Question

What are some potential ethical dilemmas that may arise when working with clients in a mental health and wellness system? How do you navigate through these predicaments?

Answer 1

Ethical challenges arise when the choice of psychiatric treatments has to be made. Incomplete knowledge about the treatment can result in mishappenings and uncertainty because of the use of incorrect psychotropic medications. This can result in adverse effects on the patients and their family members. Challenges also arise related to the reaction which the patients would give after or before the treatment. Psychiatrists also tend to fall prey to ethical challenges when their treatment fails. They face the problem of mental health not just as physicians but also as patients and as human beings. An ethical dilemma arises even when the beliefs and values of the doctor and the patients are different in approach. The meanings of psychiatric diagnoses differ to both doctor and patient and the way they deal with them. Accepting huge financial aids provided by the patients are one of the ethical dilemmas to the doctors. Accepting such gifts is seriously prohibited. Cultural issues like racism and prejudice create a gap between the doctors and the patients. Cultural stereotypes and the inadequate knowledge about the illness are the primary sources of a dilemma for the psychiatrists.