Ethical Issues and At-Risk Behaviors in Marriage and Family Therapy: A Qualitative Study of Awareness

Authors: McLaurin S.L.¹; Ricci R.J.²

Source: Contemporary Family Therapy, Volume 25, Number 4, 200312 , pp. 453-466(14)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

This exploratory study investigated perceptions of and relationship with professional ethics of therapists-in-training. A focus group of marriage and family therapy doctoral students explored self-awareness and “at-risk” behaviors regarding ethical competence and compliance. A grounded theory analysis of data is presented as a conditional matrix, which offers a theory of development between therapists and their perception of ethics. The Practitioner-Relationship Ethics Model represents findings of interaction between confidence in ethical principles, field experience, use of justification, and at-risk behaviors. Implications and limitations of these findings are presented, as are suggestions for research.

Keywords: ethics; at-risk behaviors; marriage and family therapist

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Family Therapy Center at Virginia Tech, Pointe West Commons, 840 University City Blvd., Blacksburg, VA 24060; smclauri@vt.edu, Email: smclauri@vt.edu 2: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Publication date: 2003-01-01