Case Study

4

Case Study

Case Study

Robyn Dattilo

PSY 496: Applied Project

Anna Czipri

February 24, 2014

A profession or career in psychology requires a lot of specialized training and learning as offered at Ashford University. The University maintains that its goals for graduates is to be able to communicate effectively in all forms, demonstrate critical thinking and reading, understand the importance of diversity and meeting the needs of others professionally, as well as develop a lifestyle of constant learning. All of these skills are necessary when seeking career opportunities especially in specific fields of study. Psychology careers require a little more specialization in educational goals. Case in point the Universities bachelor of psychology program outcomes gives us a greater understanding of what these goals should focus on. Analyzing and understanding behaviors and mental processes among people, evaluating personality development and research methods, and communicate and conduct oneself in an ethical and acceptable manner as it pertains to the field of psychology. In this paper an illustrative case will be created in order to exemplify how a psychologist’s life can be challenged with conflicts between personal and professional life. As it will be shown, solving conflicts of this nature require critical thinking, rational-based decision making and ethical knowledge.

For the purpose of this assignment, I will study the following situation: A woman comes to my clinic for psychological counseling. She is suffering from depression and believes it to be the result of an unhappy marriage. She informs me that her husband has committed tax fraud at the company he manages, and she is contemplating turning him in to the authorities. The patient is unaware that her husband is a personal friend of mine and in considering the situation both personal and career examples of personal challenges and an ethical dilemma will be presented.

I am faced now with a situation in which I have to contemplate being a professional clinician and being a good friend. I can only do one of two things: first I could ignore the condemning information the patient has confessed and merely continue her psychotherapy. I know that the consequences of this option might cause the loss of a friend, if in some way her husband and my friend were to discover I was aware of the impending legal action. On the other hand, if I disclose the privy information the patient will find out I have broken the confidentiality agreement, which will compromise our doctor patient relationship, and likely my professional carrier as a whole, as she might press charges. This choice would also violate all of my ethics as a professional counselor.

In order to make a professional decision, I would need to utilize the knowledge and skills I have gained at Ashford University. From the many projected outcomes, I believe there are at least three interrelated competencies which are especially needed in this situation: the ability to think critically, rational-based decision making and applying professional ethics.

The ability to think critically will be beneficial because I am facing a situation in which I have to process information by following the methods of logical inquiry and evidence-based reasoning, as opposed to judgments which are influences by bias and emotions. Using rational-based decision making as a professional, I should not let myself be managed by emotions or other factors when making this decision, but instead by rationality which increases the ability to think critically. In dealing with ethical issues, it is fundamental that I am aware and understand ethics in psychology, as well as the means to apply them. Therefore, I will have to sway my decision by using ethical principles that govern the profession of psychology. The capability of thinking critically will aid in pin pointing the exact nature of my ethical dilemma, while the aptitude to make rational-based decisions will assist me in the application of ethical principles. In ‘’Standard 4: Privacy and Confidentiality of ‘’Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct’’ (APA, 2013) the client’s rights to confidentiality are stated, which obligates psychologists to protect confidential information obtained from the client. There are some instances when confidential information can be disclosed but only with the consent of the client or legally authorized person that acts on behalf of the client; to provide professional service; to obtain professional consultations; to protect the client from physically harming himself or others; to obtain payment for service offered to a client who is unwilling, when disclosing information is a necessity to achieve the purpose (APA, 2013). In my case, I cannot ascertain any conditions in which I could disclose private information obtained from my client. So in order to behave according to the ethical standards for psychologists, I have to settle the case by not disclosing the compromising information received from my patient.

References

American Psychological Association. (2013). Careers in Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/careers.aspx#