Question by luvbeanies: What are some ethical dilemmas in counseling young women who are struggling with eating disorders?
I’m writing a paper on ethics in counseling, and once I get my masters/PhD, I want to counsel young women struggling with eating disorders, self-harm, abuse, addiction, etc… Can you think of any possible ethical dilemmas that might arise?
Best answer:
Answer by Khnopff71
How do you define ‘wellness’ in a patient without unconsciously trying to replicate their lack of judgement in the treatment? In other words, if a girl is making herself sick because of the information (negative) she receives from others, or thinks she receives, how do you not reinforce her lack of personality, since if she had a strong enough personality to begin with, she wouldn’t be under so much outside influence (one that has now been internalized.)
Also, does the term ‘healthy’ also have cultural connotations to it that can affect a strictly medical and psychological determination independent of itself? We say that ‘overweight’ people are ‘unhealthy’ but in what way? Does physical health always overrule mental health?Can an overweight person be happy or is part of why they are unhappy because others have ‘made’ them unhappy, using weight as a means of leverage against their personality? Does ‘diet’, although constructive, also carry unhealthy implications within it that medicine (and psychology) ignore? Can a person of professional weight and authority (and thus of influence over others) maintain a professional distance enough to be able to advise without making a biased judgement, using science and ‘facts’ as a way to avoid other areas of accountability that are no less real, although they might be less ‘factual’?
Obesity and eating-disorders are related, thus thoughts and opinions about the same also are related, since controlled and uncontrolled weight are simply mirror aspects of the same condition. Girls don’t obsess over their weight unless they also obsess over what they could, or do or think they, weigh.
What do you think? Answer below!
