6155: Ethical Decision Making in Therapy: Feminist Perspectives

About the Course:

Drs. Rave and Larsen present the Feminist Therapy Institute Code of Ethics (FTI Code), developed to give formal guidelines that are consistent with principles of feminist therapy, so far largely ignored by traditional ethics codes of professional mental health associations. Eighteen experts in the areas of women’s studies and feminist therapy contributed material to thirteen chapters. Topics include the feminist model for ethical decision making, the medical model, monetary issues, overlapping/dual relationships, violence against women, reproduction/health issues, care of the very young and the very old, and therapist self-care. Respondents discuss vignettes that describe complex ethical dilemmas and link them to specific guidelines from the FTI Code.

Author

Elizabeth J. Rave, Ed.D. and Carolyn C. Larsen, Ph.D.

About the Authors:

Dr. Rave is a founding member of the Feminist Therapy Institute (FTI) and as Committee Coordinator and co-chair of the Ethics and Accountability Committee was charged with developing the Feminist Therapy Code of Ethics. Her major areas of interest include ethics, antiracism, violence against women and children, play therapy, gender and ethnic effects on perceptions of behavior, and supervision ethics. Dr. Rave is currently Professor Emeritus of School Psychology and Women’s Studies at the University of North Colorado . Dr. Larsen is also a founding member of the Feminist Therapy Institute. Like Dr. Rave, she served as Committee Coordinator and co-chair of the Ethics and Accountability Committee that facilitated the development of the Feminist Therapy Code of Ethics. Dr. Larsen is Senior Counselor Emeritus and formerly Director of University Counseling Services and Adjunct Associate Professor of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Calgary . She is currently in private practice.

Course Objectives:

1. Discuss ways in which the Feminist Therapy Institute Code of Ethics differs from the ethics code in your professional organization.

2. State ways in which traditional models fail to meet the needs of women and minorities.

3. Describe principles of feminist therapy.

4. Tell how feminist ethics and traditional ethics might conflict in real-life therapy situations.

5. Apply guidelines from the FTI Code to resolve complex ethical situations.