Abstract
Informed consent should be viewed not only as a legal must but as a chance to build up a trustful patient–psychiatrist-relationship. It is an essential part of this relationship. Informing the patient should be a process and not a single act. It should empower the patient to make informed decisions. – Consent is not a global and time-inherent feature but related to the subject and to here and now. Practical difficulties in applying this ideal concept may arise by the why? what? how? when? and by whom? of informing the patient and by the lack of unequivocal criteria and standardised procedures in assessing the validity of consent. Limitations are given on the part of the mentally ill patient by cognitive, emotional and/or behavioural impairments, and on the part of the psychiatrist by time-pressure, counter-transference or inadequately trained ability to communicate with the patient – A major ethical problem is to overcome a conflict between the principle of respect for the self-determination of the patient and the ethical principle to act in the best interest and welfare of the patient.
The patient who is armed with information, who wants to ask questions, should be seen as an asset in the process of care and not an impediment to it.
(Donaldson, cited by Maclean 2009)
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Notes
- 1.
Which up to now has not become national law for all members of the EU, e.g. not in the United Kingdom and in Germany (see Chapter 6)
Abbreviations
- SGB:
-
Sozialgesetzbuch Germany
- WMA:
-
World Medical Association
- WPA:
-
World Psychiatric Association
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Helmchen, H. (2010). Informed Consent in Psychiatric Practice. In: Helmchen, H., Sartorius, N. (eds) Ethics in Psychiatry. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 45. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8721-8_9
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