Psychotherapy

Background: Ethics is considered in detail in medicine, and it is needed to be respected carefully in psychology and psychotherapy. Ethics code provides a common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work. This ethics code is intended to provide specific standards to cover most situations encountered by psychologists. This study aims to consider general principles and specific ethical issues in psychotherapy and consulting. Conclusion: General principles that should be respected by all psychologist and therapist are as followed; beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, respect for people’s right and dignity. Specific ethical issues in psychotherapy; informed consent in therapy, privacy and confidentiality, avoiding harm, unfair discrimination, sexual harassment.

Objective: A great number of patients leave psychotherapy prior to the end of treatment. The present study predicts the premature termination of individual psychotherapy based on patients’ expectations and tolerance and therapists’ competencies with the mediating role of therapeutic alliance. Method: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 317 patients referred to Mental Health Clinics, Pain Clinics and Substance Use Treatment Centers in Mashhad, Iran were selected by random sampling. The data were collected by Distress/Endorsement Validation Scale, Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised, the Milwaukee Psychotherapy Expectations Questionnaire, and Outcome Questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS-19 and structural equation modeling with LISREL-8.80 software. Results: The examined model indicated good fitness for the data observed (RMSEA=0.02, GFI=0.99, AGFI=0.99, NFI=1, CFI=1, IFI=1, RMR=0.00253, P value=0.90). Psychotherapy expectations (γ=-0.40) and therapists’ competencies (γ=-0.29) directly influenced the premature termination of individual psychotherapy. Treatment tolerance (γ=-0.17) directly affected the premature termination of individual psychotherapy. Therapeutic alliance (β=-0.13) had an impact on the premature termination of individual psychotherapy. Psychotherapy expectations (γ=0.42) and therapists’ competencies (γ=0.54) significantly influenced the therapeutic alliance, thereby affecting the premature termination of individual psychotherapy. Conclusions: Psychotherapy expectations, treatment tolerance, therapists’ competencies and therapeutic alliance interactively effect in the premature termination of psychotherapy and therefore on the health outcomes of patients. This finding did develop insights into designing the tailored interventions to resolve premature termination and improve the outcomes of psychotherapeutic interventions. Furthermore, clinicians must be concerned with these factors in the clinics and healthcare centers to enhance the successful termination of psychotherapy.

The topic of bartering in psychotherapy is intriguing, especially in this day and age. The current ongoing events could invoke economic turmoil or a new monetary system that could call for an improvisation towards the medium of exchange in counseling and psychotherapy. The bartering system seems to be an ideal alternative, especially during times of economic uncertainty. This paper will further discuss the history of money and its progress, how the psychology field is addressing the barter system and professional recommendations for the bartering system in counseling and psychotherapy. Article number: 1