Achieving Ethical Mental Health Practices

Abstract

"Despite the constant influx of new ways of looking at both traditional and non-traditional perspectives, and the emergence of an ever-growing field of research, it is often difficult to develop a true appreciation for innovative ethical mental health practices. Then there is the challenge of knowing whether the innovative approaches are readily adaptable to your practice and your environment. Put another way, we seem to want to know “what’s new”, “what’s next” and “what’s a better way?” [...] The critical factors in any method of learning or teaching mental health ethical practices should be to: enliven the openness of the debate and discussion; to stimulate the ethical analysis; to fully explore the attitudes and values underlying the issue; to transport the issue from the theoretical to the practical; to heighten ethical sensitivity and awareness; to engage the client/consumer and his/her family in a meaningful way; to position ethics as fundamental to clinical decisions and practice; and to facilitate ethical action. [...]", p. 1