Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol 55(6), Dec 2024, 493-501; doi:10.1037/pro0000596
The use of advice in psychotherapy is a controversial subject. Theorists commonly debate about its clinical utility, while disregarding ethical considerations and implications. The purpose of this article is to review the unique dilemma psychologists face when deciding whether to offer advice to clients. Advice will be examined from both a clinical and ethical lens to help psychologists make well-informed decisions about its utilization in psychotherapy. First, advice will be defined within the context of this article and current literature on advice in psychotherapy will be reviewed. Next, ethical and cultural considerations and recommendations will be discussed. An ethical decision-making model will be applied with a vignette, to provide psychologists guidance for making ethical, effective, culturally sensitive, and clinically appropriate decisions surrounding the use of advice. Finally, recommendations for clinical practice and future research will be provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)