Overview of Psychiatric Ethics III: Principles-Based Ethics

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this paper is to consider the application of principle-based medical ethics to psychiatry. Conclusions: Principles-based medical ethics is a useful tool for resolving ethical dilemmas in psychiatryin that clinical aspects of ethical dilemmas can be better articulated then in other methods. The ethical dilemmas unique to psychiatry, such as those related to impairment of autonomy, present a challenge to the method. After considering a case example, we conclude that psychiatrists can best utilise a principles based approach to ethical dilemmas when they combine this with a level of critical reflection in the light of other ethical theories, such as virtue ethics, as well as close consideration of the clinical and social context of the ethical dilemma.