Discussion Response-Patients with Severe Mental Illness and the Ethical Challenges Related to Confidentiality During Family Involvement
Responding to Sally Jo
Hello,
Thank you for your post and insightful exploration of the article “Patients with severe mental illness and the ethical challenges related to confidentiality during family involvement.” Examining ethical challenges surrounding confidentiality within the mental health profession is crucial in understanding the delicate balance between protecting the client’s privacy and involving the family in their care. I like how you succinctly outlined the four ethical dilemmas, especially the conflict between the patient’s and family’s best interests and the alliance and trust that the client and provider share.
Your discussion’s emphasis on the value of family involvement in mental health care struck me particularly. The idea that family involvement improves outcomes for their loved ones’ care aligns with the movement in mental health treatment toward more comprehensive and team-based methods (Ojo et al., 2024). Seeing the moral problems that develop while deciding on the proper level of family engagement and the possible repercussions of information withholding is fascinating. The study’s identification of the detrimental effects of information withholding on family dynamics highlights the intricate relationship between maintaining confidentiality and creating a nurturing care environment.
In addition, the moral difficulties that arise from preserving alliance and trust with the patient while including their family shed important light on the complex decision-making process that mental health professionals must navigate. The study’s conclusion, which emphasizes the value of the client’s liberty in determining how much confidentiality to share with family members, gives the therapeutic alliance a more moral component. In light of this conversation, more thought should be given to how mental health practitioners handle these complex ethical dilemmas to maximize patient outcomes. Overall, your piece has offered a thorough summary and analysis of the moral dilemmas surrounding confidentiality in the mental health field, encouraging careful contemplation about these difficult problems.
References
Ojo, S., Okoye, T. O., Olaniyi, S. A., Ofochukwu, V. C., Obi, M. O., Nwokolo, A. S., Okeke-Moffatt, C., Iyun, O. B., Idemudia, E. A., Obodo, O. R., Mokwenye, V. C., & Okobi, O. E. (2024). Ensuring Continuity of Care: Effective Strategies for the Post-hospitalization Transition of Psychiatric Patients in a Family Medicine Outpatient Clinic. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/
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Question 
Original question: The original post is attached.
Find a scholarly article that addresses confidentiality and ethical issues within the mental health profession. Write a two-paragraph synopsis and reflection on your findings.
Discussion Response-Patients with Severe Mental Illness and the Ethical Challenges Related to Confidentiality During Family involvement
Sally Jo or Sj
Ethical confidentiality within the mental health profession.
“When families do participate in care, outcomes are better.” (Family Involvement in Treatment Can Improve Outcomes, n.d.)
In the article, “Patients with severe mental illness and the ethical challenges related to confidentiality during family involvement: A scoping review” twelve studies were done. They found four ethical challenges.
The first challenge was looking at what was in the best interest of the family. While family involvement can be beneficial especially when there is a lack of resources to meet the clients’ needs and keeping a family at a distance can have negative consequences for the family members themselves. Issues of families not being appreciated in the care of their loved ones and often not given relevant information needed to balance the family systems is another concern when it comes to withholding confidential information. The second ethical challenge looked at is what is in the best interest of the patient or client. One of the major concerns is that the family may be able to provide helpful information when this, if ever overrule the duty of confidentiality. The third ethical challenge is the trust and alliance between the provider and the client, and this is a big one when clinical judgments argue against maintaining confidentiality but maintaining trust and the building of alliance may be at risk. There is a duality that providers face at times when they may not be able to support the family systems while helping the client. The fourth and final ethical challenge in this study was in how trust and alliance may be harmed in sharing confidentiality and using confidentiality as a smokescreen. This looked at how overdoing the principle of confidentiality can create uncertainty due to the hiding of information perception.
The conclusions noted that different types of information caused different kinds of ethical challenges and of course, this varied according to the perspectives of who received the information. However, the study did find that the volunteering care by the family is much worse when they do not receive information or guidance. Confidentiality can be a barrier to families being involved in the care due to feeling ignored or unappreciated. Providers often fear giving confidential information such as diagnoses to clients themselves as it can lead to the client losing hope and stigma related to this diagnosis by employers or family members. The conclusion of trust and alliance is that should be the client’s decision whether to extend confidentiality to certain family members and to what extent to maintain