psychology Ethics assignment
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ProfessionalEthicsforPsychologistsforulearn.pptxProfessional Ethics for Psychologists
Big Questions: Values, ethics, decisions
What are your personal values?
How do these values influence your morality and decision-making?
What are ethics?
How do psychologists make ethical decisions, and deal with ethical conflicts?
Values vs. Ethics vs. Laws
Values
Ethics
Your personal belief system, what is important to you
A set of behaviors that a group has identified as “correct” or appropriate
Laws
Enforceable rules about what to do/not to do in a specific community
Ethical Codes: What’s the point?
APA developed Code in 1950s
Purposes of codes
Protect consumers / Protect the profession
Give identity to profession (outline values)
Guide professional behavior
Offer framework for decision-making
Protecting clients
Clients often vulnerable to exploitation, manipulation
Clients in distress may bring out inappropriate feelings/behaviors in counselors
Protecting the profession
Provides acceptable standard of behavior/standard of care among psychologists
Can offer some defense of behavior in legal setting
Ethical codes: What’s the point?
Ethical Codes: What’s the point?
Codes change over time, as society changes, or professional values change
No code is perfect
Does not always give clear answers
Can’t predict every potential issue, can’t always “keep up” with societal changes
Conflicts can exist between codes/laws/values
Ethics and Values
“Values-Aware” Counseling vs. “Values-Free” Counseling
Nearly impossible to be “values free”
Can be dangerous to ignore influence of your values!
We must ask: “Whose needs are being met?”
If unsure, must consider *who* I’m doing this for
Must act in client’s best interest, even if we don’t 100% agree
Our responsibility to always uphold ethics
Joining a profession, or holding license, means you agree to uphold ethical code
What are your Values?
Rokeach Value Survey (1983)
“Your goal is to rank each value in its order of importance to you. Study the list and think of how much each value may act as a guiding principle in your life…. When ranking, take your time and think carefully. When you have completed the ranking… the result should represent an accurate picture of how you really feel about what’s important in life.”
Rokeach: Rank Values 1-18
A COMFORTABLE LIFE (prosperity)
EQUALITY (equal opportunity for all)
AN EXCITING LIFE
FAMILY SECURITY
FREEDOM (independence, free choice)
INNER HARMONY (free from inner conflict)
HEALTH (physical, mental well-being)
MATURE LOVE (sexual/spiritual intimacy)
NATIONAL SECURITY (protection, safety)
PLEASURE (enjoyable, leisurely life)
SALVATION (saved; eternal life)
SELF-RESPECT (self-esteem)
SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
SOCIAL RECOGNITION (respect and admiration)
TRUE FRIENDSHIP
WISDOM
A WORLD OF BEAUTY (beauty of nature and the arts)
A WORLD AT PEACE (a world free of war and conflict)
Ethics and Values
What were your Top 3 values? Bottom 3 values?
In what areas do you think it is possible that your personal values and professional ethics may conflict?
A case of conflict… Julea Ward vs. Board of Regents of Eastern Michigan University
Ethics and Values
Read the article about Ward v. EMU and answer these questions as a group:
What is the issue the student (Julea Ward) had?
What position did her program at EMU take?
What was the outcome of the case?
What is happening in other states that may affect future conflicts of this kind?
What do you think? What side of the issue would you agree with?
Ethical Codes: What’s it all about?
The welfare of the client is highest priority
APA Code of Ethics:
Principle A: “Psychologists strive to benefit those with whom they work and take care to do no harm….psychologists seek to safeguard the welfare and rights of those with whom they interact professionally (APA, 2010).”
What’s in the Code: APA Guiding Principles
APA 2010 General Principles
Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
Fidelity and Responsibility
Integrity
Justice
Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity
What do Ethical Codes Cover?
1. Resolving Ethical Issues
2. Competence
3. Human Relations
4. Privacy & Confidentiality
5. Advertising & Other Public Statements
6. Record Keeping & Fees
7. Education & Training
8. Research & Publication
9. Assessment
10. Therapy
So what’s the problem?
“Hot Spots” – areas psychologists often have trouble
Legal issues (e.g., reporting/not reporting)
Social/Cultural Issues
Boundary Issues (e.g., dual relationships)
Confidentiality
Informed Consent
Professional Practice Issues (e.g., competence, misrepresentation)
Hot Spots: Major Ethical Issues
Legal issues
Understand state laws governing practice
Understand duty to report, duty to warn
Duty to warn mandatory in MA, not in RI
Hot Spots: Major Ethical Issues
Social/Cultural issues
Practice culturally aware/competent services
Code 2.01 (b): “Where scientific or professional knowledge in the discipline of psychology establishes that an understanding of factors associated with age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status is essential for effective implementation of their services or research, psychologists have or obtain the training, experience, consultation, or supervision necessary to ensure the competence of their services…”
Hot Spots: Major Ethical Issues
Confidentiality
Strictly protect confidentiality, and know its limits
Code 4.01: “Psychologists have a primary obligation and take reasonable precautions to protect confidential information obtained through or stored in any medium, recognizing that the extent and limits of confidentiality may be regulated by law or established by institutional rules…”
Hot Spots: Major Ethical Issues
Boundary Issues/Multiple relationships
Multiple relationship: having both a professional and non-professional relation w/ client
Avoid or manage “multiple relationships”
Code 3.05 (a): “A psychologist refrains from entering into a multiple relationship if the multiple relationship could reasonably be expected to impair the psychologist’s objectivity, competence, or effectiveness in performing his or her functions as a psychologist, or otherwise risks exploitation or harm to the person with whom the relationship exists…”
Hot Spots: Major Ethical Issues
Informed Consent
Therapy clients, research participants, students, supervisees need to know what to expect, so they can decide to participate (or not)
Code 3.10 (a): “When psychologists conduct research or provide assessment, therapy, counseling, or consulting services … they obtain the informed consent of the individual or individuals using language that is reasonably understandable to that person or person…”
Hot Spots: Major Ethical Issues
Professional Practice issues
Practice only what you are competent to do
Code 2.01 (a): “Psychologists provide services, teach, and conduct research… only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience
Hot Spots: Major Ethical Issues
Professional Practice issues
Clearly, accurately represent qualifications/credentials
Code 5.01 (b): “Psychologists do not make false, deceptive, or fraudulent statements concerning their training, experience, or competence; their academic degrees; their credentials; their institutional or association affiliations; their services; the scientific or clinical basis for, or results or degree of success of, their services...
(c) Psychologists claim degrees as credentials … only if those degrees (1) were earned from a regionally accredited educational institution or (2) were the basis for psychology licensure…
Ethical decision-making
Ethical Problem-solving Model (Forester-Miller, et al)
Identify problem (Ethical? Clinical? Legal?)
Review relevant ethical guidelines, and applicable laws
Determine nature of dilemma, impact on guiding principles
Beneficence, Justice, Fidelity, Integrity, etc.
Consult, consult, consult!
Consider possible courses of action, potential consequences
Select, evaluate a course of action
Test of justice
Test of publicity (“newspaper test”)
Test of universality
Implement action, assess the outcome
What’s a psychologist to do? Ethical decision-making
Know the Code and follow it
Know the law and follow it
Carry liability insurance
Various orgs offer low-cost insurance for students (ACA/HPSO less than $50/year)
Inform your supervisor/director of any potential ethical violations, legal issues
