Ethical Decision Making George T. Jackson, University of Phoenix Psych 545 Survey of Professional Psychology Dr. Christi Moore, Facilitator Ethical Decision Making Paper In this paper I will examine the relationship of a school psychologist and the relationship of his client and how boundaries were crossed when the school psychologist entered a sexual relationship with his minor client. To complete this assignment, the ethical dilemma will be discussed, the 14 steps in the ethical decision making process will be applied, further I will briefly discuss the importance of ethical decision making in …show more content…
When the information was released by the media several other young boy’s came forth from different schools stating that he had a sexual relationships with the psychologist as well. The young man and his mother had to relocate to another state, he and his mother are in family counseling with a female psychologist who works with youth who have been molested. Steps in Ethical Decision Making According to Pope and Vasquez (2007), there are 18 steps used in the ethical decision making process, and these steps serve as a guide for every professional psychologist. The steps are available to help the psychologist know when he or she must think through and know how to respond appropriately to an ethical dilemma, how to take responsibility for his or her actions to the response that he or she has made. These steps will also assist the psychologist in coming up with a way to see specific aspects of the situation, he or she will be able to consider both the negative and the positive consequences in which an individual could respond, and finally the steps will help the psychologist to develop different approaches to meet the needs of the client. The first 14 steps will be considered in this section as it relates to the role of the psychologist and what boundary issues are. 1) Identify the situation that requires ethical consideration and decision making. The psychologist has
It goes without saying that at some point in a counselor career, he or she can expect to be faced with an ethical dilemma. Ethical decisions are rarely easy to arrive at, as the dilemmas a counselor is faced with can be very complex
We are going to explore the world of ethical issues in psychology. As in any medical or mental health fields there are rules we all must follow as professionals. In this essay today we will be exploring a case study where we have a young lady who has been stricken by a mental disability. We will be looking at the facts in which her disability was handled by a professional in the field of psychology. We also will be discussing the rights and wrongs that are presented in her case study. We will also be discussing the APA ethical codes and gain a clearer understanding of where some things went wrong and why shall we begin.
2. Guides, customer records, and work force documents will keep on being requested into courts in light of the fact that the legitimate framework believes the documentation contains data expected to settle on choices about youngster care, automatic hospitalization, and a wide cluster of different circumstances, including assertions of deceptive conduct. Absence of trustworthiness and ineptitude and in addition lost, fragmented, and insufficient graphs can be hurtful to the client and the counselor.
The case of Leanne presents a number of ethical dilemmas that counselors can face with their clients. Here Leanne does not want you to tell anyone what she has just told you regarding her past. By telling someone you will be breaking client confidentiality, Leanne’s trust in you, and the therapeutic relationship you have built with her. If you decide to not then you are breaking the law. Even though the sexual abuse is reported as only existing in the past the client is still a minor and living with her father. By not reporting this you are also possibly putting the client at risk of being sexually abused again.
Most major professional codes of ethics have a policy or rule against dual relationships (Gottlieb, 1993). Dual relationships exist when a professional acts at the same time or sequentially in two roles (Gottlieb, 1993). Through the course of this paper, the concept of dual relationships will be examined. Ethical issues with dual relationships will be explained as well as the clarification and analyzation of a specific dual relationship. Not to mention the explanation of challenges presented by boundary issues in professional psychology.
In this essay I am going to look at the importance and purpose of the initial consultation between the client and the therapist and what happens during this preliminary session. I will also cover the ethical definitions that will need to be explored and established, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of both the client and therapist.
The Forensic specialty guidelines and the APA Ethics Code may provide a guide in choices when one is faced with ethical dilemmas. However, they do not cover every possible dilemma a mental health professional may encounter. The solution is not clear on what procedures should be followed when there are conflicts between legal requirements and ethical guidelines and when two ethical guidelines conflict with one another. When this occurs, it is helpful to have a systematic solution in deciding the appropriate course to follow
Ethical decision-making is the means of assessing the available choices you have and selecting from them in a way that coincides with commonly practiced ethical values and principles. (Making Ethical Decisions, 2014) The benefit of ethical decision making can be purely personal, alleviating any thoughts of possible wrong-doing. Ethical decision-making also boosts your image due to the fact you come across as reputable and trustworthy. Instilling ethical decision-making in your students as an institution is crucial, if down the road within a work environment an individual is found to be practicing poor ethical decisions that will reflect poorly on them but will also reflect poorly on the institution they attended as well.
The first principle per the APA code of ethics is beneficence and nonmaleficence, this is where psychologist focus on the do no harm to their patients (APA, 2010, p.2). A psychologist is to strive to provide the best benefit to a potential client or individual they professionally work with and seek to safeguard their welfare and rights. The guarding of welfare and rights is also attributed to animals used in research. Among psychologist, conflicts will arise and should be handled accordingly to minimize harm (APA, 2010, p.2). Due to the possibility that a psychologist’s scientific judgment and actions may affect another’s life, they must be alert of their own personal, financial, social, or political views as they may be misused to influence others. The psychologist also needs to be aware of their own mental and physical health, so they are at their best capability when helping others.
The Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct, published by the American Psychological Association are the standard guidelines for all Psychologists. Forensic Psychologists are also informed by Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologist. Psychologists practicing forensic psychology can use these two documents to help clarify ethical questions. This paper will focus on role conflicts specifically in the area of Sex Offender Management and the ethical conflicts that may arise as a result and how to best handle this situation when faced with it. When an individual chooses to practice psychology within the legal system, they must be aware that this can at any point in their career lead to ethical conflicts. Just the possibility
While I was reviewing the lesson on the different approaches to ethical decision-making, I realize that I have used almost most of these approaches which we don’t realize prior to this lesson. It was hard for me to choose and discuss only one topic. For today’s discussion post, I choose Virtue approach. When I was reading about the Virtue Approach, I was wondering what kind of person I am or what kind of person I have been? Virtue Approach is all about the person characteristics development and what virtue one should obtain to be who they are supposed to be. According to Plante (2004), the virtue approach may include, “honesty, integrity, responsibility, compassion, politeness, thoughtfulness, kindness and competence” (p.28).
A problem of practice at the root of the condition of inadequate anticipation is not proper preparation for handling ethical issues that may arise. A strategy to resolve psychology professionals’ incompetence is reeducation. These mental health professionals should be reeducated by a supervisor and go through additional training to prevent any future problems of incompetency. A strategy to resolve professionals’ inadequate preparation is hold weekly meetings and checkups between professionals and supervisors to address any concerns that may be present and to come up with prepared ways to address future ethical dilemma. At the root of every reason and condition concerning ethical dilemmas, there should always be a proper strategy put in place to prevent such problematic situations in the field of
In synopsis, the case involves Ruby, a therapist that is counseling Henry, who expresses extremely hostile feelings toward homosexuals and toward people who have contracted AIDS. Henry is not coming to counseling to work on his feelings about gay people; his primary goal is to work out his feelings of resentment over his wife, who left him. He thinks homosexual people are deviant and that it serves them right if they do get AIDS. Ruby’s son is gay and Henry’s prejudice affects her emotionally. She is taken aback by her client’s comments and she finds that his vies are getting in the way as she attempts to work with him. The development of a dynamic set of ethical standards for psychologists’ work related conduct requires a
Throughtout this written assignment there will be a discussion on ethical decision making about making a decision on possible ethical consequences that may be placed in your life, and what ethical consequences will be dealt with in the mental health professional field. Decisions could possibility pertain your conduct such as an ethical dilemma that will required a serious decision to be solved by your action as an leader. Even though a leader may not have caused the problem, they do not have a choice but to respond to the issues at the workplace. The key is how would a leader react to the issue and how their reputation and career standards will interfear afterwards. An early recognition could prevent many ethical issues from increasing in the mental health field and work environment. Ethical dilemmas could happen in many different ways, such professionals do have any act of acknowledge by knowing they have allowed themselves to be placed in a predictment without any knowing about it. This assignment will also discuss the scenario, what the reactions were from the team leader, what consequences should take place, the code of ethics and what were the results from decision making.
Ethics form the core basis of personal and public rules related to codes of conduct guided by a specific collection of principles. When conducting psychological research several subjects of conflict surface such as personal space, maintaining confidentiality, possibility of replication violating privacy, problems with deception and manipulation. Along with these value conflicts, there are multiple arguments posed in search of answers to many ethical questions within the field. These disagreements are what generate ethical issues. To resolve these issues, psychologists need to develop mutual ground and agreement as “a scientific and professional discipline is based in part on a set of shared values” (Cook, 1975.) Ethics are a critical branch in psychology that needs to be addressed; some professionals are unaware of these ethical issues and the implications of misconduct.