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Addressing 'futility' In Psychiatry: A Consensus Statement.

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Addressing 'futility' In Psychiatry: A Consensus Statement.

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Addressing 'futility' in psychiatry: a consensus statement.

Brent Michael Kious¹, Sarah Levitt², Sisco van Veen³

¹Department of Psychiatry, https://ror.org/03r0ha626University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA.

Psychological Medicine

|January 14, 2026

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Psychiatric futility, particularly qualitative futility, may offer a useful framework for ethical decision-making in mental healthcare. This concept requires careful consideration of patient values and potential risks and benefits.

Keywords:

ethics euthanasia futility medical aid in dying palliative care psychiatry terminal mental illness

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Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Medical Ethics
Philosophy of Medicine

Background:

Futility is a concept widely used in somatic medicine but underexplored in psychiatry.
Limited ethical guidelines exist for making futility judgments in mental healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

To describe futility in psychiatry and develop ethical guidelines for futility judgments.
To examine the applicability of somatic medicine futility concepts to psychiatric care.

Main Methods:

International, multidisciplinary workshop with clinicians, ethicists, philosophers, patient advocates, and persons with lived experience.
Analysis of physiological, quantitative, and qualitative futility concepts.
Discussion on authority, process, and patient-centeredness in futility assessments.

Main Results:

Qualitative futility appears most applicable to psychiatric care.
Consideration of psychiatric futility in relation to terminal mental illness and recovery is necessary.
Key considerations include who makes judgments, the evaluation process, and alignment with patient goals.

Conclusions:

Psychiatric futility is a potentially useful concept for mental healthcare.
Potential benefits include reduced harmful treatments and reevaluation of care goals.
Ethical limits and potential risks, such as psychological harm, must be addressed.