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DSM‐III‐R AND THE FAMILY THERAPIST: ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Author(s) -
Denton Wayne H.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1989.tb00821.x
Subject(s) - popularity , medical diagnosis , psychology , family therapy , psychotherapist , ethical issues , mental health , stigma (botany) , psychiatry , social psychology , medicine , engineering ethics , pathology , engineering
DSM‐III‐R has gained popularity in many segments of the mental health field. Family therapists have generally not found its approach to assessing problems to be helpful in the planning of therapy, yet, are often forced to use it due to the requirements of third‐party payers. This raises several ethical and practical concerns, e.g., the incompatibility of orientations between DSM‐III‐R and family therapy, the stigma associated with diagnosing, being asked to misrepresent diagnoses to third‐party payers, and the competency of some family therapists to make DSM‐III‐R diagnoses. Short‐ and long‐term strategies to deal with these ethical dilemmas are also presented.