108: Ethics in Clinical Practice I
Instructors
Stephanie Brandt, M.D.
Debra Japko, Psy.D.
April 28 – May 19, 2025
Mondays, 7:00 – 8:25 pm
Course Description
This course will complement the courses on analytic technique, adding the essential subject of ethical standards of clinical practice. We will discuss clinical situations that reflect basic ethical dilemmas that are common in the practice of psychoanalysis. We will introduce basic ethical principles as well as the purpose and implementation of the APsaA code of ethics. We will focus on the following specific topics: i. boundary violations, ii. confidentiality and its exceptions, and iii. the impact of the socio-cultural context and systemic bias on psychoanalytic work. Students will read key papers on ethics issues. Discussion will focus on clinical material derived from both the instructors’ and students’ practices. This course will be continued during the fourth year in Ethics in Clinical Practice II.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to:
1. Describe the ethical principles underlying psychoanalytic practice
2. Describe the legal requirements for psychoanalytic practice in New York State.
Evaluation Method
Each student’s participation in class discussion and his or her demonstration of understanding of the course objectives and reading material is assessed in a written evaluation by the instructor(s).
These articles are protected under relevant copyright regulations. They are available in the New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute Electronic Reserve for your convenience, and for your personal use.
READINGS NOT YET CONFIRMED.
I. Professionalism, Codes of Ethics, Fiduciary Obligations
CLASS 1: January 29, 2024
Ethics Codes
REQUIRED READINGS (There are 3 required in total: APsaA, code related to training, and Portuges article.)
American Psychoanalytic Association (2008). Principles and Standards of Ethics for Psychoanalysts.
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Read the Ethics Code related to your specific professional training (Scholars please read the first one for reasons to be explained.)
American Psychiatric Association (2013). The Principles of Medical Ethics With Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry.
or
American Psychological Association (2002). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct.
or
National Association of Social Workers Ethics Code (2008).
or
IPA Ethics Code (2015).
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Portuges, S. (2009). The Politics of Psychoanalytic Neutrality. Int. J. Appl. Psychoanal. Stud., 6(1):61-73.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS UPON REQUEST
II. Sexual and Other Boundary Violations
CLASS 2: February 5, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Celenza, A. (2017). Lessons on or about the Couch: What Sexual Boundary Transgressions Can Teach Us about Everyday Practice. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 34:157-162.
Gabbard G.O. and Hobday G.S. (2012). A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Ethics, Self-Deception and the Corrupt Physician. British Journal of Psychotherapy, 28:235-248
Slochower, J. (2017). Don’t Tell Anyone. Psychoanal. Psychol., 34(2):195-200.
Rachman, A. (2021). The “sensuous psychiatrist”: the case of Julie Roy vs. Renatus Hartogs, MD, PhD: landmark case of sexual abuse by a therapist. In: Psychoanalysis and Society’s Neglect of the Sexual Abuse of Children, Youth and Adults: Re-addressing Freud’s Original Theory of Sexual Abuse and Trauma (1st ed.). Routledge.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS UPON REQUEST
III. Boundary Violations II and Issues in Confidentiality
CLASS 3: February 12, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Podcast: The Retrievals. Serial Productions. June 22, 2023.
Listen to Episode 1: The Patients (57 minutes)
DOWNLOAD THE TRANSCRIPT AND LISTEN TO PODCAST
Hook, J. & Devereux, D. (2018). Boundary violations in therapy: the patient’s experience of harm. BJPsych Advances, 24: 1-8.
Tutter, A. (2018). The Erotics of Knowing: A Neglected Contribution to Analytic Erotism. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 66:407-441.
SUPPLEMENTAL READINGS UPON REQUEST
IV. Psychoanalytic Ethics and External Reality – Misogyny
CLASS 4: February 26, 2024
REQUIRED READINGS
Brandt, S. (2020). Editor’s Introduction to the Special Issue: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Domestic Violence and Coercive Control. Int. J. Appl. Psychoanal. Stud., 17(3):211-214.
Brandt, S. (2023). Editor’s Introduction to the Special Issue: Misogyny: Psychoanalytic and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 20:398-402.
Parlato, F. Catherine Kassenoff Lost Her Kids, Home, Health, Savings and Life Through Crafty Husband Family Court Play. Frank Report. May 31, 2023.
AND
Before Catherine Kassenoff Disappeared, Psychiatrist Denounced Dr. McKay’s Destructive Report: ‘She Was a Competent and Loving Mother’. Frank Report. June 25, 2023.
Fortis, B. & Beil, L. How Columbia Ignored Women, Undermined Prosecutors and Protected a Predator for More Than 20 Years. ProPublica and New York Magazine. September 12, 2023.