Sidney Bloch, Paul Chodoff, Stephen Green. Reading a text on ethics requires a particular orientation. Ethics is not, in the ordinary sense, factual. When reading about ethics the focus is on the quality of the argument and drawing out of key issues rather than specific conclusions.
Ethics considers precedents set in law and other issues that can alter a person's perceptions.
This third edition of the book sets the same high standards as previous editions. There are six new chapters that are relevant to contemporary clinical practice and mental health management and policy. They cover genetics, resource allocation and community psychiatry. A practitioner may not come to the same conclusions as the authors on every issue, but his or her thinking about difficult ethical issues will doubtless be enhanced by this reference book. Confidentiality is a professional issue with its associated responsibilities, whereas privacy relates to an individual's choice on disclosure of information and remains in the person's own domain.