Informed Consent to Psychoanalysis: The Law, the Theory, and the Data
Elyn R. Saks, Shahrokh GolshanExamining the concept of informed consent in the context of psychoanalysis, the book first summarizes the law & literature on this topic. Is informed consent required as a matter of positive law? Apart from statutes & cases, what do the professional organizations say about this?
Second, the book looks at informed consent as a theoretical matter. It addresses such questions as: What would be the elements of a robust informed consent in psychoanalysis? Is informed consent even possible here? Can patients really understand, say, transference or regression before they experience them, & is it too late once they have? Is informed consent therapeutic or countertherapeutic? Can a “process view” of informed consent make sense here?
Third, the book reviews data on the topic. A lengthy questionnaire answered by 62 analysts reveals their practices in this regard. Do they obtain a statement of informed consent from their patients? What do they disclose? Why do they disclose it? Do they think it is possible to obtain informed consent in psychoanalysis at all? Do they think the practice is therapeutic or countertherapeutic, & in what ways? Do they think there should or should not be an informed consent requirement for psychoanalysis?
The book should appeal above all to therapists interested in the ethical dimensions of their practice.
ELYN R. SAKS is a professor at the USC Law School & the University of California, & Research Clinical Associate at the Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Society & Institute. She graduated from Oxford as a Marshall Scholar & received her J.D. from Yale Law School. She has published three books & more than two-dozen articles, & serves on the board of several mental health foundations.