title: Should the century-old practice of psychotherapy defer to science and ignore its foundations in two millennia of ethical thought?
abstract: While agreeing with the mainstream view that psychotherapeutic practice must be grounded in science, including research on the effectiveness of psychotherapy, the author advocates giving more weight to the venerable philosophical literature on ethics that bears directly on what patients bring to therapists: problems in living. These problems have been the domain of ethics since Socrates, who--like psychotherapists--promoted reflective dialogue. This article reviews some contemporary thought regarding the importance of reflection and the limits that patients and therapists face in promoting it. Relying on attachment theory and the process of mentalizing, the author identifies a convergence of science and ethics in the therapeutic aspiration to cultivate epistemic trust and illustrates this convergence with a case example.
authors.forename: Jon G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Allen
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D010686:Philosophy, Medical / Q000266:history; D011364:Professional Practice / Q000941:ethics* / Q000266:history; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000941:ethics* / Q000266:history; D012586:Science / Q000941:ethics* / Q000266:history