The Role and Recent Trends of Informed Consent in Psychological Support: Narrative Review

Abstract

When psychologists provide services (e.g., therapy and counseling), they have an ethical duty to provide informed consent (IC; American psychological association, 2017). Nevertheless, IC for psychotherapy only contains the duration and cost of the psychotherapy, and unlike other medical interventions, often it does not refer to the contents of the interventions. In addition, researchers are suggesting the pros and cons of IC in psychotherapy (such as Blease et al., 2016; Trachsel et al., 2015). However, no research has reviewed them in Japan. We overviewed recent research trends and limitations of IC in psychotherapy and summarized how we handle cases who have difficulty giving IC in this country. This article attempted to update information regarding IC for Japanese psychologists.