Behavior Contracts in Psychiatric Practice and Everyday Situations: A Psychological and Psychiatric Viewpoint
In recent years, “difficult” patients have gained attention, and behavior contracts have been introduced into clinical practice. This is because some patients behave inappropriately toward healthcare providers, and behavior contracts require patients to refrain from such behavior. However, it has be...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Psychiatry International |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5318/4/1/2 |
| _version_ | 1797609315162390528 |
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| author | Hiroyasu Ino Eisuke Nakazawa Akira Akabayashi |
| author_facet | Hiroyasu Ino Eisuke Nakazawa Akira Akabayashi |
| author_sort | Hiroyasu Ino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In recent years, “difficult” patients have gained attention, and behavior contracts have been introduced into clinical practice. This is because some patients behave inappropriately toward healthcare providers, and behavior contracts require patients to refrain from such behavior. However, it has been highlighted that behavior contracts have ethical problems. We present an ethical analysis of behavior contracts from the viewpoint of psychiatric practice and patient psychology. We analyze why patients become “difficult” for medical practitioners and explain why consideration must be given to the psychological aspects of the patient and the burden of mental illness. Behavior contracts are inappropriate because they do not consider individual patients’ psychological or psychiatric conditions and are applied uniformly. Moreover, the behavioral model that behavior contracts assume is not justified by today’s psychiatry. Furthermore, in this article, we show how behavior contracts promote the stigmatization of mental illness. For these reasons, we argue that the use of behavior contracts in clinical practice is not ethically justified. However, we add that physical violence against healthcare providers should not be tolerated under any circumstances. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:59:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fcd96007056c48fb8ff26b5165a2b98c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-5318 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:59:47Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psychiatry International |
| spelling | doaj.art-fcd96007056c48fb8ff26b5165a2b98c2023-11-17T13:34:10ZengMDPI AGPsychiatry International2673-53182023-01-0141121710.3390/psychiatryint4010002Behavior Contracts in Psychiatric Practice and Everyday Situations: A Psychological and Psychiatric ViewpointHiroyasu Ino0Eisuke Nakazawa1Akira Akabayashi2Department of Biomedical Ethics, University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanDepartment of Biomedical Ethics, University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanDepartment of Biomedical Ethics, University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, JapanIn recent years, “difficult” patients have gained attention, and behavior contracts have been introduced into clinical practice. This is because some patients behave inappropriately toward healthcare providers, and behavior contracts require patients to refrain from such behavior. However, it has been highlighted that behavior contracts have ethical problems. We present an ethical analysis of behavior contracts from the viewpoint of psychiatric practice and patient psychology. We analyze why patients become “difficult” for medical practitioners and explain why consideration must be given to the psychological aspects of the patient and the burden of mental illness. Behavior contracts are inappropriate because they do not consider individual patients’ psychological or psychiatric conditions and are applied uniformly. Moreover, the behavioral model that behavior contracts assume is not justified by today’s psychiatry. Furthermore, in this article, we show how behavior contracts promote the stigmatization of mental illness. For these reasons, we argue that the use of behavior contracts in clinical practice is not ethically justified. However, we add that physical violence against healthcare providers should not be tolerated under any circumstances.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5318/4/1/2behavior contractsdifficult patientsbehavior analysisstigmatizationmedical ethics |
| spellingShingle | Hiroyasu Ino Eisuke Nakazawa Akira Akabayashi Behavior Contracts in Psychiatric Practice and Everyday Situations: A Psychological and Psychiatric Viewpoint Psychiatry International behavior contracts difficult patients behavior analysis stigmatization medical ethics |
| title | Behavior Contracts in Psychiatric Practice and Everyday Situations: A Psychological and Psychiatric Viewpoint |
| title_full | Behavior Contracts in Psychiatric Practice and Everyday Situations: A Psychological and Psychiatric Viewpoint |
| title_fullStr | Behavior Contracts in Psychiatric Practice and Everyday Situations: A Psychological and Psychiatric Viewpoint |
| title_full_unstemmed | Behavior Contracts in Psychiatric Practice and Everyday Situations: A Psychological and Psychiatric Viewpoint |
| title_short | Behavior Contracts in Psychiatric Practice and Everyday Situations: A Psychological and Psychiatric Viewpoint |
| title_sort | behavior contracts in psychiatric practice and everyday situations a psychological and psychiatric viewpoint |
| topic | behavior contracts difficult patients behavior analysis stigmatization medical ethics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5318/4/1/2 |
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