PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - J S Callender
TI  - Ethics and aims in psychotherapy: a contribution from Kant.
AID  - 10.1136/jme.24.4.274
DP  - 1998 Aug 01
TA  - Journal of Medical Ethics
PG  - 274--278
VI  - 24
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/24/4/274.short
4100  - http://jme.bmj.com/content/24/4/274.full
SO  - J Med Ethics1998 Aug 01; 24
AB  - 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.