Ethic issues in psychiatry

• The basic ethical principles: autonomy, beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Justice count for every patient
• The psychiatrist carries the responsibility for his/her patient, confidential, benevolent, competent, respectful. I.e. you are responsible if you discharge your patient and he is a danger to himself and to others
• Therapeutic privilege: The doctor is able to withhold a diagnosis, if he suspects that the patient might harm himself. This situation is in and of itself ethically questionable.
• Other ethical issues: transference/countertransference, Informed consent, exploitation (incl. sexually -> esp in patients with mental retardation, (histrionic) personality disorder and other impairments), confidentiality and its breaching (someone else in danger, court, public safety (STDs)
• Mental problems interfere with the normal cognitive problems leading almost always to some of ethical problem because of decreased decision-making capacity: e.g. informed consent, principle of autonomy