Soul searching : why psychotherapy must promote moral responsibility

Summary: Soul Searching shows how therapy can be a powerful healing force when clients face moral dilemmas around issues such as divorce, commitment to one's children, fairness to other people, honesty, and community service. With numerous case vignettes, William J. Doherty shows how therapy can have a moral component and still be sensitive to the diverse backgrounds and values of clients. He tells consumers what signs to look for in a morally sensitive therapist, and he describes the three core virtues therapists need to practice good therapy. In addition, he tells of an exciting new movement in which practitioners all over the country are joining together to form therapy forums to pursue the re-moralization of psychotherapy. Soul Searching is both a powerful critique of contemporary psychotherapy and a bold proposal for a more enlightened way for therapists to deal with issues of moral responsibility.