Psychology Case Study: Therapy in a Correctional Setting

Therapy in a Correctional Setting

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Therapy in a Correctional Setting

            Therapy can be termed as an act of spending time with a psychologist, licensed counselor, or social worker who is trained professionally in diagnosing and treating mental and emotional malfunctions. Mental and health care services tend to be the less discussed but possess a significant aspect in correctional intervention and criminal justice, whether via community-based programming or custody (DeMatteo, 2017). Some Canadian and British authors tend to outline systematic therapy, cognitive-analytic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy psycho dynamic psychotherapy as therapeutic options. The options above tend to shed light on therapies exhibited in prisons-related secure settings, therapy accompanied by therapeutic orisons, and mental health by in-reach teams. In a contextual view, these articles expand our intellectual thinking capacity on rehabilitation-oriented programs looking at criminogenic and non-carcinogenic needs.

Craig Haney psychologists noted years back that exhibiting psychology in prisons tends to be individually based rather than holistic context. He argues that psychotherapists and psychologists must consider the prison's context to prisoners for their interventions to be appropriate (Stone, 1976). Many people who think of going to therapy may be reluctant to share stories or information regarded to be private to a stranger. They may fear being judged by the therapist or worse still, the therapist leaking the information to a third party. It is considered that for therapy very effective, trust is a key component between therapist’s individuals seeking therapy. As stated above, confidentiality is the millstone of therapy (Jain, 2009). Having in mind that you can freely tell the therapist everything and the information kept secret between you helps one feel safe and brings about trust. It is because of this that all therapists are ethically and legally bound to maintain their sessions confidential, not sharing information. A few exceptions tend to exhibit this rule. In the case where the therapist feels you are posing a danger to your own self or others, he/she has to share that information with those concerned to keep everyone safe. There are also instances whereby one would prefer a therapist to consult other people regarding your treatment, like your psychiatrist or doctor to facilitate coordinated care and information clarification. In such instances, the therapist should have your written concert in leasing information to the involved party.

Whether Therapists should Release Information regarding the Therapy to a Third Party

            In the case of a therapist and the patient who is being treated, the release of information shared with the patient by a third party might bring about a lack of trust in the doctor hence paralyzing the whole process of therapy. In such cases, the therapist should tell the patient about the benefits of sharing information with those concerned. The therapist is required by law to give information that protects a specific individual or client from foreseen harm. The therapist, in this case, should write reports and give information in cases that might impact positively to the patient. This, by law, is necessary is vital as it provides knowledge for the authorities in prison. it is a specific circumstance.

Ethical implication issues may arise when information received from therapy is released. There tend to be subtle differences between the patient and doctor in case there is a leaking of information from a therapy session. Ethical dilemmas which tend to break the confidentiality of a given patient finally put into test the psychologist's limits like that of engaging in action to protect the patient suffer or even hurt others. A factor concerning client confidentiality is considered to be the therapist's attitude toward informed consent. Beeman and Scott looked into a group of therapists realizing that whereas patients may clearly exhibit the significance of confidentiality, the client might still be vulnerable as clinicians invariably have effects equal to patients.

The Ethical Implications of Releasing Information Obtained in Therapy

Implications can be termed as consequences of given actions or even proposed actions. The implications now become ethical if they tend to touch on attitudes and ethical decision-making (Brown, 2005). Releasing information from therapy brings about challenges that are not considered in the adult population. For instance, the release of information about a patient diagnosed with depression would have bridged the ethical code of conduct as the patient is protected in keeping shared information confidential. This brings about stigmatization of the patient from the third party hence loss of confidentiality by the patient. This might lead the patient to commit atrocities like evading therapeutic sessions, withholding vital information necessary for recovery, or even trying to break out of jail due to depression. It is therefore vital to keep the information shared in therapy confidential as it tends to have many implications for the whole process of the therapy if violated.

The Ethical Implications and Ramification for Future Therapy on Patients and Inmates at Large

Disclosing information about a patient to other parties might adversely bring about the malfunctioning of the same therapy in the future. This is due to the fact that the patient will tend to lose confidence and trust in the therapist. This will lead to paralyzing the whole healing process of the therapy as information provided by the patient might be false to avoid further implications. The victimized patient may also go to the extent of discouraging other inmates not to taking therapeutic sessions as the information they provide is at risk of being shared. Disclosing information obtained in the therapy by the therapists might have led to severe punishments by the prison warders hence they will avoid such predicaments in the future. Giving information to a third party by the therapist concerning other inmates might adversely bring about hate and rejection by the patient. They might frequently try attacking the patient or even seclude them from other interactions.

            Therapeutic sessions are crucial to a person suffering from depression and antisocial personality disorder. In case there is a loss of trust and confidence by the patient, many limitations might be exhibited and it’s the duty of the therapist to find solutions to earn the confidence back. Confidentiality is vital in therapeutic sessions and that is why it's considered vital in therapy. The therapists providing evidence to the patient on why they disclosed given information can be the first step in trying to develop a sober mood for future therapeutic sessions. This will adversely soften the patient's heart more so in cases where the information given worked in favor of the patient. In most cases, the disclosed information always impacts negatively on the patient. The patients might be denied bail or even serve a longer sentence in prison than the intended one.

How a Therapist Should Proceed in Case There is Ethical Implication and Ramification in a Therapy

The therapist might further consider the kind of therapist needed by the patient as they should only practice in the area of expertise as presumed in the ethics code. Therapists play a significant part in ensuring that the patient recovers from whatever she is suffering and therefore they have to maintain a high degree of competence. Therapeutic healing of a patient is crucial in that going out of line might totally ruin their life. Competence issues are pivotal for instance when writing reports to judges concerning the patient.

The therapist should critically weigh the options of the outcome of certain reports before delivering them. Writing reports carelessly might not only the patient in trouble but also the therapist himself. The report by the therapist might implicate him/her in the sense that the report exhibited might contradict their code of ethics. For competence to be exhibited, the therapist should keep in touch with their tutors on the way to proceed and this can be facilitated by seminars and conferences, continuing education, and consulting colleagues. In the case of a therapist losing trust in a patient, he might let the patient continue with their sessions with other therapists. This would greatly impact positively in the therapeutic sessions of the patient. The therapist might also bear in mind the assessment. Assessment can be brought about by putting issues at hand and typically looking into them in matters of priorities to ensure proficiency.

In conclusion, it can be denoted that the whole process of therapy requires proficiency knowledge, and expertise whereas trust and confidentiality are crucial. The therapist should strictly adhere to the code of ethics and in case some areas need consultations, the therapist should consult other colleagues before taking sessions with the patient.

References

Brown, M. E., Treviño, L. K., & Harrison, D. A. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 97(2), 117-134.

Gordon, G. H., Whelan, G., Cole-Kelly, K., & Frankel, R. (2004). Assessing competence in communication and interpersonal skills: the Kalamazoo II report. Academic Medicine, 79(6), 495-507. disposition: Law, science, and practice. Routledge.

Jain, S., & Roberts, L. W. (2009). Ethics in psychotherapy: A focus on professional boundaries and confidentiality practices. Psychiatric Clinics, 32(2), 299-314.

Stone, A. A. (1976). The Tarasoff decisions: Suing psychotherapists to safeguard society. Harv. L. Rev., 90, 358.