Ethics and Mental Health

    Ethics in mental health has been researched exponentially with the aspect of issues that have arised. Most often associated  with consent, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, vulnerability, and exploitation. Many don't realize how sever the ethical issues are that arise with mental health patients. Most think that care and treatment should be the same as those without mental health problems, but it is actually the opposite. 

Let's discuss the different issues we previously brought up. 

1. Consent or informed consent is permission that is granted in the knowledge of the possible consequences. Most often it is what a patient gives a doctor after explanation of a treatment plan, with the full and absolute knowledge of what the benefits and risk of that treatment may be. This can be an ethical issue because if a patient is suffering from a mental illness they may not fully and completely understand what it is they are consenting to. Most often than not, a POA or Power of Attorney, is allowed to consent in the well being of that patient. 

2. Confidentiality is the state of keeping or being kept secret or private. Most times this is a conflict when dealing with family. When I am typically at the desk on my unit at the hospital, I find that family is very intrusive and wants to know everything they can get from hospital staff. Luckily, we have establish Care Partners. It's one to two person max who we can give information to. With mental illness, it may be hard for the patient to amend someone as a care partner. Typically that POA would be the care partner if it was that type of situation. 

3. Conflicts of Interest usually arise if the patient knows or has a former relationship with the doctor or someone in higher power assigned to their treatment. Just like in the instance that my mom works for the same hospital but for a difference practice of Northside, if I wanted to obtain a job at her practice and leave the main hospital, I would have to apply for the practice that she was not a coordinator over. If I applied where she was the coordinator and got awarded the position, that could be seen as favoritism and be a conflict of interest when it comes to disciple and how to handle situations correctly. 

4. Vulnerability is the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. Most patients with mental health are extremely vulnerable because they sometimes do not understand completely what is going on with respect to their treatment. 

5. Exploitation is the action or fact of treating someone unfairly in order to benefit from their work. Patients with mental illness and mental health issues can be exploited easily because again most times they do not understand fully what their treatment plans are and how to potentially advocate for themselves if needed. 

    Mental health is growing more and more each year. More people are finding that conflicts within mental health patients are rising and knowing what those potential conflicts are is important to spot and take control of.