Ethical Dilemma In Art Therapy

The art therapy services conducted by Registered Art Therapists, or ATRs, are an establishment of professional competence, responsibility, and respect. Simultaneously, part of that mission is the recognition and compliance of the ethical codes and moral values. When confronted with an ethical dilemma, the ATR must evaluate the issue and identify the important general principle with a positive approach. Whether it is the clients’ safety, their right to make a choice, or having equal access to services (AATA, 2013), the art therapist must then utilize the ethical standards as a guideline into understanding factors that are right and wrong. One must demonstrate in achieving a good conclusion by following the five-step model: the first is to identify

These illogical components influence one’s decision-making process, which goes against reasoning and judgment. If there is a problem in finding an answer, gaining consultation with a professional colleague or supervisor would be helpful in addressing cognitive and emotional factors of decision making (Knapp, & VandeCreek, 2012). To illustrate an ethical dilemma, I reflected back on what I had experienced in my practicum class as well as created an art response (Figure 1) derived from that event. I also conducted interviews with two ATRs about this situation and gained information based on their perspective if they were in the same

Rogerson, Gottlieb, Handelsman, Knapp, and Younggren (2011) expressed that this non-rational factor is an immediate affective response based on the decision to minimize an anticipated regret for not selecting an alternate option. In other words, because the ATR did not witness this event and the conversation may seem to be a one-sided narrative, there is not enough valid information (Knapp, & VandeCreek, 2012). Thus, being influenced by emotional frame means that she would have made an error more than regretting not intervening (Rogerson et al., 2011). An example is that if the ATR felt unsure that the nursing aide would do such a thing, then she would have asked the nursing aide’s side of the story, or ask around for any witnesses to get additional details. However, there is a possibility that availability heuristic (Rogerson et al., 2011) might play a role due to that lack of information, or based on easy knowledge that came to