Ethical issues in the therapeutic community

The development of ethical standards in psychiatry has been largely during the past 30 years. Psychotherapy poses particular problems of an ethical nature and the therapeutic community with its apparent lack of professional distance between patients and professionals is a situation in which unethical practices could, and sometimes do develop. Nevertheless, the very nature of the close contact between professionals and patients in the therapeutic community can be a fruitful medium for the generation of a system of values and moral behavior in patients provided the professional staff are themselves aware of the inherent dangers and build in appropriate safeguards.