Dr Helene Seaward

Visiting Research Fellow

1 January 2026 to 31st December 2028

Dr. Helene Seaward is a visiting fellow at the Ethox Centre, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Her focus lies at the intersection of psychotherapy research and empirical ethics, examining how ethical tensions arise and unfold in clinical practice. She investigates issues such as value‐based disagreements and their implications for patient autonomy, health professionals’ perceptions of loyalty conflicts and strategies for managing them, as well as the ethical challenges of psychotherapy in coercive settings.

Her current project investigates the scientific understanding of value disagreements, their importance for the therapeutic relationship, and their implications for patient autonomy. Situated at the intersection of empirical ethics and psychotherapy research, this work aims not only to deepen our understanding of how psychotherapy works and how value-based disagreements can be managed, but also to provide clinicians across healthcare settings with practical recommendations for handling such differences. This guidance helps health professionals respect and promote patient autonomy in their everyday practice.