Session 1 The Role of Ethics in Psychotherapy for

Psychotherapy and Interdisciplinary Integration: Conceptual and Clinical Perspectives : 

Psychotherapy and Interdisciplinary Integration: Conceptual and Clinical Perspectives An Interdisciplinary Perspective

The Sequence of Courses : 

The Sequence of Courses Moral Identity Formation and Psychotherapy Spiritual Formation and Psychotherapy Interdisciplinary Integration and Psychotherapy

How These Courses are Taught : 

How These Courses are Taught Content based (the moral/ethical and psychological) Narrative based (how you’ve become who you are) Systemic focus (the context of our lives) Focus on the practical and clinical dimensions

The Conceptual Perspective : 

The Conceptual Perspective An appreciation for the whole person Our narrative, our story, is a mixture of our individual, family, and community history We need the various disciplines to understand the person: psychology, philosophy, sociology, theology, ethics, etc. Our consciousness is a constant interaction of beliefs, values, feelings, and behaviors

The Clinical Perspective : 

The Clinical Perspective The four levels of consciousness constantly interact as a person grows and develops, or as the client engages in self-reflection. (See separate handout) Beliefs and values interact in a primary way with feelings and actions. Therefore, to relegate ethics and issues surrounding moral identity to a minor or subservient status in psychotherapy, seems ill-advised.

The Four Levels of Consciousness : 

The Four Levels of Consciousness Believing: A feeling or sense of certainty accompanied by a level of commitment Belief: The content which carries our commitment Valuing: The process by which we prioritize our commitments Value: Something we care about and hold dear and elevate above other things Ethics: Thinking critically about morality

Interdisciplinary Integration: Definition : 

Interdisciplinary Integration: Definition A counseling process which encourages individuals toward personal and moral maturity through an increased congruence between the believing, valuing, feeling, and acting self. Interdisciplinary integration uses an interdisciplinary understanding of personhood based on ethics, theology, and psychology as a foundation for clinical methodology.

Principles of Interdisciplinary Integration : 

Principles of Interdisciplinary Integration These five principles which follow, outline the guiding concepts of interdisciplinary integration These principles focus the therapist’s understanding of the client’s issues within an interdisciplinary framework These principles were developed within the clinical arenas

Introducing the Reflective Exercise : 

Introducing the Reflective Exercise

Principle One:Interdisciplinary Integration is Based on a Biblical Anthropology : 

Principle One:Interdisciplinary Integration is Based on a Biblical Anthropology Assumptions about human nature shape our thinking and clinical work The creation narrative within the book of Genesis, addresses important issues of human freedom An adequate biblical anthropology contains the following critical ingredients: Our freedom defines us as “choice makers” We are capable of good and evil We are created in the image of God Our moral identity is the result of our choices

Principle Two:Interdisciplinary Integration Begins with Ethics, not Psychology : 

Principle Two:Interdisciplinary Integration Begins with Ethics, not Psychology Individual, family, and community life is a mosaic of identity, embedded within a narrative of beliefs, values, and choices Psychological and emotional material lives within this wider identity The pretense of ethical neutrality on the part of the psychotherapist is a myth

Principle Three:Interdisciplinary Integration Begins with Praxis : 

Principle Three:Interdisciplinary Integration Begins with Praxis The movement for understanding people is from practice to reflection, from the observation of the social to the conceptual framework, not the reverse “Praxis” is a word adopted from liberation theology to underscore this point

Principle Four:The Relational World is Grounded in Ethical Constructs : 

Principle Four:The Relational World is Grounded in Ethical Constructs The biblical narrative of Cain and Abel The “face of the other” that constantly confronts me (a postmodern perspective) The intentional nature of consciousness Dual dimensions of the relational “faces:” otherness and Otherness

Principle Five:Moral Maturity is an Overarching Goal of Interdisciplinary Integration : 

Principle Five:Moral Maturity is an Overarching Goal of Interdisciplinary Integration The goal of moral maturity is connected with spiritual and emotional maturity This is still a controversial perspective within psychotherapy Moral and emotional maturity are often intertwined and not easily separated “Ought” and “desire” have an important dyadic dynamic and form a critical part of the formation of identity