Stories of crime,stories of suffering: A narrative perspective on ethical issues in criminal justice counselling

Counsellors working with prisoners often listen to stories that are both stories of crime and stories of suffering. From a criminal justice perspective, the suffering of offenders is deliberately inflicted as punishment. From a counselling perspective, however, responding to the suffering of a client and even trying to relieve it is a basic ethical concern. So counsellors, working with offenders, may face the ethical question of how to integrate a response to the suffering of offenders with a response to crime, especially when confronted with stories of cruel, violent crimes. In this paper, it is argued that a narrative perspective on counselling offers a framework in which these responses may be integrated. Here, the principle of recognizing privileged authorship of persons is crucial. The concepts of ‘double listening for implicit others’ and ‘relationally rich stories’ are developed, which are based on concepts and ideas from narrative therapy. These serve as a first step of translating the narrative ethical framework to counselling practice.     

Sex offenders and actuarial risk assessments: ethical considerations

When assessing the recidivism risk of previously convicted sex offenders, the relevant ethical standards and practice guidelines obligate psychologists to acknowledge numerous limits related to their data and conclusions. For the actuarial instruments used in these assessments, the highest rates of classification accuracy are associated with greater specificity compared with sensitivity. Selecting cut-off scores to maximize sensitivity results in an inordinate frequency of false positive classifications. Attempts at maximizing specificity create an undesirable frequency of false negative classifications.Unfortunately, adjusted actuarial assessment cannot remedy these problems created by the sensitivity-specificity tradeoff. As an unstandardized procedure, the accuracy of adjusted actuarial assessment is severely limited. Consequently, civil proceedings for previously convicted sexual offenders rely on assessments of very limited accuracy. Undertaking these assessments, therefore, may be inconsistent with relevant ethical standards and practice guidelines.     

‘Radical Interpretation’ and the Assessment of Decision‐Making Capacity

The assessment of patients' decision‐making capacity (DMC) has become an important area of clinical practice, and since it provides the gateway for a consideration of non‐consensual treatment, has major ethical implications. Tests of DMC such as under the Mental Capacity Act (2005) for England and Wales aim at supporting autonomy and reducing unwarranted paternalism by being ‘procedural’, focusing on how the person arrived at a treatment decision. In practice, it is difficult, especially in problematic or borderline cases, to avoid a consideration of beliefs and values; that is, of the substantive content of ideas rather than simple ‘cognitive’ or procedural abilities. However, little attention has been paid to how beliefs and values might be assessed in the clinical context and what kind of ‘objectivity’ is possible. We argue that key aspects of Donald Davidson's ideas of ‘Radical Interpretation’ and the ‘Principle of Charity’ provide useful guidance as to how clinicians might approach the question of whether an apparent disturbance in a person's thinking about beliefs or values undermines their DMC. A case example is provided, and a number of implications for clinical practice are discussed.     

The Stories We Tell: Introduction to the Special Issue on Ethical Challenges in Community Psychology Research and Practice

This Special Issue examines ethical challenges in community psychology research and practice. The literature on ethics in community psychology has remained largely abstract and aspirational, with few concrete examples and case studies, so the goal of this Special Issue was to expand our written discourse about ethical dilemmas in our field. In these articles, researchers and practitioners share stories of specific ethical challenges they faced and how they sought to resolve them. These first‐person narratives examine how ethical challenges come about, how community psychology values inform ethical decision making, and how lessons learned from these experiences can inform an ethical framework for community psychology.     

Technology Development as a Normative Practice: A Meaning-Based Approach to Learning About Values in Engineering—Damming as a Case Study

Engineering, as a complex and multidimensional practice of technology development, has long been a source of ethical concerns. These concerns have been approached from various perspectives. There are ongoing debates in the literature of the philosophy of engineering/technology about how to organize an optimized view of the values entailed in technology development processes. However, these debates deliver little in the way of a concrete rationale or framework that could comprehensively describe different types of engineering values and their multi-aspect interrelations in real engineering practices. Approaching engineering values from a meaning-based perspective, as in this paper, can be a reliable method of tackling such a controversial problem. This paper therefore proposes that technology development be considered a systemic normative practice and attempts to provide a comprehensive view of various built-in values, their different origins and features, and a way of prioritizing them in real engineering processes. Studying two cases of the Zayandeh Rood Dam and the Abbasi Dam will lead to practical insights into how to understand norms in technology development and incorporate them into engineering practice.

     

Accountability and dignity: Ethical issues in forensic and correctional practice

Our aim in the special issue is to address some of the more abstract and fundamental ethical problems evident in the criminal justice system and to inquire into their significance for those individuals who assess and deliver rehabilitation programs to offenders. In order to provide an appropriate theoretical framework for an investigation of ethical concerns in the forensic and correctional practice domains, we first outline an ethical framework that is intended to help practitioners reflect systematically on their practice [Ward, T., & Syversen, K., (2009). Vulnerable agency and human dignity: An ethical framework for forensic practice. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 94–105]. Second, we explicitly examine the relationship between two normative frameworks evident within the criminal justice system, punishment and rehabilitation, and inquire into their relationship. Finally, we briefly describe each of the papers comprising the special issue.     

Maximizing therapeutic effects in treating sexual offenders in an Australian correctional system

In Australia, the community response to sexual offenders is marked by uncertainty as to whether offenders should be incarcerated as punishment or provided treatment in order to reduce the likelihood of re-offense. The incarceration of sexual offenders results in particular management, ethical, and political issues. Nevertheless incarceration can provide leverage to encourage the offender to participate in treatment while delivering punishment for wrongdoing and acting to protect the community. In the state of Victoria the CORE Sex Offender Programs have developed a statewide strategy in the public correctional system in order to assess, manage, and treat male sexual offenders. However, such offenders are notoriously reluctant to engage in treatment to address offending behaviors. A critical element of the strategy has been the Victorian Adult Parole Board, an entity that can determine that an offender needs to engage in treatment before he is considered for parole. Using the therapeutic jurisprudence framework as outlined by Wexler (1990), strategies to minimize the anti-therapeutic effects of the Victorian Adult Parole Board and maximize the therapeutic effects of the CORE Sex Offender Programs are highlighted.     

Who owns this data? using dialogic reflection to examine an ethically important moment

There has been growing use of reflective practice as a means for examining ethically important moments that occur during research. Reflective practice enables researchers to be alert to the unfolding of these ethically important moments and to consider how they will respond to them. In this paper, we use dialogic reflection to explore an ethically important moment that occurred during one of our research projects. We present our dialogic reflective conversation as a means of exploring the ethical issues associated with data ownership. We draw on this conversation to describe a framework for dialogic reflection that provides researchers with a process for engaging in reflection on their practice as ethical researchers.     

Recidivism base rates,predictions of sex offender recidivism,and the “sexual predator” commitment laws

Predictions of future sexual offending have been mandated by various “Sexual Predator” commitment laws, despite historical arguments that clinicians are frequently inaccurate and over-predict violence. The basis for those arguments has been the perspective that sexual recidivism is a relatively rare event. Research is reviewed, however, with the finding that sexual recidivism for certain offenders is a rather common occurrence when the definition of recidivism is in keeping with the sex offender commitment laws. This finding is used to demonstrate that under-, rather than over-prediction of the designated violence is necessarily today's practice. Practical and ethical implications are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Compassion, Ethics, and Neuroscience: Neuroethics Through Buddhist Eyes

As scientists advance knowledge of the brain and develop technologies to measure, evaluate, and manipulate brain function, numerous questions arise for religious adherents. If neuroscientists can conclusively establish that there is a functional network between neural impulses and an individual??s capacity for moral evaluation of situations, this will naturally lead to questions about the relationship between such a network and constructions of moral value and ethical human behavior. For example, if cognitive neuroscience can show that there is a neurophysiological basis for the moral appraisal of situations, it may be argued that the world??s religions, which have traditionally been the keepers and purveyors of ethical values, are rendered either spurious or irrelevant. The questions point up broader dilemmas in the interface between science and religion, and raise concerns about the ethics of neurological research and experimentation. Since human beings will still arbitrate what is ??moral?? or ??ethical,?? how can religious perspectives enrich the dialogue on neuroethical issues and how can neuroscience enrich dialogue on religion? Buddhist views on the nature of consciousness and methods of practice, especially meditation practice, may contribute to discussions on neuroscience and theories about the interrelationship between consciousness and ethical awareness by exploring the role that karma, intentionality, and compassion play in Buddhist understandings of the interrelationship between consciousness and ethics.     

Midstream Modulation in Biotechnology Industry: Redefining What is ‘Part of the Job’ of Researchers in Industry

In response to an increasing amount of policy papers stressing the need for integrating social and ethical aspects in Research and Development (R&D) practices, science studies scholars have conducted integrative research and experiments with science and innovation actors. One widely employed integration method is Midstream Modulation (MM), in which an ‘embedded humanist’ interacts in regular meetings with researchers to engage them with the social and ethical aspects of their work. While the possibility of using MM to enhance critical reflection has been demonstrated in academic settings, few attempts have been made to examine its appropriateness in industry. This paper describes the outcomes of a case study aiming to find out firstly whether MM can effectively be deployed to encourage and facilitate researchers to actively include social and ethical aspects in their daily R&D practice, and secondly to what extent the integration activities could form an integral part of the engaged industrial researchers’ professional activities. Our data show that after MM, researchers display increased reflexive awareness on the social and ethical aspects of their work and acknowledge the relevance and utility of such aspects on their daily practice. Also, all participants considered actively reflecting on social and ethical aspects to be part of their work. Future research on the role of MM in industrial settings could focus on how to embed social and ethical integration as a regular part of innovation practice. We suggest that one possibility would be through aligning social and ethical aspects with innovation Key Performance Indicators.     

How Ethical is Islamic Banking in the Light of the Objectives of Islamic Law?

Islamic banking is based on moral foundations that make it distinct from conventional banking. Some argue that because of its foundation in Islam, Islamic banking may represent a more morally appealing alternative. Yet, evidence shows that this is not the case. Indeed, the current practice of Islamic banking has not been able to achieve its goals which are based on Islam's moral values: to enhance justice, equitability, and social well‐being. This essay examines the extent to which Islamic banking is ethical and concludes that the practice of the industry does not seem to be de facto ethical from the Islamic perspective of ethical values. It only consists in trading the same instruments of conventional banks without genuinely enforcing Islam's ethical vision. The practice of Islamic banking misrepresents Islam and does not contribute to solving social problems. The interaction between maqasid al‐shari?a (objectives of Islamic law) and qiyās (deductive analogy) provides a supplementary tool for interpreting the failure of the prior in terms of the practical misuse of the latter by Islamic banks. This essay provides an interpretive approach to the current debate about why Islamic banking has failed and suggests ways to move cautiously in the future.     

Out of the consulting room and into the world: hermeneutic dialogue, phronesis, and psychoanalytic theory as practice

One of the relics of positivism has been an underappreciation of the moral and ethical dimensions of psychoanalytic theory and practice. In a positivist metapsychology, cure and therapeutic gain were often defined instrumentally, with relatively little consideration given to aspects of human experience (e.g., moral, cultural, spiritual) that did not fit within a positivist framework. Conceptual and paradigmatic shifts in psychoanalysis have occurred, in part, because of the inability of the classical model to provide a language that adequately captures deeply felt human values and beliefs. Aided by hermeneutic and postmodern influences, many contemporary psychoanalytic theories are beginning to focus greater attention on the notion that analytic therapy is empowered by a set of ethical convictions, beliefs, and commitments, which are tied to a certain understanding of the good life. Along these lines, the author argues that developing a fresh understanding of the moral and ethical dimensions of psychoanalysis requires elaborating a new ontology of human subjectivity and social life. The author offers a sketch of how this gargantuan task might be started by integrating psychoanalysis within a hermeneutic perspective on dialogue, by suggesting that it would be helpful to view psychoanalysis as promoting Aristotelian practical wisdom or phronesis, and by rethinking psychoanalytic theory and interpretation as a form of practice.     

Resolving Ethical Dilemmas in Suicide Prevention: The Case of Telephone Helpline Rescue Policies

The ethical basis of suicide prevention is illustrated by contrasting helpline emergency rescue policies of the Samaritans and the AAS and the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network. We contrast moralist, relativist, and libertarian ethical premises and question whether suicide can be rational. Samaritans respect a caller's right to decide to die by suicide; U.S. helplines oblige emergency intervention during an attempt even against the caller's will. We analyze the effect of emergency rescue when there is high suicide risk but an attempt has not been initiated. We examine links between values and actions, needs for empirical evidence to guide practice, and propose vigorous dialogue about values in the gray zone of moral practice.     

Religious Values in Clinical Practice are Here to Stay

Research to date has shown that health professionals often practice according to personal values, including values based on faith, and that these values impact medicine in multiple ways. While some influence of personal values are inevitable, awareness of values is important so as to sustain beneficial practice without conflicting with the values of the patient. Detecting when own personal values, whether based on a theistic or atheistic worldview, are at work, is a daily challenge in clinical practice. Simultaneously ethical guidelines of tone-setting medical associations like American Medical Association, the British General Medical Council and Australian Medical Association have been updated to encompass physicians’ right to practice medicine in accord with deeply held beliefs. Framed by this context, we discuss the concept of value-neutrality and value-based medical practice of physicians from both a cultural and ethical perspective, and reach the conclusion that the concept of a completely value-neutral physician, free from influence of personal values and filtering out value-laden information when talking to patients, is simply an unrealistic ideal in light of existing evidence. Still we have no reason to suspect that personal values, whether religious, spiritual, atheistic or agnostic, should hinder physicians from delivering professional and patient-centered care.

     

On ethical issues at the foundation of the debate over the goals of psychoanalysis

In this paper the author points to ethical issues that underlie the debate over the nature of the goals of psychoanalysis. While it has been suggested that the lack of consensus and clarity in this debate may be partially explained in terms of opposing attitudes to the importance of therapeutic benefit and variance in core values of analysts and patients, the author shows that these explanations do not fully resolve the ambiguity. The examination of the limitations of the existing explanations points to the value of introducing an ethical dimension. She discusses two ethical issues: the complex nature of the ethical value of self-determination in psychoanalysis, and the ethical status of analytic change. The clarification of these two issues contributes to an understanding both of the inherently controversial nature of the debate over analytic goals, and of the place of ethical considerations in psychoanalytic theory and practice.     

Rational cognitive therapy with public offenders

In addressing the issue of how offenders may help themselves face the world in prison and outside, this article outlines how the principles of rational emotive therapy as outlined by Ellis and Maultsby can be simplified for use with this population in order to provide them a method for understanding and alleviating unhelpful emotional reactions. An example is provided to illustrate how a rational self-analysis model can be taught as written homework in individual or group sessions. Using the RSA model, offenders are taught to review and better understand the meanings of irrational words and how they upset themselves. Overall, our experience has been that offenders of many persuasions can be taught to be more rational and logical—an essential foundation for successful rehabilitation. This article is reproduced with permission in a slightly modified form from an earlier article authored by Smith and Lombardo “Rational Cognitive Therapy: An Executive Summary” that appeared inThe Correctional Psychologist, 27, 1995, pp. 2–5.     

Sex offender community notification: managing high risk criminals or exacting further vengeance?

The current trend in dealing with convicted sex offenders is to impose long prison sentences followed by stringent release conditions. Added to this practice has been the policy of making such offenders who have been returned to society more visible to the public. In state after state, sex offender community notification laws have been passed, enabling communities to be put on notice that a convicted sex offender has become a resident. To date there has been little empirical evidence regarding the impact of these laws on managing sex offenders in the community. This study focuses on the social and psychological effects of community notification on sex offender reintegration within those communities where notification has occurred. Data are derived from face-to-face interviews with 30 convicted sex offenders, residing in various locations throughout Wisconsin, who were the subjects of community notification. The findings indicate that community notification can have a critical impact on the minimum essentials needed for the reintegration of offenders within the community. What is proposed is a reintegrative approach which suggests that stable housing and employment would mitigate the disruptive and antitherapeutic effects of community notification.     

Ethical Criteria for Health-Promoting Nudges: A Case-by-Case Analysis

Health-promoting nudges have been put into practice by different agents, in different contexts and with different aims. This article formulates a set of criteria that enables a thorough ethical evaluation of such nudges. As such, it bridges the gap between the abstract, theoretical debates among academics and the actual behavioral interventions being implemented in practice. The criteria are derived from arguments against nudges, which allegedly disrespect nudgees, as these would impose values on nudgees and/or violate their rationality and autonomy. Instead of interpreting these objections as knock-down arguments, I take them as expressing legitimate worries that can often be addressed. I analyze six prototypical nudge cases, such as Google’s rearrangement of fridges and the use of defaults in organ donation registration. I show how the ethical criteria listed are satisfied by most—but not all—nudges in most—but not all—circumstances.