An alternative to managed care: a "guild" model for the independent practice of psychotherapy

As health care is reconfigured by HMOs and managed care organizations, family therapists often have to decide whether or not to cooperate with the new power structures and their ways of doing things. The chief concern of many therapists is the ethical bind created when the managed care organization demands breaches of confidentiality or makes decisions about the course of treatment that may not, in the therapist's opinion, be in the best interest of the family. Associations of independent, nonmanaged care psychotherapists are springing up in response to these dilemmas. This paper describes the philosophical evolution and organizational development of one such association.