Naslov
Psychotherapist’s epistemic responsibility

Autori
Miškulin, Inka

Izvornik
Kairos- Slovenska revija za psihoterapijo (1854-9373) 11 (2017), 1-2; 55-75

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
mental disorder, diagnostics, psychiatry, psychotherapy, hermeneutics, epistemology, responsibility

Sažetak
Contemporary debates within the philosophy of psychiatry show that the concept of a mental disorder is socially constructed. To recognize the impossibility of defin- ing a mental disorder in absolute terms, without acknowledging the culture in which it evolved, means to think of the concept of a mental disorder as a hypothesis that is worthy of future research. At this moment, it means to be engaged in a continuous dia- logue about various possible interpretations of mental disorders, and to define psychia- try as a discursive activity that is not exempt from the culture and the society in which it is practised. This also applies to psychotherapy as a discursive activity and justifies the encouragement of hermeneutic approaches to psychotherapy i.e. psychological ap- proaches to the treatment of persons with mental disorders. This is especially relevant for hermeneutical approaches to psychotherapy founded on the view that a mental dis- order is constructed within a communicational act between a clinician and their patient. Given that the epistemic asymmetry inherent in the relationship of a therapist and their client favours the therapist, as shown by numerous examples, the psychothera- pist is obliged to approach the client in an epistemically responsible and empirically adequate manner. This requires sensitivity to the evidence, understood as healthy scep- ticism towards the scientific foundations of the concept of mental disorders and psychotherapeutic theories, as well as critical reflection upon their own theoretical presup- positions and prejudices.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Interdisciplinarne humanističke znanosti

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