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Major legal and ethical issues in behavioral treatment: Focus on institutionalized mental patients
Author(s) -
Bentley Kia J.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2370050309
Subject(s) - action (physics) , pragmatics , psychology , focus (optics) , point (geometry) , psychotherapist , engineering ethics , engineering , philosophy , linguistics , physics , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , optics
Proponents of behavior therapies advocate expanded use of this approach based on its pragmatics and clinical successes. Critics, however, point not only to abuses in implementation, but charge that the behavioral approach is inherently unethical, especially when used with institutionalized mental patients. This article will review these arguments as well as provide an updated exploration of relevant court decisions impacting behavioral treatment in mental institutions. Suggested courses of action are then provided.