Ethics and Psychotherapy in France: A Brief Survey

Abstract

Theoretical works, introductory texts, and formal legal and ethical standards set forth certain behaviors that psychotherapists are to avoid due to potential harm for the patient or the process of psychotherapy. Yet there are relatively few empirical data concerning whether psychotherapists actually engage in or refrain from engaging in such behaviors. We also lack data concerning a range of behaviors (e.g., whether therapists address clients by their first names, whether therapists ever cry in the presence of their clients), which, while they may not involve ethical issues, are still of potential interest. Initial survey data were obtained from a random sample of 1,000 United States psychologists (return rate = 46%) concerning eighty-three such behaviors [1, 2]. Survey data based on a return rate of 49 percent were also obtained from a random sample of 1,600 psychiatrists, 1,600 psychologists, and 1,600 social workers practicing in the United States concerning a subset of these behaviors constituting dual relationships [3].