ETHICS IN THERAPY Research

The vast majority of therapists question the patient on a multiplicity of questions including their family backgrounds and medical history but fail to touch on the meaning and impact of religion and spirituality in the life of the client. Matters of the human spirit are vital to the achievement of health- considering that health is assessed on many fronts including its spiritual, mental, emotional and physical aspects (Li et al,2017). In this regard, spiritually and religiously centered care is appropriate on an ethical basis and therapeutically relevant. It is therefore vital that caregivers, which includes a wide variety of health professionals who offer a wide array of therapeutic interventions, focus on the spiritual needs of their clients and recognize the fact that spirituality and religion have the capacity to not only act as causal factors for the patient’s problems but also have the ability to be part of the solution.

Even in circumstances where the patient does not take religion seriously, personal spirituality is a significant area that healthcare providers can exploit regarding understanding and meeting the needs of the patient. Also, a healthcare professional is required to be competent enough not to make any offensive or biased comments against the spiritual beliefs of the patient. He or she is also required to have the capacity to offer compassionate care and comfort the patient because emotional and spiritual suffering is part of the disease process. Hope and positivity are closely tied to the spiritual values of a patient. The power of comforting patients and giving them hope was documented years ago by Florence Nightingale in her care for wounded and ill British soldiers during the Crimean war.

Nightingale’s spiritual philosophy is crucial to modern medicine including modern nursing. This includes situations where the therapist plays multiple roles in the life of the client including being a personal friend or student to the therapist. It is important to note that only boundary violations and not boundary crossings are considered unethical. Ethical crossings include giving non-sexual hugs, going on hikes, attending ceremonies including weddings and funerals, and attending functions where the client is performing. Multiple ethics codes including NBCC, ACA, NASW, ApA, and APA allow for ethical crossings but do not permit ethical violations. Moreover, boundary crossing is endorsed for the improvement of health outcomes by a variety of therapeutic orientations including family systems and behavioral, cognitive, behavioral and humanistic therapy.