By:
Thomas G. Plante
When
ethical dilemmas arise, it is important to consult the Ethics Code to determine
precisely what the written guidelines instruct. Second, consultation with colleagues
concerning the conduct or issue in question can be extremely useful. If it has been
determined that an ethical violation has or may have occurred, the psychologist
discovering the violation has a duty to bring it to the attention of the
offending psychologist. For minor violations committed by error or oversight,
educating the person about the ethical principles involved is generally an
adequate means of correcting the problematic conduct. If the collegial
educative process does not result in ethical behavior, or if the violation is
serious, the psychologist has the ethical responsibility to inform the ethics board
at the state or national level. The ethics board then collects information and
determines whether the infraction is worthy of investigation and either action
or dismissal.
Is Behaving in Accordance with the Ethical Principles Always Clear Cut?
While
it seems obvious that psychologists should maintain professional competence, never
have sexual relationships with current or recent patients or students, and maintain
patient confidentiality, numerous ethical dilemmas emerge that are more
ambiguous and highly challenging to resolve. Pope and Vetter (1992) report
several cases that surfaced from a national survey of 1319 members of the APA.
While easy answers to many cases cannot be found, careful analysis and
professional consultation usually results in the soundest decision and
professional judgment. For example, Pope and Vetter (1992) describe the
following case scenarios for consideration:
Case
1: A psychologist who has been treating a women for three years in
psychotherapy coincidentally begins to date her best and closest friend.
Case
2: A psychologist in a rural community is active in his church group. Members
of the church group wish to consult with him on a professional basis because
they know and trust him and he is the only professional in the area that offers
particular specialty services.
Case
3: A psychologist conducts psychotherapy with a child. Soon after the beginning
of therapy, the child’s mother and the therapist develop a strong mutual
attraction. The psychologist considers referring the patient elsewhere but
feels that therapeutic gains will be lost.
Case
4: A psychologist is providing psychotherapy to another psychologist. The
patient reveals that he has committed a serious ethical violation. The patient
states that due to patient confidentiality, the therapist cannot report the
violation.
Case
5: The rules of a university medical center dictate that a psychologist must give
Principal Investigator (PI) status on research grants to a physician even if
the physician is not actually the PI on the project.
How
should these actual cases be handled?
Each
of the cases mentioned do not have simple and clear cut answers. Careful review
and consideration of the Ethics Code as well as appropriate consultation is
generally required in order to make reasonable professional and ethical
judgments.
References
Contemporary clinical psychology / Thomas
G. Plante — 2nd ed. Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Web Resources
www.apa.org/ethics
Learn
more about APA’s Ethics Code and other ethical matters related to psychology.
The
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University offers a variety
of articles, web links, and other information about applied ethics.
commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/ethics/general. html
The
School of Communications at California State University, Fullerton, offers this
helpful web site with numerous links to ethics on the Web in many categories.
www.ethics.org.au
The
St. James Ethics Center is a nonprofit organization that promotes ethics in
daily life. It is not associated with any religious or political affiliations.
This
site offers useful links to a variety of applied ethic topics.
The
Institute for Global Ethics is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian, and
nonpartisan organization that promotes ethics in globally
Read
also
How should clinical psychologists behave?
Ethical and Legal Considerations in Completing the Diagnostic Assessment
Ethical and Legal Considerations in Completing the Diagnostic Assessment
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