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Hey Tyler, I am happy to hear from you
Biological Basis for Psychotherapy
I agree with your post that psychotherapy has a biological basis an opinion that is supported by nursing publications. Individuals that go through psychotherapy experience a change in the manner the brain works. It results in a change in the structure and functioning of the synaptic pathways in the brain. Studies also indicate that psychotherapy results in changes, which rely on epigenetic modifications (Jimenez et al., 2018). Psychotherapy allows for the reconfiguration of the neural systems, which allows for better adaptation among patients.
Impact of Culture, Religion, and Social-economic Factors on Psychotherapy
Culture, religion, and social-economic factors impact psychotherapy’s value on patients. Religion and culture define people’s beliefs, perceptions, attitudes, and way of life. Therefore, individuals that have been exposed to negative beliefs and perceptions about psychotherapy are not likely to seek the treatment or better still benefit from the sessions. Some cultural and religious beliefs may stigmatize mental health issues, therefore, discouraging patients from seeking treatment. Better still, due to impaired thoughts and opinions, patients and therapists may face communication issues attributed to poor interpretations and the inability to express themselves well. Patients from the low-income social classes may shy away from seeking psychotherapy due to financial constraints and the lack of medical insurance.
Ethical and Legal Issues
Ethical and legal issues affecting psychotherapy are likely to be distinct to the patients. Group therapy is likely to face issues touching on privacy and confidentiality while family therapy may face issues on communication and conflicts of interests among the family members. In individual therapy, the patient may only require assurance from the therapist on professionalism and the maintenance of privacy and confidentiality to safeguard the patient’s dignity and welfare (Darby & Weinstock, 2018). The therapist should put in place measures to curb ethical and legal issues, which could interfere with the achievement of the set goals and expectations. She/he should provide a safe environment for the patients and avail consent forms to bind the patients to maintain privacy and confidentiality.
References
Darby, W. C., & Weinstock, R. (2018). The Limits of Confidentiality: Informed Consent and Psychotherapy. Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing), 16(4), 395–401. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20180020
Jiménez, J. P., Botto, A., Herrera, L., Leighton, C., Rossi, J. L., Quevedo, Y., Silva, J. R., Martínez, F., Assar, R., Salazar, L. A., Ortiz, M., Ríos, U., Barros, P., Jaramillo, K., & Luyten, P. (2018). Psychotherapy and Genetic Neuroscience: An Emerging Dialog. Frontiers in genetics, 9, 257. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2018.00257