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1. CLINICALPSYCHOLOGYEC1
M.A SEMESTER4
TOPIC: PROFESSIONALANDETHICALISSUESINCLINICALPSYCHOLOGY
Dr.SabaFarheen
UGCNET,UGCPDF,RajasthanSET,PhD
PartTimeAssistantProfessor
DepartmentofPsychology,PatnaUniversity
[email protected]

2. PROFESSIONALANDETHICALISSUESINCLINICALPSYCHOLOGY
APAadopteditsfirstethicscodein1951,andtherehavebeenseveralrevisions
sincethen.In1951,theAPAcommitteepublishedsixseparatesetsofdraftethical
standards,eachaccompaniedbyrelevantcriticalincidents(APACommitteeon
EthicalStandards,1951).
Thesixtopicareaswere:
•Ethicalstandardsandpublicresponsibility
•Ethicalstandardsinprofessionalrelationships
•Ethicalstandardsinclientrelationships
•Ethicalstandardsinresearch
•Ethicalstandardsinwritingandpublishing
•Ethicalstandardsinteaching

3. In1953,itformallypublishedtheEthicalStandardsofPsychologists
(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,1953).Revisionsofthese
standardsappearedin1958,1963,1968,1977,1979,1981,1990,1992,
andmostrecently,2002.The2002versionoftheEthicalPrinciplesof
PsychologistsandCodeofConductpresentsfivegeneralprinciples
aswellasspecificethicalstandardsrelevanttovariousactivitiesof
clinicalpsychologists—assessment,intervention,therapy,research,
forensicactivities,andsoon(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,
2002).
ThelatestversionoftheAPAethicscodeincludesanintroduction,
preamble,fivegeneralprinciples,andspecificethicalstandards.

4. Thegeneralprinciplesincludethefollowing:
Beneficenceandnon-maleficence:Psychologistsstrivetobenefitthose
theyserveandtodonoharm.
Fidelityandresponsibility:Psychologistshaveprofessionalandscientific
responsibilitiestosocietyandestablishrelationshipscharacterizedbytrust.
Integrity:Inalltheiractivities,psychologistsstrivetobeaccurate,honest,
andtruthful.
Justice:Allpersonsareentitledtoaccesstoandbenefitfromtheprofession
ofpsychology;psychologistsshouldrecognizetheirbiasesandboundariesof
competence.
Respectforpeople’srightsanddignity:Psychologistsrespecttherights
anddignityofallpeopleandenactsafeguardstoensureprotectionofthese
rights.

5. THEETHICALSTANDARDSCANBEDESCRIBEDINTOTENMAJORCATEGORIES:
1)Resolvingethicalissues-Whenanyethicalissuearises,aclinical
psychologistshouldbeequippedwithaprocessbywhichtomakethemost
ethicaldecisionpossible.Psychologistsregularlyencountersituationsthat
requireaconsiderationoftheproperethicaldecision.InthebookDecodingthe
EthicsCode,CeliaFisher(2009),thechairoftheAmericanPsychological
Association’sEthicsCodeTaskForceproposesaneight-stepmodelforethical
decisionmakingwhichispresentedhere:
1.Priortoanyethicaldilemmaarising,makeacommitmenttodoingwhatis
ethicallyappropriate.
2.BecomefamiliarwiththeAmericanPsychologicalAssociationethicalcode.
3.Consultanylaworprofessionalguidelinesrelevanttothesituationathand.

6. 4.Trytounderstandtheperspectivesofvariouspartiesaffectedbytheactions
youmaytake.Consultwithcolleagues(alwaysprotectingconfidentiality)for
additionalinputanddiscussion.
5.Generateandevaluateyouralternatives.
6.Selectandimplementthecourseofactionthatseemsmostethically
appropriate.
7.Monitorandevaluatetheeffectivenessofyourcourseofaction.
8.Modifyandcontinuetoevaluatetheethicalplanasnecessary.
Canteretal.(1994)emphasizedactionstakenpriortoapointintimewhenan
actualproblemisoccured.Thisincludesknowingtheethicscodeand
applicablelawsandlegalandinstitutionalregulations,takingcontinuing
educationworkshopsinethics,andlearningaformalmethodforanalyzing
ethicalissues.

7. Thefollowingstepsareonedecision-makingsystem.
•Identifytheethicalaspects
•Identifytheethicalproblems.
•Identifyrelevantethicalandotherstandards.
•Determinethefacts
•Listoptionsforresolvingtheproblem
•Decideonandevaluateanactionplan
2)Competence-EthicalStandard2.01aofAPA’s“EthicalPrinciplesofPsychologists
andCodeofConduct”states:“Psychologistsprovideservices,teach,andconduct
researchwithpopulationsandonlywithintheboundariesoftheircompetence,basedon
theireducation,training,supervisedexperience,orappropriateprofessional
experience”(APA,2002,p.1063).Psychologistshaveanethicalresponsibilitytoknow
theircompetenciesandtopracticeonlywithinthosecompetencies.

8. Theymustonlyprovideservicesforwhichtheyhavetheappropriatetrainingand
experienceandremainup-to-dateregardingadvancesinthefield.Itisimportant
forpsychologiststobewellawareoftheirstrengthsandweaknesses,theirskills
anddeficits,andmostimportantly,theirlimitations.Accordingly,itisaprimary
requirement,ethicallyandinlicensurelawsandregulations,foreachprofessional
topracticewithinthelimitsofhisorhercompetence.
3)Humanrelations-EthicalStandard3.05a(AmericanPsychological
Association,2002)statesthatamultiplerelationshipoccurswhenapsychologist
isinaprofessionalrolewithapersonand(1)atthesametimeisinanotherrole
withthesameperson,(2)atthesametimeisinarelationshipwithaperson
closelyassociatedwithorrelatedtothepersonwithwhomthepsychologisthas
theprofessionalrelationship,or(3)promisestoenterintoanotherrelationshipin
thefuturewiththepersonorapersoncloselyassociatedwithorrelatedtothe
person.(p.1065).Psychologistsmustmaintainprofessionalandpersonalintegrity
andberespectful,fair,andhonestintheirdealingswithothers.Theymustbe
truthfulindescribingtheirservices,theirareasofexpertise,andwhatcanbe
expectedfromtheirservices.Theymustbewellawareoftheirbiases,needs,and
valuesandhowthesemayimpacttheirwork.Psychologicaltreatment
relationshipsinvolveavarietyofemotionalandcognitivereactionsbyboththe
clientandthepsychologist.

9. Additionofrolesotherthanthetreatmentrelationship,suchasfriendor
businessassociate,arelikelytocreateproblems.Psychologistsmustavoid
conflictsofinterestanddualrelationshipswiththeirpatients,clients,
students,andothers.Becausepsychologistsoftenmaintainapositionof
powerintheirprofessionalrelationshipswithpatientsandstudents,they
mustneverexploitthispowerdifferentialandneverplacetheirown
interestsandneedsabovethosetheyserve.
4)Privacyandconfidentiality-“Psychologistshaveaprimaryobligation
andtakereasonableprecautionstoprotectconfidentialinformation”
(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,2002,p.1066).Confidentiality
referstoaclinicalpsychologist’sdutynottorevealinformationabouta
clienttoanyone.

10. Confidentialityallowspatientstotelltheirtherapistssecretstheymighttellnoone
else.Evenwithconfidentiality,itcantakegreatcourageforsomepatientstomention
whattothemisalmostimpossibletospeakaloud:humiliatingfailures,sexual
longings,lossofreligiousfaith,betrayalofapartner,hatredofanewchild,shame
aboutlooksorabilities,cheatingtogetahead,thoughtsofkillingthemselves,fears
andanxietiestheyhavekepthiddenfromothers.Butwithoutconfidentiality,these
patientsmightnotspeakatall.
Privacyistheindividual’srighttodecidehowmuchpersonalinformationorprivate
values,beliefs,preferences,orbehaviorshouldbeknownbyanyoneelse.
5)Advertisingandotherpublicstatements-Theethicalprincipleofintegrity
requiresthatpublicstatements,suchasadvertising,betruthfulandnotmisleading.
Psychologistsshouldavoidanyfalseordeceptivepublicstatementsmisrepresenting
themselves,theirtraining,experience,degrees,andactivities.

11. Insection3ofthe1992ethicscode,“AdvertisingandOtherPublic
Statements.”AsstatedinStandard3.01,“Publicstatementsincludebutarenot
limitedtopaidorunpaidadvertising,brochures,printedmatter,directory
listings,personalresumesorcurriculumvitae,interviewsorcommentsforuse
inmedia,statementsinlegalproceedings,lecturesandpublicoral
presentations,andpublishedmaterials”(p.1604).Psychologistsmustbevery
carefulinhowtheyrepresentthemselvestothepublic.Theymustnotmislead
ordeceiveothersbyoverstatingorexaggeratingtheirqualificationsand
abilities.Psychologistswhoconductinterviewsforradioortelevision
programmingmustbeespeciallycarefultopreventdistortionoftheir
statementsandqualifications.Psychologistsshouldalsomakesurethatothers
issuingstatementsontheirbehalf(e.g.,acompanyhiredtoproduceabrochure
forthepsychologist’spractice)areaccurate,andthepsychologistshould
reviewmaterialsatvariouspoints.

12. 6)Recordkeepingandfees-Professionalrecordsmustbemaintainedeven
followingtheterminationofprofessionalservices.Inthecaseofsevereillness,
apsychologistshouldmakeappropriatearrangementstoensurethatclient
recordsarekeptconfidentialyetareaccessibletoclientsandtheirpotential
futurepsychologistsorothermentalhealthprofessionalswithwhomthey
choosetowork.
7)Educationandtraining-Psychologistsmustbeaccurateandobjectivein
theirteachingactivitiesandteachonlyinareasthattheyarequalified.Training
oreducationalprogramsthattheyconductmustincludeaccuratedescriptions
ofcourseinformation,goals,andevaluationmethods.Inadditionto
maintainingresponsibilityforprofessionalbehavior,psychologistsmustalso
assistinensuringthatcolleaguesmaintainprofessionalethics.

13. 8)Researchandpublication-Regardingresearch,Standard8.02(“Informed
ConsenttoResearch”)oftheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation’s(2002)
ethicalcodeinstructspsychologiststoinformprospectiveparticipantsabout
numerousaspectsofthestudy,includingitspurpose,procedures,andlengthof
timeitmayrequire;anypredictablerisksoradverseeffects;incentivesfor
participation;andtherighttodeclineorwithdrawfromparticipation.
9)Assessment-Psychologistsmustuseassessmentinstrumentsonlyforthe
purposesforwhichtheyweredevelopedandvalidated.Testselectionshould
entailanumberoffactors,includingthepsychologist’scompetence;the
client’sculture,language,andage;andthetest’sreliabilityandvalidity.
Psychologistsshouldmakeeffortstoprotectthesecurityandintegrityofthe
testmaterialstheyuse.

14. 10)Therapy-Psychologistsmuststructurethetherapeuticrelationshipina
professionalmanner.Thisincludesclarifyingfromtheoutsetwhatcanbe
expectedfrompsychotherapy,feesandconfidentialityarrangements,and
professionalortrainingstatus.EthicalStandard10.01(“InformedConsent
toTherapy”)explainsthatpsychologistsinformclients/patientsasearlyas
isfeasibleinthetherapeuticrelationshipaboutthenatureandanticipated
courseoftherapy,fees,involvementofthirdparties,andlimitsof
confidentialityandprovidesufficientopportunityfortheclient/patientto
askquestionsandreceiveanswers.(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,
2002,p.1072).