TY - JOUR T1 - Ethics and aims in psychotherapy: a contribution from Kant. JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics SP - 274 LP - 278 DO - 10.1136/jme.24.4.274 VL - 24 IS - 4 AU - J S Callender Y1 - 1998/08/01 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/24/4/274.abstract N2 - Psychotherapy is an activity which takes many forms and which has many aims. The present paper argues that it can be viewed as a form of moral suasion. Kant's concepts of free will and ethics are described and these are then applied to the processes and outcome of psychotherapy. It is argued that his ideas, by linking rationality, free will and ethics into a single philosophical system, offer a valuable theoretical framework for thinking about aims and ethical issues in psychotherapy. ER -