ETHICAL ISSUES IN OBESITY TREATMENT: INFORMED CONSENT
The threat of the client’s disempowerment in the helping process can be moderated by sharing the decision-making and risk-taking with the client. This is readily achieved through the process of informed consent.
The latin roots of consent, con sentire, mean to feel with. Consent is about mutual understanding. You need to understand how the client sees his or her obesity and its causes, potential solutions, their self-image, skills, etc. You need to explain your own point of view on these issues, what skills you have to offer, and what treatment options are available and valid. Together, you and the client must negotiate a treatment plan that is the best amalgam of yourself, the client, the treatments, and the social context. The quality of the result of this negotiation is a major determinant of the ethics of the treatment.
Gaining the skills to act ethically. Ethical practice is achieved through a combination of attitudes and behaviour that can be learned through reading, discussion, reflection, training and practice. Meeting with colleagues to discuss work problems, particularly ethical anxieties, is a good way to compare your ethical thinking with others and develop confident approaches to practical issues. Training courses in communication and basic counselling skills are readily available. These can increase your understanding of the relationship between client and helper and will assist in the development of skills that promote ethical practice.
Regular application of the skills and concepts relevant to ethical practice, with periodic reflection on your development, will help ensure that this learning is consolidated.
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