Ethical Issues in Psychology Essay

Psychologists are committed to increasing scientific and professional knowledge of behaviour and people's understanding of themselves and others and to the use of such knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organisations, and society (APA, 2010). The PSI preamble (2010) states “the authority of psychologists derives from the scientific methods of investigation on which their knowledge is based, and the ethics which govern all their professional activity. They accept that codes of ethics are necessary to protect the interest of clients and prevent misuse of psychological knowledge. The Ethics Code provides a common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work. The following is a rough and general summary of the principles that are addressed by the APA, PSI and BPS;

The court held the psychologist responsible for the murder of his girlfriend and for not informing of the intent to harm. I believe Justice Tobriner said it best, “the protective privilege ends where the public peril begins.”

This may lead to a difficult evaluation, the psychologist needs to obtain information that may be incriminating and not benefit the defendant if they provide it. The defendant has no control over how that information is used. (Datz,1989) Such issues as prescription authority ,where the psychologist is able to prescribe medication for their client has become an ethical issue. Many psychologists themselves believe that prescription should be be given by medical graduates with full training (Boschert 1998).This is backed up by 43% of responding to an American Psychological Association survey indicating that they believed that full medical training would be required for prescription.(APA 1992a

Unit 2 homework and quiz: Psychology’s Voice in the Legal System; Psychologists’ Licensing and Ethical Guidelines.

Mrs. Patterson is a 72 year old female who presented to the ED with complaints of ringing in ear and some sores in her nose. Per documentation Her son, however reported Mrs. Patterson has expressed repeated threats of suicidality and has said she is going to overdose on medication and has overdosed in the past. He reports she also threaten to walk into traffic. At the time of the assessment Mrs. Patterson denies suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, and symptoms of psychosis. She appeared 3X oriented. Mrs. Patterson memory appears recently impaired. She reports a history of 1 attempted suicide years ago. Mrs. Patterson states when asked suicidal attempt she responded, "Yeah,but I forgot what I done." Her son Jim was contacted for collateral information. Jim reports 6 months ago his mother overdosed and has done so multiple time, however he is unaware if it's intentional with the intent to harm or her memory effecting her actions. He states, "She makes jokes about it (referring to suicidal ideation)." Jim expressed his primary concern with his mother is her not managing medications effectively. Jim reports he has a plan to move his mother into his home and take care of her daily needs and also manage her medications. Additionally, Jim reports her going to Daymark recovery Services. He reports DSS came out to the home today to offer any additional aid to Mrs. Patterson. She reports a history

The meeting began with the chairman recounting the claims against the psychologist, the rules for identifying the complainant, and that the focus of this meeting was to determine if the potential that legal or ethical violations had occurred. All board members were in possession of copies of the information that was available at the time. The complainant was referred to by the initials R. G. for the purpose of maintaining confidentiality during the open meeting. All R. G.’s interactions were conducted by conference call with the board members.

The APA ethical guidelines help to ensure that all psychological research maintains the integrity that it does not do harm or conflicts with the majority of the human populations moral ethical codes. However, in some situations the APA ethical guidelines must be viewed as just that: guidelines. If a study has the potential to benefit humanity as a whole and does not result in the permanent or irreparable harm to a human being then some guidelines must be permitted to be stretched or even broken in the interest of human advancement and scientific progression. After all the goal and responsibility of a psychologist is to enhance our understanding of human behavior as well as to find ways to use this information to better society and humanity

Two ethical issues associated with psychological testing are confidentiality and informed consent. Confidentiality deals with keeping the patient or examinees information confidential and private. Leaking the examinee or patient’s personal information is a violation of what constitutes ethical practice because

She met with the on-site psychiatrist on 10/28/2015 and psychiatric evaluation was completed. Client was diagnosed with Axis 1: Learning Disability & F81.9 (Primary), Alcohol use Disorder, moderate, in early remission, dependence – F10.21, Major Depression, single episode, in complete remission; F 32.5 rule out vs. complicated grief in remission and Dysomnia; G47.9. CM tries to refer client to mental counseling and substance abuse program. Client declines referral.

There is great debate over psychologist’s roles and violation of their code of ethics in this category. For example, psychologists are used to observe and provide feedback on interrogations. Issues have developed where the psychologist provided confidential medical information on the detainee to interrogators to help find ways

The Respondent’s supervisors at Sheboygan County initiated an investigation between Ms. Morter’s and Client T.R.’s relationship. The investigation led to the discovery of a sexual relationship through phone call records of the Respondent and Client T.R. A month later, the Respondent disclosed to two co-workers that she was in a sexual relationship with Client T.R. A few weeks after Ms. Morter revealed the relationship, she was terminated from Sheboygan County. The Sheboygan Police filed a complaint with charges against Ms. Morter due to her false statements about the alleged burglary. The Respondent has not since worked as a psychotherapist, and has sought out counseling (Wisconsin Department of

Two complaints that stood out to me in the Grenyer & Lewis article were poor communication and character. These complaints are very important in a work-related setting. Without a positive body language/character and communication skills, the job itself would become a disaster. During their professional time, psychologists act in such a rude way and bring off a negative feedback to others. In regards to communication, false and misleading information is spreading around that could cause confusion to themselves and others (Grenyer & Lewis, 2012). As any other job, psychologist have access to their job description that more than likely covers the does and don’t with the profession. As far as verification, the 5.01 code in APA describes false or deceptive statements in which psychologist are not supposed to present any wrong or inadequate information. With the character complaints, further actions are taken place if a member has convicted a felony, expulsed or become suspended or loss their licensure for any reason (Grenyer & Lewis, 2012).

Our country was founded on certain moral principles. The moral principles which guide our lives are referred to as ethics. These ethics have an impact on how we interact with the world around us and shape our personalities; this happens even if we do not realize their immediate impact. It is for this very reason that ethics in psychological research became necessary. “One may also define ethics as a method, procedure, or perspective for deciding how to act and for analyzing complex problems and issues” (Resnik, 2011). We are expected to behave or be treated a particular way in society, therefore we should be granted certain ethical treatments in regards to research.

Because of the doctors’ profession, a psychiatrist must abide by the ethic of nonmaleficence when it comes to their patients. This article is true, “When conflicts occur among psychologists’ obligations or concerns, they attempt to resolve these conflicts in a responsible fashion that avoids or minimizes harm” (Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, n.d.). For this profession, this is very important because their judgment can have a serious effect on a person mind. If there were no ethics to guide them not to do no harm, psychology could become an unethical profession within the health care system. This ethic could also be the reason for the raise of concern that Dr. McHale has for the detainee.

Ethical Principles of Psychologists and the Code of Conduct are very important guidelines in any workforce. “These guidelines serve a purpose to guide and inspire psychologists toward the very highest ethical ideals of their profession” (APA, 2002). There are five major parts of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct guidelines. These parts include, Beneficence, Responsibility, Integrity, Justice, Respect for People 's Rights and Dignity. These are also known as principals that start from A, and end in E. All of these guidelines are to be obeyed when working in our chosen career.