Biological Basis and Legal and Ethical Considerations of Psychotherapy

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Despite the basis of psychotherapy being talk therapy and other therapeutic techniques focused on addressing psychological and emotional factors, there is evidence to suggest that psychotherapy also has a biological basis. Notably, participation in psychotherapy has been shown to cause changes in brain function as evidenced by peer-reviewed studies using neuroimaging techniques to measure the impact of psychotherapy on brain function. In their study, Deits-Lieben et al. (2020) collected the physiological data of participants who were taking part in couple psychotherapy using biosensors that tracked the participants' heart rate and high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) data. The study showed that there was a statistically significant correlation between the psychotherapy process and the presence of high levels of HF-HRV in a patient. Given that HF-HRV is an important physiological index, the study provides evidence that psychotherapy has a biological basis.
Culture, religion, and socioeconomics have a significant influence on the individual’s perspective on the utility of psychotherapy. To this end, varying cultures embody different attitudes towards mental health and are likely to influence the choice of treatment with some encouraging psychotherapy and other encouraging religious alternatives. On the other hand, socioeconomics influences individual access to psychotherapy with individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds facing financial barriers that limit their access to psychotherapy. Depauw et al. (2022) note that the effectiveness of a psychotherapy session is influenced by the cultural identity of a client and a counselor must directly broach the topic to increase the likelihood of achieving a positive outcome during a psychotherapy session. In such a wa...