Current ethical issues in Adlerian psychotherapy

Abstract

Ethical standards all have a common denominator of higher morality, which coincides perfectly with the principles that inspire individual psychology. Adlerian psychotherapy, therefore, can never be harmful and must always respect the free will of the patient, whose needs for affirmation will never harm others with whom the patient will integrate and collaborate. In the realm of sexuality, all erotic practices must be a means of strengthening the couple's relationship, free from aggression or any form of competition. Erotic anomalies themselves will be classified as simple deviations, if they are not harmful, or as perversions when they are (e.g., pedophilia). Higher ethical values are shared by the major religions and political ideologies, but some religious forms and sectarian political movements can be harmful and, therefore, their followers may be subject to psychotherapy. However, interpretation should never involve impositions, and the same general ethical criteria should also inspire the transference and countertransference dynamics in the setting and in the analyst's relationships with his colleagues