact Therapeutic Approaches for Clients in Group, Individual, and Family Therapy
As a group or family therapist, one must advocate for a family-based approach and desist from bias. A therapist must discuss legal and ethical implications surrounding therapeutic approaches with group members, including confidentiality and privacy to encourage individual and collective responsibility. It is also critical to obtain informed consent from clients in individual, group, or family therapy before starting therapeutic sessions (Stoll et al., 2020).
The Selected Sources Are Scholarly
Scholarly sources are peer-reviewed articles written by distinguished experts in various fields (Walden University Library, n.d.). Sources selected were extracted from the university library, and authors’ credentials were sufficiently provided. The authors are affiliated with research institutions and credible universities. All sources have bibliographies and do not have prejudice.
Conclusion
Psychotherapy exhibits a biological basis because it involves a neurological process where maladaptive brain mappings are deactivated, and positive pathways are fostered. Culture, religion, and socioeconomics impact how individuals perceive psychotherapy treatments. Legal and ethical considerations surrounding individual, family, or group therapy include privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent.
