Research Ethics in Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Interventions: Role of Institutional Ethical Review Boards

Abstract

Research on psychosocial interventions looks at answering questions about the effectiveness of counselling and psychotherapy and also attempts to uncover the crucial ingredients and change processes. Maintaining the ethical frame is paramount in the therapy room and this extends to any intervention research which involves human participants. The counselling or psychotherapy research context has some unique characteristics; there is a power dynamic with the psychologically distressed patient or client in a position of relative vulnerability vis-a-vis the therapist-researcher. The content and processes of interactions in psychosocial intervention give rise to complexities that are different from those in drug trials. The chapter examines the debates and recommendations concerning key ethical issues in research on psychotherapy and counselling. These include informed consent, disclosure and deception, comparison groups, compensation and remuneration for research participation, research with vulnerable participants and issues, therapist competence and treatment integrity, intellectual property, copyright and publication ethics. Unique ethical questions may arise in multi-site and international collaborative research, particularly involving resource-poor countries like India. Working with vulnerable participants and issues, for instance refugees, children and persons with psychiatric disorders or trauma, increases the ethical responsibility of the researcher. Emergent ethical concerns stem from the advent of information technology and research explorations in the digital space. The critical role of institutional ethical review boards in evaluating and monitoring research proposals, educating researchers and supporting a climate of public accountability, is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)