The Ethical Therapist

A guide to right and wrong psychotherapist behavior.

by Sharon K. Anderson

To Give or Not to Give Advice

I wanted to say: "Protect yourself at all costs!" Read More

Your Ethic Muscles: What Shape Are They In? Fit or Flabby?

Three keys to staying in ethical shape. Read More

With Thanksgiving Right Around the Corner...

At times, we might think we have arrived at this place of having a healthy professional ethical identity all on our own. We attended good training programs, read the books, wrote the papers, worked with the practice clients, and finished our training in good shape—we worked hard for our academic degree and credentials. Read More

My Boundaries Are...

The therapist has the professional responsibility to keep the client’s well-being as the primary focus of the relationship. When a psychotherapist loses sight of this responsibility, a boundary lapse is likely to happen Read More

Two More Good Reasons to End Psychotherapy

Two more good reasons to end therapy: grey areas and unethical behavior. Read More

Ending Therapy: Two Good Reasons to Fire Your Psychotherapist (And How to Say "Goodbye")

The process of ending psychotherapy is a relatively neglected topic. Therapists might miss some obvious signs that psychotherapy should end and clients might not be sure of how to bring up the topic. We provide two reasons for ending therapy and suggest exiting strategies for clients if they aren't sure how to bring up the issue. Read More

Colleague seeks ethical therapists

Colleague searches for ethical therapists and has two very different encounters. One experience shines with GREEN FLAGS and the other--well, with RED FLAGS. Read More

Colleague asks: "Can I just send them away? Any risk management concerns?"

How would you respond to this colleague? Read More

The Right Choice?

The right choice or mismatch with the profession? Read More

When necessary-It's OK to "FIRE" your psychotherapist

The good news is that most psychotherapy has good outcomes. The not-so-good news is that sometimes therapy doesn't work, or does harm. When therapy is not working, or when you think your therapist is behaving unprofessionally, it's OK to "fire" them and look for another therapist. Read More

Frustrated Client wants help and some answers!

Good therapy takes hard work by the client and therapist and getting better through therapy doesn't always mean feeling good right at the start. Psychotherapy is rarely a smooth process. Like the stock market, it will have some ups and some downs. But one thing is always necessary-a therapeutic relationship that feels safe for the client. Read More

To Skype or not to Skype…that is the question

When a client is moving to another locale and requests that therapy continue via teleconferencing...what's the ethical choice? Read More

“I’m shopping for a psychotherapist…What should I look for?”

On more than one occasion, we have been asked the question, "What should I look for when I shop for a psychotherapist?" Based on our experience and reading, we have developed a list of issues or criteria for our colleagues, friends, and acquaintances to consider. The list includes "green flags" (professional behaviors and attitudes that prospective or current clients should expect from a psychotherapist) and "red flags" (professional behaviors and attitudes that prospective or current clients should take note of and either not hire the professional or strongly consider ending therapy at the next session). Read More

What Do You See: Red Flag or Green Flag?

It's easy to see psychotherapists who behave unprofessionally as mean people. But very often they don't mean to be unethical. Sometimes they get caught on a "slippery slope." We've all seen situation comedies where a person tells a small lie, but then has to tell bigger and bigger ones and finally is caught in the web. Sometimes unethical behavior is like that. Read More